lately

chocolate cupcake filled with cookie dough and topped with cream cheese frosting!

half baked cookie dough center

chocolate cupcakes with vanilla buttercream and buttercream flowers

(black) chocolate and (yellow) vanilla layer cake for my friends husband. i wish i had a picture of a slice of the inside! it was 4 layers alternating black and yellow. 

My favorite chocolate cake at the moment is this recipe, it's very simple and very moist and chocolatey! I used it for all of the cakes/cupcakes in the above pictures. For the amazzzzzzing cookie dough cupcakes I dropped a ball of cookie dough in each cupcake batter before I baked them and the result is a half baked cookie center and it is to die for! you could easily make them with store bought cookie dough but I made the dough of my favorite chocolate chip cookies which I will also give the recipe for. I know I promised that recipe a looong time ago but here it is.

Chocolate Cake or Cupcakes: (24 cupcakes or 2, 8 inch layers.)

Ingredients:

3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 cups white sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
3/4 cup black coffee, cooled

3/4 cup buttermilk 
1/3 cup vegetable oil or melted butter (I do half and half, butter makes it yummy but oil makes it moist so do both )
1 tsp vanilla extract
2/3 cup mini chocolate chips (optional)
 

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350F. Spray pans with Pam or grease.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together cocoa, flour, white sugar, baking soda, baking powder and salt until thoroughly mixed.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs, water, buttermilk, vegetable oil/butter and vanilla extract. Whisk into flour mixture until all of the ingredients are mixed in and no streaks of flour remain. Add in optional mini chocolate chips, if using.
4. For cupcakes bake at 350F for 15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of one the cakes comes out clean, or with only a few crumbs or if you press one it should spring back. cool completely on a wire rack before frosting. 

 (recipe adapted from baking bites)

Best chocolate chip cookies in the ENTIRE world!!!!!! recipe:

(If you are using this for the cupcakes you will just need 24 balls of dough for the center of each cupcake and just drop them into the batter after you've filled the cupcake liners 3/4 full, try to make sure that the dough is covered with batter. and bake for the normal time of the cupcakes you're making, if you use the chocolate cupcake recipe above then that is 15 minutes. You will have plenty of dough left to make cookies with too =) and you can even freeze the dough to make cookies for later or freeze the dough balls and make cupcakes later.

Ingredients

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 teaspoons hot water
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
• 1 cup chopped walnuts

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. Cream together the butter, white sugar, and brown sugar until smooth. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the vanilla. Dissolve baking soda in hot water. Add to batter along with salt. Stir in flour, chocolate chips, and nuts. Drop by large spoonfuls onto ungreased pans.
3. Bake for about 10 minutes in the preheated oven, or until edges are nicely browned.