Cherry Almond Cupcakes

Ingredients

• 1 1/4 cups cake flour
• 3/4 tsp baking powder
• 1/8 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 18 maraschino cherries, divided
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 6 Tbsp unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 large egg, at room temperature
• 1 large egg white, at room temperature
• 1/2 tsp almond extract
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/3 cup buttermilk
• 3 Tbsp maraschino cherry juice
• 3/4 cup butter, at room temperature, I used 1/2 cup unsalted 1/4 cup salted
• 2 1/4 cups powdered sugar
• 1 1/2 – 2 1/2 Tbsp maraschino cherry juice
• 1/4 tsp almond extract
• Few drops red food coloring, optional

Directions

1. Heat the oven to 350 degrees. In a mixing bowl, give the cake flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt a good 30 seconds of whisking, then put that bowl aside. Slice 6 maraschino cherries in half and keep them nearby.
2. In the bowl of an electric stand mixer with the paddle attachment, beat the butter with the granulated sugar until the mixture looks light and airy. Add the egg and mix it in, then add the egg white, almond extract and vanilla extract, blending until everything is smooth.
3. In the liquid measuring cup you used for the buttermilk, stir together the buttermilk and maraschino cherry juice. Turn the mixer to low and add the dry mixture in 3 separate additions, starting and finishing with the flour mixture: mix in 1/3 of the flour mixture, then 1/2 of the buttermilk mixture, mixing only until combined after each addition.
4. Spoon the batter into 12 paper-lined muffin cups, filling each about 1/2 full. Set 1 cherry half in the middle of each cupcake; it will settle toward the bottom as it bakes. Bake at 350 degrees for 17 – 19 minutes, until a toothpick poked into the center of a cupcake comes out clean.
5. Slide a butter knife around the edges to release the cupcakes, unless they haven’t baked out to the edges, and let them sit in the muffin tin for 5 minutes. Move them to a wire rack and let them cool completely, then pipe or spread Cherry Almond Frosting on top. Store them in an airtight container. Add a maraschino cherry to the top of each cupcake just before serving.
6. For the frosting, beat the butter in a mixing bowl fitted with the paddle attachment on medium-high speed until it is very pale and fluffy, about 7 – 8 minutes, stopping now and then to scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl; with a beater blade paddle scraper attachment, this takes about 5 minutes.
7. Add the powdered sugar, 1 1/2 Tbsp maraschino cherry juice and almond extract. Mix on low until incorporated, then add food coloring if you want it and more cherry juice to loosen the frosting as desired, adding 1 tsp at a time. Raise the speed to medium-high and beat until pale and fluffy, about 5 – 6 minutes more, or about 4 minutes with a scraper attachment.