Sift flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into a large bowl; set aside.

Put ¾ cup sugar and the almond paste into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on medium-low speed until mixture resembles coarse meal, about 2 minutes. Raise speed to medium-high.

Add butter; mix until pale and fluffy, about 2 minutes.

Mix in egg yolks and vanilla. Add flour mixture in 2 batches, alternating with the milk. Transfer to a large bowl; set aside.

Put egg whites into the clean bowl of an electric mixer fitted with whisk attachment; beat on medium-high speed until foamy.

Gradually add remaining ¼ cup sugar, beating until soft peaks form.

Fold one-third of egg-white mixture into batter with a rubber spatula. Gently fold in remaining egg-white mixture.

Fill the cake wells ⅔ full (I used a standard cupcake scoop). Bake for 15-20 minutes. Cakes should be a light golden brown and should spring back when tapped lightly or a cake tester should come out clean when inserted. Remove cupcakes from pan and place on a cooling rack. Put 6 cupcake liners in your pan

Wipe the bowl of an electric mixer, whisk attachment, small bowl, and whisk with paper towel and lemon juice (or vinegar), to remove any trace of grease.

In a clean pot, combine the egg whites and honey over medium heat, whisking constantly but gently, until temperature reaches 140 degrees F.

Take off of stove, and pour the mixture into your clean bowl for your electric mixer. With the whisk attachment, begin to whip until the mixture is thick, glossy, and neutral (you can feel outside of the bowl to test temperature).

Switch over to paddle attachment and, while mixing on low speed continuously, add butter one cube at a time until incorporated, and mix until it has reached a silky smooth texture (if curdles, keep mixing and it will come back to smooth – it just means that your butter was probably a little too cold). Add vanilla, honey and salt, mix well. If you want to color your frosting, now would be the time to do it and gel or paste colors work best. I used Wilton orange gel color.

If your frosting is too runny, your butter was probably too soft. Pop the bowl from the mixer into the fridge for 15-so minutes to allow the butter to firm up.

Remove some cake from the center of the cupcakes using a cupcake corer or a paring knife, making sure to leave a half inch of cake at the bottom so your jam doesn’t leak out.

In a pastry bag fit with a large, plain tip, place the apricot preserves. Pipe some filling in each cake to fill the empty centers.

In another pastry bag, fit with your favorite tip, add the buttercream and make sure to remove any air bubbles. Pipe a swirl of frosting on each cupcake. The recipe is enough to do a rose-type swirl on each cake.