Black Magic Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Frosting

The Turner-Gallaher Family Reunion occurs every summer on the last Saturday in July. This past weekend, I made my annual pilgrimage to Pennsylvania to spend some time with my beloved relatives (you know who you are!). My wonderful cousin, Candy, was sweet enough to put together a collection of old family recipes submitted by my relatives. These recipes included lots of recipes for dishes I've enjoyed at our reunions every year.

After browsing through the collection, I found two recipes that piqued my interest for "black magic cake" and "peanut butter frosting." Although they were listed under my cousin Laura's name, I was wondering if it was a recipe possibly passed down to her from her mom or grandmother (my lovely cousin Cherry and my adorably sweet Aunt Ivy). I remembered an awesome sheet cake covered in a light and fluffy peanut butter frosting at the family reunions of my childhood, and thought maybe this recipe was it. Since I couldn't stop thinking about it all week, I figured I might as well take an evening and make some chocolate cake with peanut butter frosting. I wasn't disappointed, but I'll have to leave it to my cousins and aunt to confirm my suspicion on the recipe.


Black Magic Cake

Ingredients
1 3/4 cups flour
2 cups sugar
2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
3/4 cup cocoa (use half dark chocolate cocoa, if desired)
2 eggs
1 cup coffee
1 cup sour milk (use 1 Tbsp. of lemon juice or white vinegar to sour it, unless you recently came across a half gallon that you've forgotten about at the back of your refrigerator)
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. salt


Mix the dry ingredients together, and then blend the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients until combined. Beat on medium-high for 1 to 2 minutes (mixture will be slightly runnier than your traditional boxed cake mix). Line muffin tins with papers and fill each approximately 2/3 full. Bake at 350 degrees for approximately 20 minutes. Cool before frosting.


Peanut Butter Frosting

Ingredients
1/2 cup shortening
1/2 cup sugar (not powdered, just the regular kind)
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 cup milk
4 Tbsp. flour
3 heaping Tbsp. peanut butter


Cream together the shortening and the sugar until fluffy. Add the vanilla, milk and the flour (the mixture will be really liquidey at this point...not to worry, it will all come together). Add the peanut butter, and beat on medium high until it's smooth and fluffy (about 5 minutes).

makes approximately 24 cupcakes