Everyone in my family is a huge fan of cupcakes, and really love this version that I’ve been making for as long as I can remember.

Ingredients

  • 2 cups granulated sugar
  • 1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
  • 3/4 cups cocoa powder
  • 1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 cup milk
  • 1/2 cup vegetable oil
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 1 cup boiling water

Directions

 
 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees farenheit. Fill muffin pans with 24 cupcake liners. Add all ingredients, except the boiling water, into a mixing bowl. (I recommend a batter bowl to easily pour the batter into the cupcake liners). Beat with a hand blender, stand mixer, or by hand with a wire whisk, until batter is completely combined and smooth. Add the boiling water, and whisk, just until blended. (Don’t be alarmed – the batter appears watery). Evenly ladle (or pour) the batter into the liners. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until the center of the cupcakes spring back when lightly touched. Cool and frost.

Vanilla Buttercream Frosting

Perfectly sweet, but not overly so, and light and creamy just like you’d want on a cupcake.

1/3 cup butter, just slightly cooler than room temperature
3 1/2 cups powdered sugar 
2-4 tablespoons milk, depending on desired consistency
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
food coloring, if desired

Beat butter in a medium-sized mixing bowl until creamy. Gradually beat in 3 cups of the powdered sugar. Beat in milk and vanilla. Blend in remaining 1/2 cup powdered sugar. If desired, tint with food coloring. (For the perfect pastel colored frosting, only 1 drop of food coloring is necessary).

Note

This recipe also makes a delicious Chocolate Layer Cake. To make as a cake, divide batter evenly between three oiled and floured 8″ round cake pans.

Bake in preheated 350 degrees fahrenheit oven for approximately 25 minutes, or until toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Remove from oven and cool on wire rack for 10 minutes. Invert cakes onto cooling racks until cooled. Frost layers as desired.

My go-to small kitchen appliances are:

Stand Mixer

Hand Mixer

Food Processor

Immersion Blender

Instant Pot

IT'S ME, SERENA!

I bounced through the first years of my life in a hippie gypsy wagon, hand-built by my father, wandering the back roads of the U.S., Canada and Mexico. My family eventually settled into a tiny cabin in the woods on property that was once inhabited by Native American Indians.

I spent my childhood days searching for arrowheads, teaching myself to sew on a treadle sewing machine and to bake in a wood-burning stove, with no running water, refrigeration, or electricity in our home. My family lived frugally and early on, inspired by my parent’s thriftiness and style, I gained a knack for thrifty creativity and turning ordinary objects into something useful. And I dreamed of the home I would create for my own family someday.

Now I’m married to my husband, Colin, and our children are all grown. After 24 years of producing The Farm Chicks Vintage & Handmade Fair, I'm spending time visiting other markets around the world. You can watch episodes of Serena Goes to Market here.

I share more about my life story from time to time, here on my blog. You can also find me on Instagram, and Facebook.

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