$30 for $50 at Silhouette!

I just learned about another flash sale site called Plum District. Well, today they have a deal for Silhouette! For $30 you get a $50 voucher to spend on their site (that is a 40% savings)! I have some supplies I need to order for a couple upcoming projects, so I took advantage of this. If you are interested go over to Plum District and sign up. The deal is not good towards the purchase of a Cameo, or download cards, but will get you a nice supply of other great products. The deal is running for 4 more days, so you still have some time to think about it.

Black Bottom Cupcakes...semi-fail

I have seen black bottom cupcakes pop up here and there over the years, and decided that I would make some for our New Years Eve get together at my sisters. I have come to trust the recipes over at Annie's-Eats, so I decided to see if she had a recipe, and guess what....she did! If you've never had them before, they are basically chocolate cupcakes, with a chocolate chip cheesecakey filling, and should look like this when they are done:

image from Annie's Eats

Unfortunately, mine did not turn out this way. Here is the recipe I used:

Black Bottom Cupcakes

Ingredients:

For the filling:

8 oz. cream cheese, at room temperature

1/3 cup granulated sugar

1 large egg, at room temperature

2 oz. bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped

For the cupcakes:

1 ½ cups all-purpose flour

1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar

5 tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder

1 tsp. baking soda

¼ tsp. salt

1 cup water

1/3 cup vegetable oil

1 tbsp. white or cider vinegar

1 tsp. vanilla extract

Directions:

To make the filling, beat together the cream cheese, granulated sugar and egg until smooth.  Stir in chopped chocolate pieces.  Set aside.

To make the cupcakes, adjust a rack to the center of the oven and preheat to 350°.  Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners.

In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, brown sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt.  In a separate bowl mix together the water, oil, vinegar and vanilla extract.  Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and stir in the wet ingredients, stirring just until smooth.  Stir any longer and you will over-mix the batter, and end up with less-than-tender cupcakes.

Divide the batter among the muffin cups.  Spoon a few tablespoons of the filling into the center of each cupcake, dividing the filling evenly.  This will fill the cups almost completely, which is fine.  Bake for 25 minutes, or until the tops are slightly golden brown and the cupcakes feel springy when gently pressed.  These will keep unrefrigerated for 2-3 days in an airtight container.

Source: adapted from Brown Eyed Baker, originally from The Great Book of Chocolate by David Lebovitz

I followed the recipe to a T, and mine ended up like this:

So, they have a cheesecakey top, and not filling. They were really tasty, but I think when I make them next time, I'll try digging a little hole in the chocolate batter before adding the filling.

Make it Pinteresting!

Some awesome ladies from my online book club came up with an idea to start a blog inspired by all of the fun things they have pinned on Pinterest. I am a contributing writer for Make It Pinteresting! I posted today with my s'mores pudding shots. You should go over there and check it out, and while you're at it, become a follower!