Firework Cupcakes

For 4th of July, I made Firework cupcakes (from the Cupcake Heaven cookbook my mom gave me for my birthday).  Because of the boys' nut allergies, I had to get creative, as the cake part used ground almonds as a base.  I pulled a different cupcake for the base, but kept the frosting and they turned out very decadent and delicious - everyone enjoyed them.  Here is what I made:

Cake: (From the White Chocolate Devilish recipe)
2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
3 tsp. baking powder
1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar (I used dark, as that was what I had)
1 cup (2 sticks) sweet butter, softened (I did use unsalted)
2 separated large eggs
3 1/2 oz. semisweet chocolate, melted
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 cup milk

Preheat oven to 350 F (175 C) Place 12 paper baking cups in muffin pan.

Sift flour and baking powder together and set aside.  In medium bowl, cream butter and sugar.
Add egg yolks and beat well.  Add melted chocolate and vanilla, mixing well.
Add flour and milk alternately beating after each addition.
Beat egg whites until soft peaks form, and gently fold into batter.
Bake for 20 minutes, let cool in pan 5 minutes, then cool completely on wire rack.

Frosting:
1/2 cup (3 1/2 oz.) of bittersweet chocolate, chopped
generous 1/2 cup of whipping cream.

Heat whipping cream to almost boiling, then pour over chocolate.  Let sit a couple minutes, then stir until chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth.  Allow to sit till thickened (about a half hour or so).
Spread frosting over cupcakes.  Decorate.  (The recipe recommended multi-colored dragees or silver ones.  I used red, white, and blue decorating sugar for the 4th.)  Stud each cupcake wth sparkler.  (The recipe recommended mini indoor sparklers.  I couldn't find any, so I used the ordinary ones and served the cupcakes outside.  Light and serve!  Lots of fun, but again if you use ordinary sparklers, I wouldn't serve them in the house!