Chocolate Cherry Cupcakes

Ingredients

• 3 cups cake flour plus 2 Tablespoons for dusting cherries
• 1 Tablespoon Baking Powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 6 egg whites
• 2/3 cup cherry juice from a 10 ounce bottle of maraschino cherries
• 3/4 cup milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 2 sticks unsalted butter, slightly softened
• Maraschino Cherries from 10 oz jar chopped and dusted with 2 Tablespoons flour.
• 1/2 cup Mini Chocolate Chips
• 2 sticks unsalted butter- Softened slightly
• 2 (8oz) packages cream cheese
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 6 to 6 1/2 cups powdered sugar

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees, grease and flour 3 (8 inch) round pans or place cupcake liners in cupcake pan.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder and salt for at least 30 seconds
3. In another bowl, add the egg whites, cherry juice, milk, vanilla and cherry extract, and vegetable oil. Blend together with a fork
4. In the bowl of your mixer add the butter and beat at medium speed to soften. Add the sugar and continue to beat until lightened in color and fluffy, approximately 3 minutes, longer if using a hand mixer.
5. Add approximately 1/2 of the flour mixture to the bowl, mixing on low speed until just blended. Add half of the wet ingredients and blend. Continue alternating the dry and wet ingredients (ending with dry) until blended. Do not over beat.
6. Reserve approximately 2 Tablespoons chopped cherries. Gently stir the remaining chopped cherries and mini chips into the batter.
7. Once the batter is in the cake pans, sprinkle the reserved cherries over the top of the batter, and using a spoon push them just slightly below the surface of the cake batter. You can also sprinkle a few mini chips over the top as well and lightly press them in. Doing this will help to insure that the cherries and chocolate chips will be more evenly dispersed.
8. Bake for 30 - 35 minutes, when the cake springs back to the touch or a toothpick pulls out clean or with only a few crumbs attached, the cake is done. cut cooking time down by 10 minutes for cupcakes.
9. For Frosting: Cut the butter into slices and add to the bowl of your mixer. Beat on low to medium speed until the butter is softened and smooth.
10. Cut the cold cream cheese into pieces and add to the butter, beating at low to medium speed until incorporated.
11. Add the vanilla and cherry extract. Gradually add the powdered sugar beating on low speed until blended.
12. increase mixing speed and beat until fluffy, approximately 1 minute, don't over beat.
13. Pipe over cupcakes or spread over cake once they have cooled.