Cherry Cordial Cupcake

Happy greetings everyone! Hope all the tryptophan-induced comas are gone and everyone is working towards the next holiday :) 
Here is one of my latest cupcake adventures. One of the doctors I work with happens to L-O-V-E cherry cordial candies! That nice combination of chocolate and cherries is just to die for... So, I thought I could try my hand at replicating this little piece of heaven in cupcake form. The result? Something A-mazing! Well, and by replicating, I mean sticking a frozen cherry cordial into a nice and moist cupcake prior to baking, and voila! The resulting cupcake came out wonderfully: moist chocolaty cupcake that had an added moistness bonus from the cordial itself. I only froze my candies for about 10 minutes, but I think next time I will try to freeze them for longer (maybe 30 minutes or so?) and hope the candy stays whole during the baking process. If it seems that the cherry cordial chocolate shell did melt during baking, then let the cupcake cool completely before eating, so that the chocolate has a little bit of time to harden again.
So onto the recipe: the chocolate cupcake batter is the same from my  chocolate mint cupcake, just without the mint chips. The frosting is an invention of mine that turned out pretty good! Hope you enjoy these yummies!


Cherry Cordial Cupcakes - serves 20-22 cupcakes


Ingredients:
1 3/4 cups AP flour
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 sticks (12 Tbsp) unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup lightly packed brown sugar
2 large eggs
2 oz unsweetened chocolate, melted
1 cup buttermilk
1 tsp vanilla extract
20-22 Cherry cordial candies, frozen


Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 350F. Line the muffin cups with paper lines.
2. Whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl. in another medium bowl, with an electric mixer on high, beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
3. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the melted chocolate. Beat in the vanilla. Reduce the speed to low and add the flour mixture alternately with the buttermilk in batches, beginning and ending with the flour mixture and beating just until blended. 
4. Fill the paper liners 1/2 full. Place one cherry cordial candy into each filled liner until the candy is completely submerged. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean 15-20 minutes. Remove the cupcakes from the baking pan, place on a wire rack, and allow to cool completely.


Cherry Buttercream Frosting


Ingredients:
2 sticks (16 Tbsp) butter, softened
1 tsp vanilla extract
10-15 Maraschino cherries, finely chopped
2 Tbsp liquid from Maraschino cherries
1 Tbsp heavy cream
3.5-4 cups powdered sugar


Directions:
With an electric mixer with the whisk attachment, beat the butter until soft and smooth, about 3 minutes. Add vanilla extract, liquid from cherries, and heavy cream into butter and beat until well blended. Start to add powdered sugar and mix after everyone cup or so of measurement. If the buttercream has too much of a stiff consistency, add a little more heavy cream, and if it is too runny, add more powdered sugar.

Originally adapted from: Hello, Cupcake!: Irresistibly Playful Creations Anyone Can Make