Chocolate cupcakes:

• Pre-heat oven to 350F (conventional; no fan) and line a cupcake pan with 12 cupcake liners
• Sift the flour and cocoa powder into a large bowl. Add the sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Whisk to combine and remove any lumps
• Add the egg, vegetable oil and buttermilk. Separately, mix the instant coffee with the boiling water, and pour into the bowl. Gently whisk all the ingredients together until they are just combined; do not overmix
• Divide the batter evenly between the 12 cupcake liners
• Bake for ~15-17 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the middle of a cupcake comes out with light crumbs on it. Take care not to overbake
• Let the cupcakes fully cool down

Cherry compote:

• Strain a jar of cherries, reserving the juice. Set aside 12 cherries for decoration. Remove the stems from the rest and roughly chop them
• Add the chopped cherries, 1/4 cup syrup and sugar to a saucepan. Cook and stir on medium-low heat for 2-3 minutes until the mixture starts to simmer
• Add the cornstarch and stir and cook on low heat for another 1-2 minutes until the syrup has thickened slightly
• Remove from the heat and let the mixture cool down

Whipped cream:

• Use an electric hand mixer or stand mixer to whisk the heavy cream with sugar and vanilla until it reaches stiff peaks. Do not overmix
• Transfer to a piping bag fit with a large round piping tip

Assembly:

• Once everything has cooled down, it is time to assemble
• Use the back of a piping tip (~1/2 to 3/4" wide) to remove the middles from the cupcakes
• Fill with the cherry compote generously
• Pipe on the whipped cream in swirls
• Decorate with the whole cherries set aside at the beginning
• Serve & enjoy!

Video Tutorial: