Marble Cupcakes

Hey all. I'm so tired. If I write anything particularly weird, it's probably just the Nyquil talking. 

Last summer, I worked in my father's office a few times a week, and brought baked goods to share pretty much every time I was in. This earned me the moniker Cupcake. 

Well, the office staff misses Cupcake while she is away at school (speaking in the third person is weird...). So I decided to surprise them with a batch of these. 

You've probably learned by now that making things pretty isn't my strong point. It's hard to marble a cupcake, okay? Whatever the case, they turned out great. You can pretty much top them with whatever you like, powdered sugar, a simple milk glaze, or frosting, if you're like me and of the opinion that uh, cupcakes should be frosted. 

Marble Cupcakes 

from Martha Stewart's Cupcakes

1 3/4 cups cake flour (not self-rising), sifted
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup milk, room temperature
1/3 cup heavy cream, room temperature
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
3 large eggs, room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/3 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
1/4 cup boiling water

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line standard muffin tins with paper liners. Stir together cake flour, baking powder, and salt. Combine milk and cream.

2. With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, cream butter and granulated sugar until pale and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until each is incorporated, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Beat in vanilla. Add flour mixture in three batches, alternating with two additions of milk mixture, and beating until combined.

3. To make chocolate batter, measure out 1 cup batter, and transfer to another bowl. Combine cocoa and the boiling water in a bowl. Stir into reserved 1 cup batter.

4. Fill prepared cups with alternating spoonfuls of vanilla and chocolate batter, filling each three-quarters full. Run the tip of a paring knife or wooden skewer through batter in a figure-eight motion to make swirls. Bake, rotating tins halfway through, until tops are golden and a cake tester (i.e. toothpick) inserted in centers comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Transfer tins to wire racks to cool completely before removing cupcakes. Cupcakes can be stored overnight at room temperature, or frozen up to 2 months, in airtight containers.