Chocolate cherry cupcakes, cat condo

A going-away occasion. Any time I make something with chocolate, you can bet it’s for someone else’s sake. I think this is right, it’s completely from memory.

1.5 c + 1-2 T cake flour
1/3 c unsweetened cocoa
1/4 t salt
1.5 t baking soda
3/4 c sugar
2 eggs
1/2 c applesauce (substituted for butter)
2/3 – 3/4 c milk
~1 c cherries, pitted and minced

I beat the eggs with the applesauce, then sifted together the flour, salt, cocoa, soda, and sugar, then beat the dry ingredients it in a bit at a time, alternating with the milk. I beat it for a couple of minutes before stirring in the cherry bits, then baked at 375º for 20 minutes. The batter was quite thin (I thought cake flour was supposed to absorb moisture more readily, hmm….), but it turned out fine, as you see. Due to a distraction, I actually left them in 3-5 minutes longer. I wonder what things are like when you do them the right way. I suppose I’ll find out in school.

Icing:
8 oz. cream cheese
5 T butter, softened
1/2 t vanilla
1 c powdered sugar
1/2 t unsweetened cocoa

Cream cheese and butter were whipped together a minute or so, then vanilla beaten in, then powdered sugar and cocoa sifted in. If only I’d sifted powdered sugar into my icings every time I made them, maybe they would’ve turned out as smooth as this. I’m wasn’t dumb, just lazy. Now I know better. It was very silky, a revelation. Then I just piped the icing on top with the star-shaped head. Pretty. The messy ones happened because I wanted to squeeze more icing on top. The swirls were clean, but small. And I couldn’t let well enough alone. However, I was able to pipe the icing immediately, instead of chilling like I have in the past. It’s likely because I added almost no liquid to the icing (I often add a little bit of some type of juice as flavoring), and because I sifted. Normally, my cream cheese frosting starts to thin as it sits, but today, at room temperature for a few hours, it held its shape. No melting or running whatsoever after more than four hours out, not even a hint of it. It could’ve sat for longer, I bet. Hooray for stabilized frosting!

On another happy note: cat furniture to replace empty space. She’ll need it, it’ll be boring and lonely enough for her when school starts next month and I’m gone 16-17 hours a day. Poor thing. Poor, beautiful thing.

I like the first two the most. I love her, she’s my best friend.