Chocolate Cupcakes

This recipe from Cook's Illustrated makes the best kind of cake for cupcakes; rich, moist, just dense enough, and not overly sweet. Top with your favorite frosting!
3/4 cup cocoa powder, preferabley Dutch processed
1 1/4 cups unbleached all purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt
8 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped
12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) butter
4 large eggs
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup buttermilk
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 325 degrees. Coat bottom and sides of 9 by 13-inch baking pan with 1 tablespoon butter.
  2. Sift together cocoa, flour, and salt in medium bowl; set aside. Heat chocolate and butter in microwave-safe bowl covered with plastic wrap 2 minutes at 50 percent power; stir until smooth. (If not fully melted, heat 1 minute longer at 50 percent power.) Whisk together eggs, sugar, and vanilla in medium bowl.
  3. Whisk chocolate into egg mixture until combined. Combine buttermilk and baking soda; whisk into chocolate mixture, then whisk in dry ingredients until batter is smooth and glossy. Pour batter into prepared pan; bake until firm in center when lightly pressed and toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, about 40 minutes. Cool on wire rack until room temperature, at least 1 hour; serve, or ice with frosting, if desired.
I've found that this recipe makes slightly less than two dozen cupcakes. In the photo above, i made some simple whipped cream frosting, added some cointreau for flavor, and sprinkled the top with colored sugar. 
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To make colored sugar, you'll need food coloring gels, not the little bottles of liquid you typically get in a grocery store. Some stores may have them, or you can get them online from Wilton. Scoop a few spoonfuls of sugar into a small Ziploc bag. Using a toothpick, add a bit of the food coloring gel to the bag (just wipe the toothpick on the inside of the bag). Seal the bag and start mashing the sugar around until all the color is incorporated and all the grains look about the same shade. Spread out on a plate and let dry for a few hours, either out in the open or in an oven set to 150°.