GF Black Forest Cupcakes

Happy Birthday to my loving husband Justin or better known as the Bear! I am so lucky to have such a handsome guy who lets me publicly call him the Bear. To celebrate his 34th birthday, he will be getting two desserts. Yes two because it is not very often I get around to making desert.

The first of the birthday fanfare, gluten free Black Forest Cupcakes! Before my grandpa Calderwood passed away, he told me that if I wanted to have a happy husband I needed to make his Doboschtorte and Black Forest Cake. I've made the Doboschtorte about two years ago and it was a) very labor intensive, b) not gluten free, and c) not healthy in the slightest. It had a total of 2 1/2 pounds of butter! Yikes! When deciding on making the Black Forest Cake, I again went to my grandfather's gourmet club recipes. The statistics were not looking good. So, I revamped the recipe by omitting some of the sugar and added portion control through the use of cupcakes. The results were fabulous! And, my grandpa was right. The Bear is very happy indeed.

Gluten Free Black Forest Cupcakes
Makes 6 large cupcakes

For the cupcakes:
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup gluten-free flour blend (I use Cup 4 Cup)
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup canola oil
2 large eggs
1/4 cup water

For the topping:
1 cup frozen sweet cherries
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon kirsch (cherry liquor)
1 tablespoon water
1/8 teaspoon almond extract
Whipped cream in a spray can for decorating

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Spray your muffin tin with non-stick cooking spray or line with cupcake liners and set aside. In a large bowl, mix together the sugar, gluten-free flour, cocoa powder, baking powder,  baking soda, and salt until combine. Set aside. In a medium size bowl, whisk together the canola oil, eggs, and water. Pour into the large bowl with your dry ingredients. Mix until just combine. If there are any small lumps, these will cook out. Pour muffin tins with the batter 3/4 of the way full. Place in the oven and bake for 20-30 minutes or until a toothpick stuck in the center of one of the cupcakes comes out clean. Remove from oven and cool completely.

Meanwhile, while the cupcakes are cooling. Place the cherries, sugar, kirsch, and water into a small pot. Stir to combine. Raise the heat to medium-low. Simmer, stirring occasionally until a syrup forms for about 15 minutes. You will know the syrup is ready when it coats the back of the spoon. Stir in the almond extract. Remove from the heat and let cool completely.

To assemble the cupcakes, cut a 1/2 inch hole into each cupcake. You can sample the plugs or save for another use. Fill each hole with the cherry filling. Top the outer edges with the whipped cream before serving.