Chelsea's Chocolate Cherry Cupcakes

Chelsea again, and as I said earlier- I love baking! One of my very favorite things to bake are cupcakes, so it's only fitting that our first recipe on here would be cupcakes!!

A few tips before we get started:

• Yes, this is a doctored cake mix but of the several homemade cake recipes I have tried this one takes the cake!! Literally! Just try it, you won't be disappointed!
• This cake is far too delicious to use store bought canned frosting. I will include a homemade buttercream I LOVE, but if you want to save a bit of time, go to the bakery section in your local grocery store and ask to buy 1.5 lbs of frosting OR use your favorite vanilla frosting and adjust it accordingly. 
• The last tip is to use a muffin pan, not to be confused with a cupcake pan. Muffins are bigger, and in my humble opinion, are more enjoyable AND moist!

Let's get started!

Chocolate Cupcakes:
1 box Duncan Hines Devils Food Cake Mix
1 large box of Instant Chocolate Pudding
1 c. Sour Cream
1 c. Oil
1/2 c. water
4 Eggs
1 c. Semi Sweet Chocolate Chips {optional}

In a large bowl, whisk together the cake and pudding mixes. Then stir in the other ingredients until well incorporated. Fill the muffin pan with liners and half full of batter. Bake at 350 for 25 mins and be sure to test that they are baked to perfection with a toothpick!

Cherry Frosting:
1/2 c. Crisco
5 c. Powdered Sugar
1 jar of a Maraschino Cherries (RESERVE that JUICE!)
Heavy Cream
Almond extract {optional}

In a heavy duty mixer, beat the Crisco for 5 minutes. Don't forget to scrape down the sides every few minutes. Add in the powdered sugar and about half the maraschino cherry juice. If the taste isn't strong enough to your liking, add in about 1/2 a tsp. almond extract. Now you will slowly add heavy cream to get the fluffy texture. Start off with about 2 tbs., whip for a few minutes, and continually add a little more until it's your desired consistency.
If you are using bakery bought frosting or a favorite vanilla frosting, just add s little maraschino cherry juice and/ or some almond extract.

Chocolate Ganache:
1/2 c. Semi Sweet Chocalate Chips
1/4 c. Heavy Cream

Stir both ingredients together in a microwave safe bowl. Microwave for 1 minute and stir. If it's still lumpy, microwave for another 30 minutes and stir again.


I really hope yall enjoy this super sweet recipe!
~Chelsea!