..Chocolate Pomegranate Cupcakes

It was my coworkers birthday today so guess what?  I made cupcakes! (shocking, I know). These don't necessarily look like pomegranate flavored cupcakes, but they are!  I wasn't sure what to top them with (it just seemed like a sad little naked cupcake with out a topper) so I put a dollop of red icing on the top with sprinkles to birthday it up!

For the cake

1 box white cake mix
1 box vanilla pudding mix
1 cup 100% pomegranate juice
3 egg whites
1/2 cup oil

Mix all ingredients together and bake on 350 for 18-22 minutes.  I didn't love the au natural color the cake turned out (the batter starts out this lovely pink color from the juice but it baked up a weird bran muffin looking brown) so you might want to add some food coloring if you're going for a prettier cake.  Let sit for 10 minutes or so to cool then lightly brush on some juice to the tops of the cupcakes with a kitchen brush before you ice them for extra flavor.

For the icing

6 oz milk chocolate chips (half a bag)
1/4 cup 100% pomegranate juice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
6 oz butter
2 1/2 cups powdered sugar

Dump chocolate chips into a bowl then bring butter and juice to a boil in a pot.  When the butter and juice are boiling for about a minute remove from heat and pour over chocolate chips.  Whisk the chocolate and liquid until smooth.  Add vanilla then powdered sugar one cup at a time until you have a nice frosting.  It may need to be thrown in the refrigerator for a few minutes to firm up the chocolate so I would make it prior to baking the cupcakes and let it sit in the bowl while the cupcakes cool. Conversely, if you find your icing is too thick, mix in a tablespoon of milk to soften it.