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

Gobs

I know, I know...I already published this recipe almost three years ago. I was just at my family reunion this past weekend, though, and I updated the recipe based on the awesome family recipe book that my cousin Candy put together for us. This recipe is listed as one of my cousin Laura Haberl's favorites (thanks for including it, Laura!). Since I didn't get to the gobs that one of my amazing relatives brought to the family reunion before my other hungry relatives did (collective sigh of pity for me..."awww"), I couldn't resist making them this week. So, that means I also have photos of the gobs now to show how they're supposed to look. Enjoy!

Gobs are a tradition in western Pennsylvania. My mom and I were recently discussing the cultural origins of the gob, and neither of us could think of the appropriate country from which these divine desserts come. This discussion lead me, of course, to my favorite place to search for answers...Google.

Apparently the closest "city" to my hometown, Johnstown, Pennsylvania, currently has its own website to attract tourists (who knew? If you're interested, check out http://www.visitjohnstownpa.com/). According to Susan Kalcik, a folklorist and archivist with the Southwestern Pennsylvania Heritage Preservation Commission (again, who knew?), the gob's origin can be traced to medieval Germany. Gobs were most likely brought to America by various German groups such as the Amish or the German Brethren. After arriving in the states, they probably became popular in western PA due to their ability to travel well in lunch bags into coal mines or steel mills. Ms. Kalcik believes that gobs received their name from the term coalminers used for lumps of coal refuse ("gob piles").

No matter what their origin, gobs are a special treat for those visiting areas of Pennsylvania heavily settled by early Germans. I've recently begun using dark cocoa in many of my recipes, and I enjoyed this recipe with half dark and half regular cocoa.

Chocolate Cake Ingredients/Directions:
2 c. sugar
1/2 c. shortening
2 eggs
4 c. flour
3/4 c. cocoa
1/2 t. baking powder
1 c. of boiling water
1 c. sour milk (1 Tbsp. lemon juice or vinegar to sour it)
3 t. baking soda
1 t. vanilla

Cream together the sugar, shortening, and eggs. Add the flour, baking powder, and cocoa to the creamed mixture and blend well, about 1 minute. Add the boiling water and the baking soda to the sour milk, and add to previous mixture while beating constantly until well mixed. Drop by tablespoon on ungreased cookie sheet, about 2 inches apart. Bake at 375 degrees for about 6 minutes. Cool before icing.

Gob Icing Ingredients/Directions:
8 1/2 T. flour
1 1/2 c. milk
1 c. margarine
3/4 c. shortening
1 t. vanilla
1/2 t. salt
2 cups powdered sugar

Cook flour and milk together over low heat. Stir continuously until thick like paste (should be the same consistency as toothpaste or mashed potatoes...thick!). Remove from heat and cool. Cream together the margarine, shortening, vanilla, and salt with flour mixture. Beat in the powdered sugar and continue beating until smooth and fluffy (about 3 to 4 minutes).

Put icing between gob cakes and wrap with waxed paper or plastic wrap (or both, if you run out of waxed paper like I did).