Happy Birthday Bob!

Bob is the single biggest fan of my baking. Bob is one of the couriers at the lab I work at, and I guess you could say we have a special relationship. I make fun of him for being old, he pretends to be deeply offended; this is the basis of our special friendship. Anyway, Bob is a hound for treats. If there are cookies or cupcakes, he'll have two or three (and sometimes pretend it's his first). Well, the first time I made black-bottom cupcakes for work, he just about cried with joy, and he's been raving about them ever since. When he says things like, "those cupcakes will change your life!" and "if I were about to be put in the electric chair, I would want your cupcakes as my last meal", how can I resist baking for him? Now that his birthday has rolled around, I'm making his favorites once again.

Black-bottom cupcakes consist of a chocolate cake with a dollop of cream cheesy goodness on top. I have decided to abandon the dolloping method for next time, and instead squirt it into the batter with a pastry bag set-up. I think this will achieve more of a "peeking" effect of the cream cheese on the top (as opposed to taking over the entire top of the cupcake) and having more of a filling effect (like a Hostess cupcake - one of my favorites!). This batch tasted darn good, but I was disappointed with the way they looked. I still garnered compliments though; one co-worker deemed them the best cupcakes I've ever made and Bob surmised that "they were made by an angel in Heaven". That's it - Bob gets cupcakes for life!

Here is the link to the recipe I use:
Black-Bottom Cupcakes from Every Day With Rachael Ray February 2007