Twilight Cupcakes

As you have probably heard (unless you have been living in a cave somewhere), the Twilight Saga continues to dazzle the world with the new movie “Eclipse” coming out in theaters in the United States this week. I must admit I was very skeptical to read the series because, well, it’s just a vampire book for crying out loud! But you know what? From high recommendations from the girls I work with, I picked up the first book and started reading. Yes, the book does have vampires in it, and yes, it is a love story, but it captivated me and made me a fan. J I started my Twilight journey by reading all four books first, then I just finished watching the first two movies this last week, making me ready to watch Eclipse in the theaters with the whole staff (a nice girl’s night out).

To commemorate the release of this new movie, I made these cupcakes that I found from Annie's Eats and Baking Bites. The cupcake is a white cake (like vampires) with a red cherry pie filling (simulating blood), and to seal the deal we add a pair of bite marks with more pie filling oozing out. Cute and gory huh? Hope you enjoy the cupcakes and the movie!

Twilight Cupcakes
Yield: 18 cupcakes
Ingredients:
For the cake:
2 cups cake flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/3 cups sugar
1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 large egg whites
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup buttermilk

For the filling:
1 can cherry pie filling

For the frosting:
7 oz. pure white chocolate, coarsely chopped
6 oz. cream cheese, at room temperature, cut into tablespoon-sized pieces
6 tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature, cut into tablespoon-sized pieces

Directions:
To make the cupcakes, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.  Line 18 cups of muffin tins with paper liners.

In a small bowl, combine the cake flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.  Stir together with a fork.  Set aside.  In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the sugar and butter and beat on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.  Mix in the egg whites one at a time, scraping down the bowl between additions.  Stir in the vanilla extract.  Add in the dry ingredients in three additions alternately with the buttermilk, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients.  Stir just until combined, being careful not to overmix.

Divide the batter evenly between the prepared muffin cups.  Bake for 16-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Allow to cool in the pans for 5 minutes.  Transfer to a wire rack and allow to cool completely.

To prepare the filling, puree the can of cherry pie filling using an immersion blender, blender, or food processor.

Once the cupcakes are completely cooled, cut a cone out of the center of each using a small paring knife.  Cut off the point side of each cone, leaving a thin disc of cake to replace over the filling.  Spoon just enough of the cherry filling into the hole to fill it, and cover by replacing the disc of cake on top.  Repeat with remaining cupcakes.

To prepare the frosting, in a double boiler, melt the white chocolate, stirring constantly, until smooth and creamy.  Let stand until just warm to the touch.  In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese and butter on medium-high speed until smooth and blended.  Add the melted chocolate and beat again until smooth.

Frost the cupcakes immediately.  Using a bamboo skewer dipped in the left over cherry filling, poke two holes into the top of each cupcake to resemble bite marks.  Trace a line of cherry filling from each hole to the edge of the cupcake to resemble dripping blood.  Repeat with remaining cupcakes.

If stored in the refrigerator, allow to come to room temperature before serving.

Source: cake adapted from (and inspiration from) Baking Bites and Annie’s Eats, frosting adapted from Williams Sonoma