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* If you want to frost all 24 cupcakes with as much frosting as I've pictured (which is probably too much, but it's pretty) you'll want to double the frosting recipe. If you want a less sweet frosting, try folding in 1/2-1 cup of whipped cream to break up the sweetness.
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Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line muffin tins with 24 cupcake liners.
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In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt.
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In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream together sugar and butter until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. Add eggs and egg whites one at a time, beating on low between each addition. Add vanilla. Add flour mixture slowly in 3 additions, alternating with the buttermilk, starting and ending with flour.
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Fill cupcake liners about 2/3 full and place 5-10 red hots in each cupcake, using a clean finger to push them halfway down into the batter.
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Bake 15-17 minutes, or until a cake tester comes out clean. Allow to cool in pan for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
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For the red hot syrup, bring water to a simmer in a small saucepan. Add red hots and stir occasionally until completely melted. A gummy clump of red hots will form, but keep stirring and eventually it will break up and melt. Allow syrup to reduce for 15-30 minutes.
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For the frosting, beat butter in an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add powdered sugar 1/2 cup at a time, until completely mixed. Add 4 Tablespoons of the red hot syrup and beat until well combined. Mix in crushed red hots (I used a food processor to crush them).
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Poke holes in the tops of the cupcakes and brush some of the red hot syrup on each before frosting. Then load frosting into a piping bag fit with a large tip and decorate as desired.
