My Perfect Chocolate Cupcake

    Being short in stature and on counter space has one big disadvantage in my house and that involves getting my mixer out. This two ton marvel has to sit on top of my cabinets when not in use and getting it down at my height, requires a level of grace and balance I sorely lack. My routine for getting it down is to stand on a stepping stool using my finger tips to wiggle it close close enough to grasp. It never fails that a good portion of the machine is tilted toward my head before I can get a hold if it firmly with both hands. Which brings me to one of the reasons my Chocolate Cupcake recipe is perfect for me. No mixer needed. Another bonus, no waiting on ingredients to reach room temperature. How great is that?

   Okay, the recipe started out as a Wacky Cake. These Cakes do not have all the normal ingredients you generally think about when making cakes or cupcakes. There isn't any dairy or eggs to worry about. During World War II eggs and milk were scarce so, it is believed that the rationing of these ingredients resulted in Wacky Cake. It is uncertain who or where exactly the cake originated but Beatrice Fe O'Hearn is thought to be the first person to create the recipe. Beatrice passed it down through her family and friends starting in 1930s. Ingredients seem to be pretty standard they include; flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, salt, oil, vinegar and vanilla.

   This recipe does call for olive oil. You can substitute the olive oil with vegetable oil but, I wouldn't. Olive oil accents the chocolate really well and helps to bring a nice rich flavor to the cupcake. I have seen recipes that use strongly brewed coffee but generally, I make mine kind of weak. When I started making these the biggest surprise for me was, how perfectly they domed on top. They have never sunk or fallen when I take them out but, be sure not to over fill your cups. Over filling has caused my cupcakes to rise over the top of my cups and then flatten out. I fill my cups just over half full. The batter will be kind of lumpy/soupy and that is how it is suppose to be.

Chocolate Cupcakes
Makes Approx.: 15
Prep time: 5-10min
Bake time: 18-22min

Ingredients:
1 1/2 Cup All-purpose flour
1/4 Cup Cocoa powder
1 Cup Sugar
1 tsp Baking Soda
1/2 tsp Salt
1 brewed or instant coffee (let cool)
1 tsp Vinegar
2 tsp Vanilla bean paste or extract
6 TBS Extra Virgin olive oil
 Directions:
1) Preheat oven 350 degrees
2) In a mixing bowl sift together Flour, Cocoa Powder, Sugar, Baking Soda, and Salt. You can use a whisk to make sure it is well mixed.
3) In a separate container mix together coffee, Vinegar, Vanilla, and Olive oil
4) Pour your liquids into the dry mix and combine. Do not over stir, the batter will look kinda of watery and lumpy.
5) Pour the batter into cupcake tray. It should fill your cupcake cups just over 1/2 full.
6) Cook 18-22 min. I start checking min at 18 min and then every 2 min after. If you are checking with a toothpick take out of the oven as soon as it comes out clean. Let cool in the tray for a couple of minutes then take out and place on a rack.
When I first started making this recipe I always thought the cupcakes were not done when I was taking them out to cool. They feel really soft and it is okay, they are just a soft fluffy rich cupcake. With Chocolate being the main flavor of these cupcakes I recommend going with a quality cocoa powder you really like.  

Buttercream Frosting

Ingredients
2 Sticks unsalted butter (room temperature)
4 1/2 Cups confectioners sugar
1 tsp
1-2 tbs Heavy whipping cream or Milk

Directions
Even with the butter at room temperature, I cut it into smaller chunks before putting in the mixer. Whip your butter until it becomes fluffy looking.
Add Vanilla
Add sugar slowly in batches. Turn off your mixer as you add or if you have a really slow stirring option that may work. Make sure it is combined before adding more.
When the sugar is mixed in you can add the Cream or Milk if you want to make the frosting softer or you can add a little more sugar if you like it thicker.

Decorations
To get the orange color around the yellow edges I took a chopstick and added some orange coloring gel to it, then drew 3 straight lines from the tip of my bag to the bottom. The color starts to fade after about 4 cupcakes and I repeated the process. The cups used did not give me room to put petals on my sunflowers but they still turned out okay. In the middle is an Oreo Cookie which made quite a few kids and adults happy.For the Oreo just use a little bit of frosting to anchor it in place then icing around it. There are some great videos on you tube if you want to try doing petals.