Made by me for my birthday: Chocolate cupcakes

It’s my birthday today.
   In honor of the occasion, I made myself some awesome chocolate cupcakes on the weekend.
   I didn’t do so because I’m a cupcake fan – it was purely out of necessity (or, more accurately, laziness.)
   The recipe I made is for chocolate cake, but I used the cupcake option because I didn’t have exactly the right size of cake pans and didn’t feel like chasing around looking for them.
   But cake or cupcake, it really did not matter in the end.
   The resulting cupcakes were absolutely terrific – very hard to resist. My husband loved them.
   I’m sure the cake would be equally as successful. I could easily imagine the double-layer cake on a plate, frosted and waiting for a family to enjoy. It would work very well for an occasion such as a birthday.
   The recipe is called One-Bowl Chocolate Cake, and it’s from Martha Stewart Living.
   Because I didn’t have eight-inch cake pans with two-inch high sides (mine are 1.5 inches high), I used the cupcake option, which was listed in the magazine but not on marthastewart.com.
   Two standard muffin pans are used instead, with paper liners in the cups. The cups are filled 2/3 of the way with batter.
   The cupcakes are baked for 20 minutes at 350 F, with the pans being rotated halfway through the cooking time.
   The frosting recipe makes an absolute ton. It’s probably just the right amount for a two-layer cake, but not a batch of cupcakes.
   If you’re making the cupcakes, either halve the frosting recipe, or plan to make another batch of cupcakes later on to use up the rest (that’s what I’m going to do later this week!)
   The cupcake/cake batter is truly “one bowl.” Cocoa powder, flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, salt, eggs, buttermilk, warm water, safflower oil (I used sunflower oil) and vanilla are mixed together, poured in the cupcake or cake pans and baked.
   The frosting is more labor-intensive than the cake.
   Confectioners’ sugar (icing sugar), cocoa powder and salt are mixed together.
   Cream cheese and butter are beaten together, and the cocoa powder mixture added and beaten in. Melted bittersweet chocolate, then crème fraiche or sour cream, are poured in and mixed.
   Frost those cooled cupcakes or cake, and watch “One-Bowl Chocolate Cake” become “Gone in Five Minutes Chocolate Cake or Cupcakes.”

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