black magic cupcakes with caramel drizzle

I am apparently the cupcake queen right now. My friend Sofie was doodling in her notebook during class, and she drew a picture of me holding a plate of cupcakes. This is how my friends imagine me. I like it.

When you bake red velvet cupcakes, you invariably end up with buttermilk that is left over and which can go forgotten in the refrigerator until it goes bad. Not so at the lovenest. I made it my mission to figure out something else I could bake with buttermilk, and as I was having some friends over last week, I settled on more cupcakes, and used the following recipe (sort of)

Black Magic Cake:

INGREDIENTS

• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 cups white sugar
• 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup strong brewed coffee
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour two 9 inch round cake pans or one 9x13 inch pan.
2. In large bowl combine flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Make a well in the center.
3. Add eggs, coffee, buttermilk, oil and vanilla. Beat for 2 minutes on medium speed. Batter will be thin. Pour into prepared pans.
4. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 30 to 40 minutes, or until toothpick inserted into center of cake comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes, then remove from pans and finish cooling on a wire rack. Fill and frost as desired.

I actually don't own a cake pan, or I might have just made a cake, but who doesn't love cupcakes? They turned out really well, they were slightly tangy from the coffee and the buttermilk, and instead of making or buying a frosting for them, I made a caramel drizzle and had fun (and made a mess) pouring it over the cupcakes and allowing it to cool. It was perfect with this cake, and I would be interested in trying it again sometime because it was such a nice alternative to frosting.