Vampire Cupcakes

Its almost time for Halloween! I know a lot of people just don't care for Halloween but I absolutely love it! I love dressing up like somebody else for a day and eating tons of candy and really, its also an excellent excuse to party :)



I actually made these cupcakes for one of my best friend's birthday because she is a diehard Twilight fan so I figured she would love little vampire-bitten cupcakes but I really think these would be perfect for Halloween too. Not to mention, they were incredibly yummy! The inside is filled with a cherry pie filling and then you just use a toothpick dipped in the leftover cherry filling to poke holes in the frosted cupcakes to resemble bite marks and make a little more dribble down to resemble blood. I hope you enjoy!

Vampire 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 14 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 cream 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: Recipe and method from Annie's Eats, originally adapted from Baking Bites