Page 90 Marble Cupcakes

"Bakers have long swirled dark and light batters together to make marbleized cakes. This version, baked in cupcake tins, relies on equal parts milk and cream for richness. Creating the two-tone appearance is as easy as a few strokes with a knife or skewer. There's no need to be precise; each cupcake's unique pattern is part of it's charm. They're pretty enough to leave unadorned, but if you prefer, drizzle the cupcakes with milk glaze or top with dark chocolate frosting." - Martha

Let me tell you what attracted me about these cupcakes...the simplicity! Tomorrow, my family leaves on a road trip to St. Louis and I wanted to make a cupcake that i could take in the car with no mess to keep me worried while driving. These marbleized cakes with only sifted powdered sugar on them was a perfect choice!

I really wanted to make the recipe just right this time, so what did I do to not follow the recipe exactly? Well, the recipe calls for heavy cream and milk, a stick of butter, and 2 teaspoons of baking powder (plus all the other ingredients.) I didn't have any cream, or butter or believe itor not...I had run out of baking powder! So I substituted Smart Balance (it's half butter/ half margarine) for the butter. Then I had heard befoe that you could sub cream of tartar and baking soda mix for the baking powder (1 t BP = 1/2t CT + 1/4t BS.) And finally, I can't believe this worked, I subbed a ChickfilA vanilla shake for the amount of heavy cream I needed! You know ChickfilA makes the all-natural shakes with real ice cream, so I was hoping it'd be rich enough to work...and it did!

These cupcakes are so adorable; just the right mix of chocolate and creamy cakes swirled together like a piece of art! Almost too good to eat, but fogetaboutit! We're eating these!