Cupcake FAIL

We've all had those moments in the kitchen when things just go terribly wrong. I'll never forget the first time I tried to bake brownies without any adult help. I was probably 8 or 9 and I thought it would be simple. Just follow the directions on the box! Unfortunately I didn't know about oils back then, so I poured half a cup of olive oil into the bowl and baked up some of the most disgusting brownies you could imagine. They looked and smelled like delicious treats, but then we ate them. Revolting.

I've had lots of kitchen mishaps since then, but I am only upset by it on rare occasions. Those occasions are the ones when I have what I think is a fabulous idea, but it turns out to be, well, half baked.

Such was the case with my bloody Twilight Chocolate Cherry Chip Cupcakes. Since we've all read Stephanie Meyers' book (really, you don't want to get me started on that series!) and hadn't seen the movie, the girlfriends and I decided to have a little viewing party. Bloody Blackberry Pomegranate Martinis and my cupcakes, what could be better? My fabulous idea was to bake chocolate chip cupcakes with a cherry cordial in the center, so that when you bite into it, it will bleed. Genius right? I should have thought through the logistics a bit more. After baking, the chocolate inside melted completely, and the cordial soaked into the cake, leaving a sticky, gooey mess stuck to the cupcake wrappers, the sad little cherry sitting alone right in the middle. Grr.

I shouldn't have worried about it really, since they tasted lovely and we were too distracted by Robert Pattinson to really care about the cupcakes, anyway. He's almost gorgeous enough to make me think reading all four of those books was worth it. Almost. Anywho, I'm looking for suggestions for the next time I bake these cupcakes. I thought of putting a chocolate wafer cookie in the bottom before pouring in the batter, but the cordial will still melt. What I need is to put a filling into the cakes after baking them, but it will need to be liquid in order for it to really spill out. That liquid will have to be encapsulated in something to prevent it from soaking into the cake, but I'm at a loss. Ideas, anyone?