The O-town Scene

LOCAL EATS Gone … Cupcaking? If you’ve ever checked out the O- Town Scene before and read my “Gone Running” column, you’re probably thinking, “Hey, isn’t this the same chic who wrote the article scolding us for our daily treks through the local fast food drive-thru?” Yep, it’s me. Here I am sending you on a mission to make a tasty treat instead of my usual banter about running, because I love cupcakes. Sometimes I fantasize about quitting my “day job” to open my own cupcake shop _ I would even jog to work every day. For this issue, I came up with easy-to- make cupcakes I call “Chocolate Melt- down Cupcakes.” I modified a friend’s cake recipe, and kept her frosting recipe pretty much the same. INGREDIENTS Cake 3 cups flour 6 Tb cocoa powder 1/2 tsp salt 2 tsp baking soda 1 packet of instant vanilla pudding About 1 ½ cup sugar Frosting ¾ cup cooking oil 1 tsp vanilla 2 Tb vinegar 2 cups cold water Danielle Tonner Local Eats features spotlights of area restaurants and recipes by area residents. To contribute a recipe, e-mail editor@otownscene.com When you’re done, be sure to jog for a few minutes just so I feel less guilty and hypocritical for sharing the recipe with you. Chocolate Meltdown Cupcakes Makes 24 DIRECTIONS Cake Add all dry ingredients to a large mixing bowl. Place one package of instant vanilla pudding in a measuring cup and add sugar to fill it to 1 cup. Then, add an additional 1 cup sugar (you’ll have two full cups of “sug- ar/pudding” mix total). Mix all dry ingredi- ents together until the mixture is consistent. Add all wet ingredients and mix with a wire whisk until completely blended. Do not overmix. Spray two muffin pans with cooking spray and add cupcake liners to the muffin pans. I use a large cookie scoop to make sure each cupcake is equal, filling each 2/3 the way. Bake at 375 degrees for 15 minutes. Frosting 1 cup sugar 2 Tb cocoa powder 1/4 cup milk 1/4 cup butter (don’t use margarine!) 1 tsp vanilla In a saucepan, add all ingredients and stir until just combined. Stop stirring, and allow mixture to come to a rolling boil for two min- utes. After two minutes of boiling, take pan off heat and allow to cool. Do not stir while cooling. Once it has cooled enough that it’s not scalding hot (about 10 minutes), beat mixture with a wire whisk. Once the cupcakes have cooled, you can dip the tops of the cupcakes in the frosting. Shake off any excess and allow to cool completely. Dust cupcakes with powdered sugar for an extra “pretty fac- tor”— sprinkles does this, too, but add before frosting hardens so sprinkles don’t roll off. Enjoy! Danielle Tonner writes a column titled “Gone Running” for the O-Town Scene. 12 O-Town Scene June 9, 2011

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