Angel Food Cupcakes with Raspberry Swirl

I want to start by saying I was so intimidated by this recipe.  The thought of making angel food cake from scratch was scary. 
Here is the recipe I used:

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Filling:
3 cups raspberries (3/4 pound)
1/4 Cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
4 teaspoons cornstarch dissolved in 4 teaspoons of water
Cupcakes:
1 cup cake flour
1/2 cup confectioners sugar
10 large egg whites (1 1/4 cups), at room temperature
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1 plump vanilla bean, split, seeds scraped 
1 teaspoon cream of tartar
3/4 cup granulated sugar
Gaze
1 1/2 cups confectioners sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons butter, melted
1 1/2 tablespoons water

1. In a medium saucepan, combine 2 1/2 cups of the raspberries with the granulated sugar and cook over moderately high heat, crushing the berries, until very soft and broken down, about 5 minutes. Strain the raspberry puree into a small bowl and
discard the seeds. Return the puree to the saucepan. Add the remaining 1/2 cup of raspberries and the dissolved cornstarch and bring to a boil. Cook, gently crushing the berries, until the filling is glossy and thickened, about 3 minutes. Let cool, then refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour.
2. Preheat the oven to 325°. Set 18 foil muffin cups on a rimmed baking sheet. In a small bowl, combine the cake flour with the confectioners' sugar. In a large bowl, combine the egg whites with the salt, vanilla seeds and cream of tartar and beat until soft peaks form. Gradually beat in the granulated sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, until the whites are firm and glossy. Sift the flour mixture over the egg whites in 2 additions, folding gently until incorporated.
3. Spoon the batter into the muffin cups.  Bake for 13 to 15 minutes, shifting the pan from front to back, until the cupcakes are springy and golden.  Transfer the cupcakes to a rack to cool.
4. Using a wooden skewer, poke a 1/4 inch wide hole in the top of each of the cupcakes.  Using a pastry bag fitted with a plain 1/4 inch tip, pipe about 1 tablespoon of the filling into each cupcake.
5. In a small bowl, stir together all of the ingredients.  Spoon a small bit of the glaze over the raspberry hole and let set, about 5 minutes.  Drizzle the remaining glaze over the cupcakes and let set, about 10 minutes.  Transfer the cupcakes to a platter and serve.
From foodandwine.com

So 10 egg whites, that's what was intimidating.  If you have never whipped 10 egg whites you are in for a treat.  I will not lie when I say I used my Kitchen Aid and that baby worked its heart out.  I know that is cheating in a way but if I have it I'm going to use it and you should do the same.

 I will say I got a little ahead of myself a couple of times.  Instead of combining cake flour with confectioners' sugar, I put in granulated sugar.  Luckily I caught my mistake before adding these ingredients (but I did waste some good baking supplies).  Then if that wasn't enough I started adding the flour mixture before putting in the granulated sugar.  There was no going back and fixing that one.  I did catch myself a couple tablespoons in and switched to the correct ingredient, but these are reasons it's so important to take your time and read the recipe in baking. 

Now I did do a couple of things different.  I put my batter into a cupcake pan without papers but I did spray it with cooking spray.  I also didn't use a vanilla bean I substituted with 2 teaspoons of pure vanilla extract.  I also used the other end of a wooden spoon to poke the hole for the filling.  Instead of a pastry bag and tip I cut the end off a ziplock bag and used that.
 So here's why I love angel food cake: it makes me think of eating a cloud because it's so soft and springy.  The raspberry filling in this recipe adds the perfect amount of tartness to balance out the sweet.  My fear was that somehow my cupcakes wouldn't come out like a cloud.  But, alas, they came out great.