I've been bitten! Vampire Cupcakes

I LOVE HALLOWEEN! decorating the house, dressing up ... here was me as mary katherine gallagher from SNL's Superstar circa 2005... that was the best (may be duplicating it this year.. still not sure..)

anyways... what else i love about halloween?? Well the adorable treats and food you can make! thats what! like vampire bitten cupcakes!-also perfect for your trueblood parties- (dont you dare even mention a twilight party.. that movie is awful...)

isnt this just adorable?!?!

* i have to add- these are the actual cupcakes i made this afternoon! i loved em so much- we had a little photo sesh right there in the kitchen!

heres the recipe- as well as a few tricks to making em just perfect! (i'll alway include any lesson i lean "the hard way" on here.. so YOU dont have to!!)

Vampire Cupcakes:

(preface: remember- no one will know if youre short on time and box mix this shit.... ive done it... everyone does it... never feel like less of a domestic diva. most people go to drive-thru's while you have the oven preheating!)

2 cups cake flour
1 1/3 cups sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
2 large egg whites
1 cup buttermilk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp almond extract

Preheat oven to 350F. Line muffin tins (you will need 18 cups total) with paper liners and set aside.
Sift together cake flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt into the bowl of an electric mixer. Add sugar and blend, using the paddle attachment (You can use a hand mixer, too).
Cut butter into 4 or 5 chunks and drop into the bowl with the flour mixture.

Blend on low speed until mixture looks sandy and no large chunks of butter remain, 1-2 minutes.
In a large measuring cup, combine eggs, buttermilk, vanilla and almond extracts.

Beat lightly with a fork until combined.

With the mixer on low, pour 1 cup of the buttermilk mixture into the bowl.

Turn speed up to medium and beat for 1 1/2 minutes.

Reduce speed back to low and pour in the rest of the buttermilk mixture.

Continue to beat at low speed for an additional 30 seconds, until liquid is fully incorporated.
Divide evenly into prepared muffin tins, filling 18 cups as equally as possible.
Bake for 16-20 minutes, until cupcakes are light golden and a toothpick inserted into their centers comes out clean. The cake should spring back when lightly pressed.

Turn cupcakes out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
Makes 18 cupcakes.

Filling
1 can cherry pie filling

Puree cherry pie filling - (or dont... ive done both.. both taste the same.. look just as good...)
Take a cooled cupcake and, using a small pairing knife, cut a cone of cake (1-inch across by 1-inch deep) out of the top.

Trim off the pointy end of the cone, leaving a flat circle of cake. Set aside and repeat this process for all the cupcakes.
Take the cherry filling and spoon about tablespoon or so into each cupcake cavity,** filling it almost to the top with filling. Top off with the flat circle of cake you just removed to seal the hole and hold the “blood” filling in place.
**learned it the hard way lesson**remember not to fill too high! the top takes up room... (yay for fluid mechanics and the laws of displacement!) If the filling is coming out of the top, it will turn your frosting pink and get all kinds of in the way when the time comes to frost these bad boys.

Cream Cheese Frosting

(I like cream cheese with this-gives it a cherry cheesecake taste when its done! but any white frosting will do!)

1/2 cup of butter (1 stick), room temperature

8 oz of cream cheese (1 package), room temperature

2 1/2 cups of powdered sugar

1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

With an electric mixer, mix the butter and cream cheese together, about 3 minutes on medium speed until very smooth. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl to ensure even mixing. Add the vanilla extract and mix. Slowly add the powdered sugar. Keep adding until you get to desired sweetness.

Assembly

Using a butter knife or a small offset spatula, frost each cupcake with a layer of the cooled marshmallow frosting by placing a dollop of icing in the center of the cupcake** (on top of the cut out circle of cake) and spreading from the center to the sides of the cupcake.

**Learned it the hard way lesson** This is the trick!! dont start with the sides... do big glop on top!

Dip a wooden toothpick or skewer into some leftover cherry pie filling and poke two fang-holes, about 3/4 inch apart, in the frosting on one side of the cupcake. Dribble a little extra filling from the holes for effect.
Repeat until all cupcakes are frosted and decorated.

Fang-you very much ! muaahahahaha

Enjoy and Happy (almost) Halloween!!!