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I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve tried to find THE perfect chocolate cake recipe.

My old stand-by used to be the one on the back of the Hershey’s cocoa box. And indeed the thing is heavenly…as long as it sits overnight first to “ripen”. It’s even better refridgerated…it’s dense, moist, rich, dark…everything a chocolate cake should be. Unfortunately, fresh from the oven, it always tastes a little like fish.

Blech. Many a cake baker I’ve talked to has said they didn’t like the Hershey’s version. Every time they said that it turned out they’d eaten the thing within a couple of hours out of the oven. No-can-do.

So you all have seen the different recipes I’ve tried. A cupcake is something that SHOULD be eaten fresh…around here the birdies start circling as soon as the frosting is on, which happens as soon as the ditties are cool enough for it not to slide off. There was the “My Dad Loves Me” german chocolate attempt, the disasterously dry rasperry-devil’s food which was so nasty it didn’t even get named, the outstanding yet gentle cocoa version in “Bought New Shoes That Fit and Got Somewhere To Go” cupcakes. I was still on the hunt for a good DARK chocolate cake recipe and was beginning to consider resorting to a box mix, doctored up.

But something happens when you read every recipe that comes your way: the method starts to sink in. And like any other art form, once the method is mastered, true freedom to divert from it is found. It began to dawn on me how I could tweak one enough to get my desired result. I think there are many variations of my recipe out there and I know that this is the one that works for me. I’m sold!

Today’s result is “There’s no place like home” cupcakes. The cake is light, dark, moist, great fresh from the oven and chilled for later. The frosting is dark, almost bittersweet. I didn’t cook the frosting this time; I wanted something stiffer. Together with a glass of milk, the quintessential chocolate/chocolate-washed-down-with-cold-and-creamy Americana dessert is achieved.

With a week of travel, months of gypsie living that won’t end anytime soon, and a life that is ever-complicated it’s good to remember that there really is “no place like home”. It’s warm and comforting, nourishing in soul, spirit, and body.  The best is usually simple, unpretentious, and excellent in it’s own quiet way. We return to it time and time again and the real thing is never as good as an imitation.

So this cupcake is like home… it’s no hotel, grocery store lard cake with a pyramid of lardy frosting on top. It’s not a bakery beauty or a wedding specialty. Just a humble, deliberately simple, quietly rich hug.

Tia’s Dark Chocolate Cupcake Recipe:

mix the dry first:

1 3/4 c. Turbinado sugar

1 3/4 c. all purpose flour

3/4 c. cocoa

1 1/2 t. baking powder

1 1/2 t. baking soda

1 t. salt

Separately, mix wet:

1 stick butter, soft and partially melted

2 eggs

1 c. whole buttermilk

2 t. vanilla extract

Combine all until moist. Whisk in 1 c. very hot, strong black coffee.  Mix at medium speed 2 minutes (I mix this all by hand; it’s about 200 strokes).

The batter will be very runny. Ladel into cupcake papers. Bake at 350 until the knife comes out clean.

Dark Chocolate Buttercream Frosting

(especially good for those who like their chocolate with a high cocoa percentage)

Melt a 4 oz. bar of unsweetened Ghiradelli chocolate

mix into it:

2T. hot coffee

1 1/2 t. vanilla

set aside and beat until fluffy:

2/3 c. butter

mix in 2 cups powdered sugar and 1/3 c. milk, alternating

add chocolate mixture until smooth.

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