Black Forest Cupcakes

Preheat the oven to 350F (I use convection cuz my oven runs really hot at the bottom - conventional is also fine) and line 12 muffin tins.
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt until they’re evenly distributed.
120 grams cake flour spooned and leveled, 40 grams black cocoa powder, 1/4 tsp fine sea salt, 1/2 tbsp baking powder
In a separate large bowl, whisk the sugar, oil, eggs and sour cream until they’re well combined and smooth.
175 grams granulated sugar, 80 mL canola oil, 1 large eggs, 75 grams sour cream
Sift the dry ingredients over the wet and whisk them together, just a little - about halfway or so.
Pour in the hot coffee and whisk until the batter is completely smooth and all the dry ingredients are combined.
120 mL hot coffee I use Americano
Scrape the edge of the bowl and give it a good mix. Fill each cupcake tin 50 grams and bake for 18-20 minutes, until the tallest part of the cupcake, in the center, springs back when you press on it. If you’re hesitant, give it another minute or so.
Let the cupcakes rest for 10 minutes in the pan, then remove them and allow them to cool completely before frosting.

Pit the cherries with a cherry pitter and leave them whole (if you don't have one, you can cut them in half and remove the pits).
1/2 lb fresh black cherries pitted and whole (or halved)
Toss the cherries with the sugar, lemon juice and kirsch in a small pot and cook over medium-low heat for about five minutes, until the cherries feel a little softer.
25 grams granulated sugar, 30 mL Kirsch liqueur Kirsch would be traditional - I also used a pomegranate liqueur and bourbon in the past if you have that. , 1/2 small lemon
Add the cornstarch and continue cooking over medium-low heat for another few minutes while stirring continuously.
1/2 tbsp cornstarch
Once the sauce thickens (you'll notice after a couple of minutes), remove from the heat. Stir for another few seconds and pour into a heat safe jar or bowl. Allow to cool completely to room temperature.

In the bowl of a stand mixer (or a large bowl with a hand mixer), beat together the cold mascarpone with the powdered sugar until it’s completely smooth.
113 grams mascarpone cold, 60 grams powdered sugar spooned and leveled
Add the vanilla bean paste and turn the mixer to medium speed.
1/2 Tbsp vanilla bean paste
Stream in the cold heavy whipping cream in 3-4 increments, stopping to scrape the edge of the bowl each time.
180 mL heavy whipping cream cold
Once all the heavy whipping cream is added, it may seem soft so turn the mixer up to full speed and it should thicken and hold peaks within a couple of minutes. Don’t over-beat once you’ve reached this stage.

Frost the cupcakes with the mascarpone cream using a piping bag fit with a large round piping tip. I like to refrigerate it now for a little so the frosting sets a bit and the cherry topping sits nice on top.
Spoon the cherry topping on top of the cupcakes and top with chocolate shavings or chocolate curls.

If you want to make chocolate curls, melt the chocolate in the microwave for 10-20 seconds, stir and repeat until it's completely melted and smooth.
60 grams dark chocolate chips
Spread the melted chocolate on a flat cookie sheet. Use an offset spatula to spread it as thin and and smooth as possible.
Refrigerate the cookie sheet with the chocolate for 5-10 minutes and when it's no longer tacky but before it's completely hard, use an offset spatula with a flat surface (see my video) to scrape the chocolate off the cookie sheet into a curl. It takes a little practice but you could also use a grater and top it with chocolate shavings or leave it without.