Cherry Cherry Boom Boom Cupcakes

Place sugar, corn starch and salt into a medium sized saucepan. Mix until well combined. Add cherries along with cherry juice into the saucepan. Place on medium heat and mix until mixture thickens. Transfer to a bowl, cover with plastic wrap and allow to cool.

Preheat a fan-forced oven to 160C (320F) or 180C (356F) for a conventional oven. Line a cupcake tin with cupcake liners.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add the flour, baking powder, caster sugar and salt. Turn mixer on low speed and allow it to mix for a couple minutes to help everything combine well (alternatively you may do this by sifting the ingredients together). Add the softened butter and let it mix until it resembles a fine sand like texture.

Next, add milk, eggs, yogurt, oil, cherry liquor and vanilla extract in a large jug and whisk well.

Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients in a slow and steady stream until no dry ingredients are visible. Add red food dye. Scrape down the bowl and mix for another 20 seconds.

Fill each cupcake liner 3/4 of the way (using an ice cream scoop to transfer the batter into the cupcake liners makes this a quick and easy process otherwise you can use two tablespoons).

Bake for 20-25 min or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Allow them to cool completely on a wire cooling rack before frosting.

To prepare frosting, add red food gel and cherry liquor. Mix until well combined.

Core the centre of each cupcake and fill with cherry filling. Fit the end of a piping bag with a round tip and frost in a swirl. Finish off with a maraschino cherry