the perfect day for a little black magic...

Alas, this morning's snow has turned into this afternoon's rain and everything is quite grey and mushy. Nevertheless, there is a tree in the dining room (giving the whole house a lovely pine-scent), gifts to be ordered and cupcakes in the oven. Because, really, what is there to do in this type of weather except bake?

Lest you think I am about to consume 24 cupcakes all by my lonesome, I will tell you that these beauties are actually for a birthday celebration at work tomorrow. I thought of trying a number of different new and exciting recipes, but trying new recipes when you actually need a cake to be in a certain place by a certain time and to be, you know, edible and in one piece is kind of like tempting fate. If you're me anyway. So in the end I went with this old and reliable favorite. It's the recipe my mom always uses for any special occasion and it has a tendency to elicit wild reactions from people. It's that good. It's that moist. It's that caffeinated.

Black Magic Cake

1 3/4 cups all purpose flour

2 cups sugar

3/4 cup baking cocoa

2 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. salt

2 eggs

1 cup strong black coffee or 2 tsp. instant in i cup boiling water

1 cup buttermilk

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1 tsp. vanilla

Combine flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, cocoa and salt in a large bowl. Add eggs, coffee, buttermilk, oil and vanilla. Beat at medium speed for 2 minutes. Pour into two greased and floured 9 inch pans. Bake at 350 for 30 to 35 minutes. If making cupcakes bake for 20 minutes. Cool completely on racks and then frost. I think cream cheese frosting goes great with this cake so here's the one I use.

Cream Cheese Frosting

1/2 cup butter

1 package cream cheese

1 tsp milk

1 lb box confectioners sugar

Cream butter and cream cheese together. Add milk and sugar and mix until smooth.

I topped the cupcakes with some shredded coconut for a little something extra.