FLOWER CUPCAKES

How cute are these?! Cute chocolate and vanilla flowers...or something like that-only rather than smelling them, I'd much prefer eating them. Anyway, I've been on a mission to find the quintessential most fudgiest, most chocolaty, most sinful, most sink-your-teeth-into-heaven kind of chocolate cake. And folks, I think I just found one and it has been staring me in the face for years. Right there on the back of the Hershey's cocoa can. This cake is just that; fudgy, chocolaty, rich, dark, and sweet. This recipe satisfied 6 regular sized cupcakes and one rather large 8X8 cake which I then cut in half (cross-sectioned) and then created 2 layers from each half resulting in a wondrous very high 4 layer cake. I frosted the cupcakes with chocolate and vanilla buttercream using large open and closed flower tips.

The cupcakes and frosting were a cinch to whip up and I highly recommend you do so! The cake baked very dark and rich and the buttercream was a great compliment. Oh, and did I mention that I filled these bad boys? Yep. Nutella. I filled each cupcake with Nutella to the brim for an extra blast of chocolate-ness. One more thing, this is a one-bowl recipe. I repeat, one bowl recipe! If that doesn't have you rushing into the kitchen as we speak then I don't know what would! Ready. Set. Go.

Deep Dark Chocolate Cake from Hershey's

Ingredients:

• 2 cups sugar
• 1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup HERSHEY'S Cocoa or HERSHEY'S SPECIAL DARK Cocoa
• 1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup milk
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 cup boiling water
• ONE-BOWL BUTTERCREAM FROSTING(recipe follows)

Directions:
1. Heat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour two 9-inch round pans or one 13x9x2-inch baking pan.

2. Stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt in large bowl. Add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla; beat on medium speed of electric mixer 2 minutes. Stir in boiling water (batter will be thin). Pour batter into prepared pans.

3. Bake 30 to 35 minutes for round pans, 35 to 40 minutes for rectangular pan or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks. Cool completely. (Cake may be left in rectangular pan, if desired.) Frost with ONE-BOWL BUTTERCREAM FROSTING. 8 to 10 servings.


ONE-BOWL BUTTERCREAM FROSTING *for the vanilla buttercream I eliminated the cocoa*
6 tablespoons butter or margarine, softened
2-2/3 cups powdered sugar
1/2 cup HERSHEY'S Cocoa or HERSHEY'S SPECIAL DARK Cocoa
1/3 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Beat butter in medium bowl. Add powdered sugar and cocoa alternately with milk, beating to spreading consistency (additional milk may be needed). Stir in vanilla. About 2 cups frosting.