White Rose Cupcakes

This is your basic chocolate cupcake with vanilla frosting, decorated with a pretty rose frosting design. Cupcakes bake and cool much quicker than regular pan cakes, so they were nice to do during a quick study break. The presentation is also much nicer for sharing than sliced cake.

Chocolate cupcakes:
Ingredients:
     1 3/4 cups of all-purpose flour
     2 cups of white sugar
     3/4 cup of cocoa powder
     1 1/2 tsp baking powder
     1 1/2 tsp baking soda
     2 eggs
     pinch of salt
     1 cup of buttermilk
     1/2 cup of vegetable oil
     2 tsp vanilla extract
     1 cup of boiling water
Preheat the oven to 350F and set aside a muffin pan with cupcake liners. Combine the dry ingredients in a large bowl and set aside. In another large bowl, whisk together the eggs, oil, buttermilk, and vanilla extract. Add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture a little at a time to allow them to mix well. Add the cup of boiling water and whisk together. Pour the batter into each of the muffin cups, filling them about 3/4 of the way. (This recipe makes about 20 cupcakes.) Bake for about 15 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean. Allow the cupcakes to cool before frosting.

Vanilla Frosting:
Ingredients:
     2 cups powdered sugar
     2 tbsp softened butter
     2 tbsp milk
     1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Mix all of the ingredients together and beat until it is light and fluffy.

Decorating the cupcakes:
Once the cupcakes have cooled completely, fill a piping bag with the vanilla frosting. Using a star tip (I used the Wilton 2F tip), pipe a swirl on the cupcake starting at the center and swirling around to the edges.