POM Velvet Cupcakes

I Heart Cuppycakes

Jill, this one's for you!

Thanks to I Heart Cuppycakes, I found out that November is National Pomegranate Month. To celebrate, why not make some POM Velvet Cupcakes with POM Cream Cheese Frosting?

I Heart Cuppycakes uses a recipe from the POM Wonderful website. Thankfully, I Heart Cuppycakes converts the recipe from the metric system. See the recipe below.

POM Velvet Cupcakes with
POM Cream Cheese Frosting
From POM Wonderful, coverted by I Heart Cuppycakes

POM Velvet Cupcakes
2-1/2 c. POM Wonderful Pomegranate juice
16 oz. (2 c.) granulated sugar
14 oz. (1-1/2 c. + 4 T.) unsalted butter, room temperature
4 large eggs
1-1/2 c. buttermilk
2 T. white vinegar
2 t. vanilla
15 oz. (3 c. + 5 T.) all-purpose flour
1-1/2 oz. (5 T.) cocoa powder
3/4 oz. (1 T. + 1 t.) baking soda
pinch salt
1/4 c. heavy cream
POM Cream Cheese Frosting
1-1/2 c. POM Wonderful Pomegranate juice
4 oz. (1/2 c.) unsalted butter, room temperature
8 oz. cream cheese, room temperature
14 oz. (3-1/2 c.) powdered sugar

1 c. arils from 1-2 large POM Wonderful Pomegranates, garnish

Instructions for cupcakes:

Preheat oven to 350 F. Line cupcake pan with liners.

In a small saucepan, reduce the pomegranate juice, over medium-low heat, down to 3 oz (about 1/3 cup).

Combine the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt in a bowl and set aside.

In a stand mixer, fitted with a flat beater, cream sugar and soft butter on medium-high speed, until the mixture is pale yellow and fluffy, reduce speed to low and add the eggs in one at a time. In a separate bowl, combine the buttermilk, pomegranate juice reduction, white vinegar and vanilla extract. Add the dry ingredients in 3 additions, alternating with the wet ingredients in 2 additions, ending with the dry ingredients. Finish off with the heavy cream, beat just until combined.

Fill cupcake liners about 1/2 full. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Cool cupcakes completely before frosting.

Instructions for frosting:

Reduce the pomegranate juice, over low heat, down to about 1/2 cup. Let cool.

In a stand mixer, fitted with flat beater, cream butter on medium-high speed for 1 minute, add the cream cheese and continue to mix for 2 more minutes. Reduce speed to low and slowly add in the powdered sugar and the pomegranate juice reduction, mix until the sugar is fully combined.

Using a Wilton 1M star tip (or your favorite star tip) pipe the frosting on each cupcake. Garnish with pomegranate arils.

Don't forget to enter my giveaway for a Cupcake Tower! Only a few days left!