Make the frosting: whisk the butter and icing sugar for several minutes until fluffy. Stop the mixer and scrape the sides of the bowl then whisk a little more.
Add the whipping cream, vanilla extract and cocktail cherry syrup and beat until completely smooth. If the icing is a little stiff you can add more whipping cream.Preheat the oven to 190C (375F) and line a muffin tin with cupcake cases.
Sift the flour, icing sugar, ground almonds and salt into a large bowl.
Stir in the melted butter and then the egg whites – make sure there are no dry pockets in the batter. Add the vanilla paste and the cocktail cherry syrup.
Divide the batter between the cases and bake for 12-15 minutes until the cupcakes are risen and golden. Cool completely before frosting.
Transfer the frosting to a piping bag fitted with a large star tip and frost the cupcakes. Top each with a cocktail cherry and serve.