Gluten Free Chocolate Cherry Cupcakes

Ingredients

• Cupcake
• 4 oz. GF flour (2 oz. superfine brown rice flour, 1 oz. tapioca starch/flour, 1 oz. superfine white rice flour) (about 1 scant cup)
• 6 oz. sugar (a generous 3/4 cup)
• 2 oz. unsweetened ScharffenBerger cocoa (or any good quality) (1/2 cup)
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon instant espresso powder
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 4 oz. very hot water (1/2 cup)
• 4.5 oz. unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly (9 tablespoons)
• 3 whole large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 3.5 oz. mini chocolate chips (heaping 1/2 cup)
• Cherry Buttercream
• 4 oz. unsalted butter, room temperature (1 stick)
• 16 oz. powdered sugar, sifted (plus about 2 oz. more if needed) (about 4 generous cups)
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 2-4 tablespoons maraschino cherry liqueur or juice (from the cherry jar)
• Topping
• 12-14 extra-large maraschino cherries with stems, drained and dried on a paper towel.

Instructions

Cupcake

1. Preheat oven to 350 and place liners in a muffin pan (12-14). Set aside.
2. Weigh flours together, add sugar, cocoa and baking powder, salt and baking soda. Whisk. Add the hot water and stir. In a small glass container combine melted butter with the eggs and flavoring. Add to the flour/sugar/cocoa/hot water mixture and beat until the batter is smooth. Fold in the mini chocolate chips. Scoop into the prepared cupcake tin liners – about 2/3 full. Bake at 350 for about 18-20 minutes or just until a toothpick comes out with just a few crumbs. Cool for a minute in the pan. Remove the cupcakes from the tin to a rack to cool completely before frosting.

Buttercream

1. Whip butter in a stand mixer using a whip attachment until slightly fluffy. Sift the powdered sugar (yep, twice sifted) and mix on low until it’s mostly mixed in. Add in the vanilla flavoring and start to whip on medium high to high. As it needs it, add the cherry juice/liqueur one tablespoon at a time and keep whipping for about 4 minutes total. You want the buttercream to be rather thick but smooth enough to pipe. Add more liquid if necessary and whip some more. You also want it to be a pale pink color. So add more liquid if needed and use that extra powdered sugar to thicken the mixture if necessary. Pipe or spoon onto cooled cupcakes and top with cherry.

Source: http://glutenfreecanteen.com/2012/04/25/chocolate-cherry-cupcakes-gluten-free/#more-7314