Preheat oven to 350°F / 180°C and prepare line a muffin pan with cupcake cases
Sift all the dry ingredients for the cake into a large bowl and stir together
1 ½ cups All-purpose Flour, ⅔ cup Cocoa Powder, 1 ½ cups Sugar, 1 ½ teaspoon Baking Powder, ½ teaspoon Salt
Add the eggs, oil, milk and vanilla and mix everything together until it is combined and there are no lumps
2 Eggs, ½ cup Vegetable Oil, ¾ cup Milk, 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
Add the hot water and continue to mix until totally incorporated
⅓ cup Hot Water
Pour batter into cupcake cases, the cases should be about ¾ full
Bake for 22 mins or until a skewer comes out clean
Make the Cherry Soak and Filling
Pour the can of cherries and all the liquid into a saucepan and heat over medium heat
1 15oz can Sweet Pitted Dark Cherries
Bring to a boil and let it bubble for about 3 minutes, then add the cherry brandy and amaretto (or alcohol substitutes - see blog post)
½ cup Cherry Brandy, ¾ cup Amaretto
Let bubble for another minute, then siphon off most of the liquid into another container, leaving cherries and a little liquid in the saucepan (about ¼ cup)
Taste test the liquid you took out of the pan and add more alcohol if desired, leave to cool
Add sugar to the cherries and stir, continue to boil until the liquid is reduced to a thicker, more syrupy texture
3 tablespoon White Sugar
Remove from the heat and allow to cool completely. It's even better if you can leave them overnight to soak up the flavour
Make the Whipped Cream
Whip cream with stand mixer or electric whisk until it begins to stiffen
3 cups Whipping Cream
Add icing sugar and vanilla and continue to whip until stiff peaks form
½ cup Icing Sugar, 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
Assemble and Decorate
Core out the middle of the cupcakes using either a cupcake corer or a spoon
Soak the cupcakes with the cherry soak. You can either spoon it, pour it or brush it on
Let the liquid soak in for a minute, then soak them all again - you want to be generous with the flavour here!
Take the cherries in syrup and put one or two into the core of each cupcake with a little syrup
Top cupcakes with whipped cream - you can use a piping bag as I did or you can just spoon it on for a more rustic look
Top with some chocoalte shavings and a fresh cherry (remember to remove the stone from the cherries!)