Hidden Hearts Cherry-Almond Cupcakes
Serves: 24
 
Ingredients
  • 3⁄4 cup granulated sugar
  • 1⁄2 cup canola oil
  • 1 large egg, room temperature
  • 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons cake flour
  • 3⁄4 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1⁄4 teaspoon fine sea salt
  • 1⁄3 cup whole buttermilk, room temperature
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla bean paste
  • Cherry-Almond Cake Hearts (recipe follows)
  • Cherry-Almond Buttercream (recipe follows)
  • Garnish: nonpareils*
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 350°. Line a 24-well miniature muffin pan with miniature cupcake paper liners.
  2. In a medium bowl, beat together sugar and oil with a mixer at medium speed until combined. Beat in egg.
  3. In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. Gradually add flour mixture to oil mixture alternately with milk, beginning and ending with flour mixture, beating after each addition just until combined. Beat in vanilla bean paste.
  4. Using a levered 1-tablespoon scoop, drop batter into wells of prepared muffin pan. Insert a Cherry-Almond Cake Heart, point down, into batter in each cupcake well and top each heart with approximately 1 teaspoon batter.
  5. Bake until cupcake edges are golden brown and a wooden pick inserted near centers comes out clean, approximately 15 minutes. Let cool in pans for 10 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely.
  6. Place Cherry-Almond Buttercream in a piping bag fitted with a large open-star tip (Ateco #829). With piping tip perpendicular to tops of cupcakes, pipe buttercream onto each cupcake.
  7. Garnish with nonpareils, if desired. Serve immediately, or place in an air-tight container and serve within a day.
Notes
*We used Wilton Valentine’s Day Nonpareils Sprinkles.
Recipe by TeaTime Magazine at https://teatimemagazine.com/hidden-hearts-cherry-almond-cupcakes/