“These might be the best cupcakes I’ve ever had.”

You know that the recipe’s a keeper when someone says this. And it’s doubly a keeper when that person is your spouse. And when that spouse is a man who wants pie for his birthday rather than cake… well, then you know that cupcake recipe might deserve hall-of-fame status.

The truth is, this recipe requires more steps than I usually like to dedicate to a dish. For that matter, it requires more dishes than I usually like to dedicate to a dish.

However, it is actually quite easy, and none of the other recipes I’ve tried can even come close.

(On that note, why is it that my favorite chocolate cake recipe does not make very good cupcakes? Riddle me that, Batman.)

That’s why I reached for this recipe this past week when Pfeiffer turned nine. (NINE! Can you believe it?!)

She’s a child of low expectations. She wanted a “public” birthday party – a thing we have never done before for her – and, frankly, I was dreading it.

Somehow she came up with the idea of meeting a couple friends at the public library. I texted their moms. The three girls sat, knee to knee, and read books together for about an hour.

Best. Birthday. Party. Ever.

She wanted IHOP for her birthday dinner, but since the nearest restaurant is an hour away, she settled for homemade pancakes with chocolate chips instead.

You can see how I was willing to make the slightly-more-time-consuming version of cupcakes for this child who was willing to compromise without complaint.

I began making these cupcakes years ago. I found them on the cooking blog Our Best Bites, one of my favorites.

The version I originally made – the one on their website – can be really quite time-consuming. It requires filling the cupcakes with a whipped creamy filling and topping with ganache. The result is a real show-stopper and definitely worth the time investment.

However, my child wanted just a chocolate cupcake with white icing and “Chips Ahoy crumbles on top.” Score one for mom, because that meant I could make the cupcakes and use the filling for the icing.

Unfortunately, my first attempt at the creamy icing was a bust – I had made it a thousand times before, but this time I undercooked step one.

The result was a gooey mess that didn’t ever come together. So, I started over. At 5:30 p.m. on her birthday evening.

Thankfully, the second attempt at the frosting was better. And thank goodness it did… this mama needed a win on something.

DEVIL’S FOOD CHOCOLATE CUPCAKES

(adapted from Our Best Bites, originally developed by Shelley Kaldunski)

Ingredients
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup white sugar
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, room temperature
2 eggs
2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup lukewarm water
1/2 cup buttermilk

Directions
■ Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two, 12-well muffin tins with cupcake liners (about 24 standard-sized cupcakes).
■ Cream butter and sugars together into a large mixing bowl. Add egg and vanilla and beat until blended. Measure other dry ingredients (flour, cocoa, soda and salt) into sifter or colander over the mixing bowl. Mix water and buttermilk together in a liquid measuring cup large enough to hold at least 2 cups.
■ Sift about 1/3 of the dry ingredients in the colander into the bowl containing the butter/sugar mixture. Add about 1/2 cup of the liquid ingredients. Mix together, preferably by hand. (If you use a mixer, do so only very briefly, just until no dry flour remains. Repeat this step twice more until all ingredients have been combined.
■ Pour batter into cupcake liners, about 3/4 of the way full (I use a large cookie scoop for this). Bake in preheated oven about 15-20 minutes, taking care not to overbake. Place on wire rack to cool about 5 minutes, then remove liners from pans to cool completely.
■ Top with icing of choice; I used an ermine frosting.

Amelia Plair is a mom and high school teacher in Starkville. Email reaches her at [email protected].

Amelia Plair is a Starkville resident who writes occasional food columns.