Cherry extract substitutes
Cherry extract substitutes — 6 options, ranked, with the exact amount
Use Maraschino cherry syrup from the jar
2 to 3 tbsp maraschino syrup for every 1 tsp cherry extract
The pink syrup people usually pour down the sink, which is exactly the flavour they wanted.
The syrup from a jar of maraschino cherries is the closest everyday swap at 2 to 3 tablespoons per teaspoon of extract, and it tints things pink too. A tablespoon of kirsch or cherry liqueur is the answer for Black Forest bakes, and a quarter teaspoon of almond extract makes almost anything taste more like cherry.
- Verdict —
- You'll taste it
- Best for —
- buttercream and frosting
Updated 26 Jul 2026 · no sponsored swaps
Every option, one card
Ranked · per 1 tsp cherry extract| # | Substitute | Instead of 1 tsp cherry extract | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Maraschino cherry syrup from the jarbuttercream and frosting | 2 to 3 tbsp maraschino syrupYou'll taste it | You'll taste it |
| 2 | Freeze-dried cherry powder or ground dried sour cherriesbuttercream | 2 tbspTweak it | Tweak it |
| 3 | Kirsch or cherry liqueurBlack Forest cake | 1 tbsp kirsch or cherry liqueurYou'll taste it | You'll taste it |
| 4 | Almond extractcakes and cupcakes | ¼ tspTweak it | Tweak it |
| 5 | Cherry preserves or cherry pie filling, blendedcake fillings | 2 to 3 tbsp blended preserves or pie fillingYou'll taste it | You'll taste it |
| 6 | The honest verdict on cherry extractcherry cake | Maraschino syrup plus a few drops of almond extract beats itTweak it | Tweak it |
Maraschino cherry syrup from the jar
different taste and texture
The pink syrup people usually pour down the sink, which is exactly the flavour they wanted.
- Best for
- buttercream and frosting, cherry cake, cherry soda and shakes, glazes, fudge
This is the flavour most people mean when they say cherry in a cake or a frosting: sweet, almondy, unmistakably confectionery cherry. It also tints frosting a proper pale pink, which no extract does. Because it is mostly sugar syrup it brings both sweetness and liquid, so in buttercream beat in an extra tablespoon or two of icing sugar, and in a batter take the same volume out of the milk.
Freeze-dried cherry powder or ground dried sour cherries
enhanced taste, different texture
Dried cherries ground fine, with all the flavour and none of the water.
- Best for
- buttercream, cake batter, shortbread, Black Forest cream, macaron shells
The best real-fruit option and much deeper than any extract, tart and slightly winey rather than sweet and candied. It adds a dusty rose colour and no liquid at all, which is why it is the only cherry you can put safely into a macaron shell. Sour or Morello cherries taste far more like cherry than sweet ones, so buy dried sour cherries if you have the choice, and sift after grinding.
Kirsch or cherry liqueur
different taste and texture
Cherry spirit, and the traditional flavouring in German and Swiss cherry baking.
- Best for
- Black Forest cake, cake soaks, ganache, whipped cream, cherry clafoutis
Kirsch is dry and stone-fruity with a strong almond edge from the cherry pits, while sweet cherry liqueur is rounder and more jammy. Either one gives a grown-up, less candied cherry note. The alcohol mostly bakes off in a cake and does not in whipped cream or an unbaked ganache, where you will taste it clearly, so add it gradually. Reduce another liquid by a tablespoon to compensate.
Almond extract
different taste, similar texture
The surprising one, and the reason maraschino cherries taste the way they do.
- Best for
- cakes and cupcakes, frostings, cookies, fudge, cherry pie filling
Cherry and almond share the compound benzaldehyde, which is why a drop of almond extract makes things taste cherry-ish and why almond is in almost every commercial cherry flavouring. Alone it reads as marzipan rather than cherry, so it works best alongside jam, dried cherries or maraschino syrup, where it lifts the fruit and makes it taste more like itself. A quarter teaspoon is plenty for a whole cake.
Cherry preserves or cherry pie filling, blended
different taste and texture
Cooked cherries in sugar syrup, blitzed smooth.
- Best for
- cake fillings, swirls in cheesecake, buttercream, thumbprint cookies, glazes
Good in fillings, heavy in batters. Preserves bring a cooked jammy flavour, real fruit colour, sugar and often cornflour from pie filling, which thickens whatever you add it to. Reduce the recipe's sugar by two tablespoons and take the liquid out of the milk. In a light sponge, three tablespoons of pie filling makes the crumb noticeably damper and denser.
The honest verdict on cherry extract
enhanced taste, different texture
Where the bottle you are trying to replace actually sits.
- Best for
- cherry cake, cherry frosting, cherry soda
Cherry extract is one of the weakest fruit extracts on the shelf, and many bottles taste faintly of cough syrup. For most home baking, two tablespoons of maraschino syrup with a couple of drops of almond extract, or a spoonful of ground dried sour cherries, gives a better result than the thing you went looking for. Save yourself the trip and use what is in the fridge.
Questions
5 questionsWhat is maraschino cherry flavour?
It is a sweet, almond-scented candied cherry flavour rather than a fresh one, and it comes from the way maraschino cherries are made, brined and then steeped in sweet syrup with almond and cherry flavouring. That is why the syrup in the jar and a drop of almond extract together are such a good substitute for cherry extract in cakes and frostings.
Can I use fresh cherries instead?
Not directly in a batter, because they are mostly water and their flavour largely bakes away, leaving damp pink patches. Cook them down with a spoonful of sugar until thick, blitz and cool, and then they work well. Sour cherries give much more flavour than sweet ones.
Can I just leave it out?
If the recipe already contains cherries, jam or pie filling, yes, and the difference will be modest. If the extract is the only cherry in a cherry cake, leaving it out gives you plain vanilla, so use maraschino syrup, ground dried cherries or a little kirsch instead.
Is cherry extract the same as kirsch?
No. Kirsch is a dry cherry brandy distilled from fermented cherries, alcoholic and stone-fruity with a strong almond note. Cherry extract is a non-alcoholic-tasting flavouring, usually sweeter and more candied. A tablespoon of kirsch stands in for a teaspoon of extract, with the caveat that the alcohol stays put in anything you do not bake.
How much cherry extract goes into a cake?
Around 1 to 2 teaspoons for a two-layer cake, usually alongside a teaspoon of vanilla and often a few drops of almond extract. Because most cherry extracts are weak, err towards the higher end, and taste the batter before you commit it to the tin.
Tips for substituting cherry extract
5 tips- Cherry and almond reinforce each other. A couple of drops of almond extract alongside any cherry substitute makes the cherry read louder without making the dessert taste of almond, and it is the single most useful trick on this page.
- Cherry flavour fades badly over a long bake. Put some of the cherry into the frosting, the filling or a soaking syrup as well as the batter, so there is bright flavour in a part of the cake that never went in the oven.
- For homemade cherry soda, tart cherry juice concentrate reduced a little gives far better flavour than any extract, and a pinch of citric acid or a squeeze of lemon supplies the sharp bite that makes a fizzy drink taste like a fizzy drink rather than like juice.
- Never add maraschino syrup to a batter without removing an equal amount of another liquid. It is mostly sugar syrup, and cakes that get both end up sunken and gummy in the middle.
- Sour cherries, sold as Morello or tart cherries, taste far more intensely of cherry in baking than sweet ones do, which is why almost every classic cherry dessert uses them. If a recipe tastes weakly of cherry, the variety is usually the reason rather than the quantity.