It was Jim's birthday on Saturday. Yes, we both had birthdays this past week. Two Scorpios in one office. Seems like that would be a recipe for disaster but it's worked out great!

Of course we needed to celebrate and so I baked cupcakes that we shared with our voiceover class. The only thing missing was a nice cold glass of milk!

Try these when you are craving something rich and chocolately. Topped with thick cream cheese frosting, it doesn't get any better!

Dark Chocolate Cupcakes

1/2 cup Dutch process cocoa

1 cup low-fat milk, warmed to 110 degrees

1 cup buttermilk

1/2 cup corn oil

2 large eggs

1 cup granulated sugar

1 cup dark brown sugar

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

3/4 teaspoons salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In large bowl, use mixer on low to beat cocoa and warm milk. Add buttermilk, oil, eggs, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla. Beat 45 seconds.

Measure flour, baking soda and salt into sifter (I skip the sifting myself). Sift (or dump like I do) into chocolate mixture. Beat 1 minute on medium. Batter will be very thin. Pour into 24 cupcake liners and bake for 15-17 minutes or until tops pop back when pressed.

Cool and then frost with cream cheese frosting.

Cream Cheese Frosting

Beat an 8 ounce block of cream cheese (use cold, straight from fridge) with 5 tablespoons of softened butter (I softened the butter in the micro on defrost) and 2 teaspoons vanilla until combined. Gradually add 2 cups of powdered sugar that has been sifted after measuring. (Again, I skip the sifting step...too much work for me). Continue to add more sifted powdered sugar until you reach a consistency and sweetness that fits your taste.

Frost the cupcakes and be sure to use sprinkles on top. For Jim's party I used a variety but found that the brown, black and white cow sprinkles were the favorites. If you can't find cow sprinkles in your local market you can find them at Spun Sugar in Berkeley, California.