Cherry Cake

I recently ran across this amazing looking cake over at Taste and Tell. My sister's birthday was coming up and I thought it was the perfect opportunity to try out this recipe. I used the basic recipe but changed it up a bit, and it turned out delicious! I had a lot of fun decorating this cake and even decided to attempt some chocolate garnish.

Ingredients:

For the Cake
• 2 1/4 cups cake flour
• 1 Tablespoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/4 cups milk
• 4 large egg whites
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 8 Tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 teaspoon raspberry extract
• 2 Tablespoons marachino cherry juice 
• 1 10-ounce jar marachino cherries, chopped

Frosting 
• 4 egg whites, at room temperature
• 1 cup sugar
• 2/3 cup corn syrup
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon raspberry extract

Instructions:

For the cake:
• Preheat the oven to 350F. Spray 2 9-inch round cake pans with cooking spray. Set aside.
• Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt. In another bowl, whisk together the milk and egg whites.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the sugar and butter until very light and fluffy, at least 3 minutes. Beat in the raspberry extract and cherry juice. Add one third of the flour mixture, beating on medium speed. Beat in half of the egg-milk mixture, then half of the remaining dry ingredients. Beat until incorporated. Beat in the rest of the milk mixture, then add the remaining flour mixture. Beat the mixture for 2 minutes to make sure everything is incorporated and aerated. Fold in the cherries, then divide the mixture between the two pans.
• Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Transfer to a cooling rack and let cool for 5 minutes, then run a knife around the edge of the pan and release the cakes from the pans. Cool completely on the cooling racks.

Frosting:
• In a stand mixer, beat the egg whites, raspberry extract, and vanilla until they form stiff peaks.
• Meanwhile, heat the sugar and corn syrup over medium heat. Heat until it comes to a full boil, then remove from the heat.
• Once the egg whites are stiff, slowly pour in the hot sugar mixture. Do not scrape the sides of the bowl, or you will have sugar crystals in the frosting. Beat the frosting until it forms a shiny, fluffy marshmallow frosting, 5-7 minutes.