The Tweedles’ Dilemma

Ingredients: Chocolate batter

• 1⅓ cup all-purpose flour
• ½ cup rich cocoa powder
• ¾ teaspoon baking soda
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ½ cup butter, softened to room temperature
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 vanilla bean pod, or 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ½ cup whole milk
• ½ cup hot water

Directions:

Very important to sift your flour first, then to it mix in all dry ingredients, set aside. In a separate bowl, combine butter and sugar, whisk together. One at a time, add in the eggs and beat until a smooth consistency. Scrape in the vanilla bean (or 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract). Continue beating on low, slowly adding in half of the dry ingredients. Once mixed, add in milk until smooth again. Then add in the other half of the dry ingredients. Add in the water until batter is smooth and creamy. Set aside.

Ingredients: Vanilla batter

• 1 cup sugar

• 1 sticks (½ cup) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 2 eggs, room temperature
• 2 vanilla beans, or 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• ¾ teaspoon baking powder
• ¼ teaspoon baking soda
• ¼ teaspoon sea salt
• 1½ cups all-purpose flour
• ¾ cups buttermilk

Directions:

Sift flour, then add all dry ingredients and set aside. In another bowl, beat sugar and butter together until creamy. One at a time, add in the eggs. Stir in vanilla. Add in half of the dry ingredients. Once incorporated, pour in buttermilk until smooth. Add the final half of the dry ingredients and beat on low to med-low until creamy. Set aside.

Preheat oven to 350° F. Makes about 28 cupcakes. Place your liners in a cupcake pan, then scoop in a little chocolate, a little vanilla, a little chocolate, and a little vanilla until about halfway full. Then, using a toothpick, swirl gently. Repeat process for each cupcake. For regular-sized cupcakes, it will take approx. 22-24 minutes to bake. For minis, approx. 9-11 minutes. Once done, take out and set aside to cool completely before adding frosting.

Ingredients: Chocolate and vanilla frosting

It is easiest to make a simple vanilla base frosting and divide them in half, adding ¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder to the chocolate version.

• 3½ cups powdered sugar
• 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
• 4 tablespoons heavy cream, or half-and-half
• 2 vanilla bean pods, or 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• pinch of salt

Directions:

Mix all ingredients together. Split in half and add cocoa to one half. Now you have vanilla and chocolate frosting. The frosting should be thick and creamy. Grab a piping pastry bag and slip it inside a cup, securing it around the rim with a rubber band (this step is important because you will be filling one bag with both frostings). Scoop out vanilla and fill it to the left. Scoop out chocolate and fill it to the right. It doesn’t have to be neat, it only makes the swirls prettier if they mix a little, at least that’s what Hatter always tells me.

Once full, take the bag out and twist until you push out all the air. Snip the tip off (only if yours doesn’t already have a piping hole available), and use a 1M open-star piping tip. Then, starting at the twelve-o’clock position on the cooled cakes, make nice, easy swirls. If you did it right, there should be a beautiful swirl of vanilla and chocolate both in the cake and in the frosting. And this is the Tweedles’ Dilemma: whether to have chocolate or vanilla and so they have both. Always those two give me such a hard time!

Enjoy~

Alice