Not all cupcakes are equal!

First up on the cupcake auditions is a beautiful chocolate chip cupcake with dark chocolate fudge frosting. I think I came pretty close to "Martha's" version. I ended up with three dozen of them and it's fortunate that some family is coming into town tonight so there will be a new home for these delicious (really!) cakes! Before I started baking, it occurred to me that there might be a place to buy cupcakes in lots of varieties and I visited a new cupcake store. What a disappointment! The cupcakes were huge, which can be good or bad, but it was absolutely the worst cake I have ever tasted! It was like heavyweight cardboard. And while there was a good amount of frosting on board, it was standard "bakery" icing made with vegetable shortening instead of a luscious buttercream. The second picture is a mocha cupcake from the bakery, but I couldn't figure out why as there was no mocha taste. And the malted milk ball and walnuts on top made it more of a mystery. So, looks like we'll have a little cupcake factory going here in a couple of weeks! Tomorrow's flavor: carrot cake with cream cheese frosting!