My favorite cupcake bakery in New York is Magnolia Bakery. They are little cups of heaven. I used to think my favorite kind was vanilla with chocolate frosting (the same as my favorite kind of cake, in general) but after trying the Vanilla/Vanilla ones I've decided those are my favorites. I also loved the chocolate cake with vanilla frosting.

A few weeks ago, I decided to try baking them myself. You can find the recipes in their second cookbook, More from Magnolia. You can also find the recipes posted online. I found the cake recipe here, and the chocolate frosting recipe here.

My frosting did not turn out as fluffy as it should have, which I'm sure is because I don't have an electric mixer and had to beat by hand. But it still tasted great, so no harm done.

The cupcakes turned out extremely well; I'll definitely continue to use this recipe. The cake had an excellent flavor, much better than any boxed mix. I think next time I'll make the vanilla frosting. (The vanilla frosting recipe is also available on the links above.)

One tip I have for any cupcake baker: try tinfoil cupcake papers. The lovely thing about them is that you don't need to use cupcake trays to make them, you can just set them on a regular cookie sheet. This cuts down the total baking time a lot for me, because you can prepare the next batch while the current batch is in the oven. Also, because the sides of the cupcake aren't touching the metal pan, the don't get browned on the sides, they stay light. Therefore, the sides of the cupcake taste just like the middle, which is very nice.

Here are some more pictures from my baking evening: