Inaugural Cupcakes

This past Saturday was a very momentous day, a day I have been looking forward to since last April.  Last Saturday was the day that I moved into the Cupcake Suite.  I am now living in my adorable suite with my wonderful friends, and I have loved every minute of it.

Our kitchen is small, but overall it is actually quite useable, even for multiple people.  On Monday afternoon we got right to work baking our first batch of inaugural cupcakes for the suite.  Everyone pitched in a little bit, and we made a big batch.  I decided to go with one of my staple cupcake recipes- the black magic cupcake with brown sugar cream cheese frosting.  Enjoy, and welcome to the cupcake suite!

Margaret

Black Magic Chocolate Cupcakes

(Makes 18-24 cupcakes)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

1 3/4 cups flour

1 cup sugar

1 cup brown sugar

3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

pinch of salt

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 eggs

1/2 cup canola oil

1 cup strong coffee

1 cup buttermilk

Stir together flour, sugars, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt with a whisk.

Stir in the vanilla, eggs, oil, coffee, and buttermilk until blended and then beat with an electric mixer on medium for 2 minutes. Batter will be soupy. Pour into cupcake cups.

Bake 20-24 minutes at 350 degrees- or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Creamy Brown Sugar Frosting

Bon Appétit October 1999

Makes about 3 1/2 cups

12 oz cream cheese

3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened

3/4 cup brown sugar

pinch of salt

2 1/4 cups powdered sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Using an electric mixer, beat cream cheese and butter in a large bowl until fluffy. Add brown sugar; beat until well blended. Add powdered sugar 1/2 cup at a time, beating well between each addition. Beat in vanilla. Chill until firm enough to spread, about 30 minutes.