chocolate cupcake redux.

while cupcakes have become trendy, they have always been a treat enjoyed by the masses since the time of hostess. let's face it cupcakes really do make for the most perfect dessert, individual sized morsels of sweetened cake with a lovely creamy frosting, and best of all they're super cute! check out the cupcakes from our wedding, these made by the the amazing jessica, this ravishing beauty/talent made hundreds of cupcakes that were a delicious delight to our guests!
the dc area is no exception to the cupcake craze, check out cakes and kisses for a full review of cupcakeries in this area. this lady knows her cupcakes!
ok but now to the baking of this cupcake fan. there have been umpteen barbeques of late, and each with a hostess (har) that says "oh you don't need to bring anything!" to which 2 weeks running, my answer has been cupcakes! like most people, i'm a chocolate fan and did a vast internet search for the most perfect and easiest sounding chocolate cupcake. after watching some alton brown, i decided to go for using oil instead of butter in the actual cupcake, which is said to make for a very moist cake and butter in the frosting for a smooth, rich frosting.
so here goes, this recipe adapted from a whole slew of internet searches combined into one yummy recipe.
ingredients:
process:
mix all dry ingredients in bowl and then set aside:
1 3/4 cup flour
2 cups sugar
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
now in a seperate larger bowl, mix together:
2 large eggs
1 cup milk
1/2 cup canola oil
1 1/2 teaspoons almond extract
now slowly add your dry ingredients to your wet ingredients in 3 stages. mix with blender about 2 minutes till combined. batter will look like this:

now boil 1 cup of water and add slowly to the batter, mixing with a spatula. it will take a little bit for the batter to loosen up and incorporate with the water to form a smooth consistency. when you're done mixing in the boiling water, your batter will be very liquid like, like this:
now preheat your oven to 350 and line your cupcake pan with liners. fill with batter approximately 2/3 to the top. you want your cupcakes to have that cute little edge that people love and not be concave like muffins. remember these are cupcakes not muffins!
now bake for 22 minutes, rotating the pan at 11 minutes . check with a toothpick to make sure the cakes are fully cooked. my oven seems to love the 22 minute cupcakes, and i'm not fighting it when my cupcakes come out looking like this:

ahhleluiah, hallelujah!
but we're not done, what is a cupcake without frosting? well its a sad little fellow, and no one wants that. so while the guys cooled off, i made the frosting.
ingredients:

1/2 stick unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 cups confectionary sugar
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
3 tablespoons milk

mix butter till creamy, add in confectionary sugar and cocoa, mix 1 minute. then add almond extract and milk. you may need a little more milk to get the consistency you like.

*also, i love frosting, especially this frosting, but this recipe is half of the original recipe. in my opinion you really don't need 3 inches of frosting on your cupcake. its just sort of mocking the cupcake if you pile it on too much. please respect your cupcake. pass go and collect $200, but respect your cupcake.
ok so frosting should look like this:
now time to frost and decorate, yea! this was for a july fourth bbq, so i went red and blue, but the options....oh yeah .....they are a plenty......
there wasn't more of a 30 second delay till these just had to be sampled with an ice cold glass of milk of course. verdict? yummy! AB is right, the oil makes the cake very soft and and the butter in the frosting just about melts in your mouth. don't worry, i just had one before bringing them to the bbq.
here's the food porn shot: