If there are no eggs in the house, the milk was left out on the counter, the only leavening you own is freshening up your fridge, your coffee got cold in the cup because you forgot you had to take the dog to the vet and you volunteered to make 24 cupcakes for a second grade classroom birthday situation–do I have the recipe for YOU!

This is for 12 cupcakes. Double if you need 24:

1 1/4 cups of all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/3 cup of (european style is best but Hershey’s works) unsweetened cocoa
1/4 teaspoon plus a pinch of salt

Sift all of that.

In another bowl, whip together 6 tablespoons vegetable oil with 1 cup of sugar. Add 1 cup of the following mixture: 1/2 sour cream or yogurt and the other half part milk and part coffee. Stir in 1 teaspoon of pure vanilla extract.

Combine the wet ingredients with the dry and whisk by hand, just to combine.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
Cut squares out of parchment. Shove them into the cupcake pans, using the bottom of a glass. Fill the tins to the top.
Bake until the tops are firm and spring back when you touch them, about 20 minutes. Cool completely. This is critical.
For the frosting: 1 stick room temp. unsalted butter. If you have no time to soften, cut it into teeny weeny bits and whirl it around for a while in the food processor. Add 1 pound confectioners sugar, 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract, and 3 tablespoons of whole milk. Push the “on” button until it’s completely smooth. That’s it. Fill a pastry bag with a cup of frosting at a time and squirt a Hershey kiss sized dollop on top of each one. (Remember the kids are within four walls.) If you are missing the pastry bag, use a large ziploc bag by cutting a half inch off from one of the corners.