Boltography: We've done it -- cupcakes for the masses!

A desire to create, a need to bake, and a friend's birthday all fell together recently. This is the magnificent result documented in photographs.

In the beginning Carolyn and I knew only this: we wanted cup cakes and our theme must revolve around Birthday-Boy-Jon. How does one theme cakes around Jon you ask? Star Trek and Obscenity & Indecency. But before we started defiling cup cakes we needed to make the chocolaty treats! My mom had the perfect thing for this, her fall back chocolate cake recipe. She promised simplicity, amazing taste, and a dense moist texture. What more could one want?

BLACK MAGIC CAKE

1.75 cups unsifted flour
2 cups sugar
0.75 cup unsweetened cocoa
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
2 eggs
1 cup strong black coffee
1 cup buttermilk (or sour milk)
0.5 cup vegetable oil
1 tsp vanilla

Combine flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder and salt in large mixing bowl. Add eggs, coffee, buttermilk, oil and vanilla; beat two minutes on medium speed.
Bake at 350* for approximately 35 minutes or until cake tester comes out clean.

A very simple recipe indeed! And they look beautiful even without frosting.

The icing was even easier. Just butter and powdered sugar with a splash of milk. It came out light and buttery. In short: amazing.
Add a little food coloring, some piping, creativity and a sick mind and you get the following. . .