I made these little cakes for my son’s school birthday party. We’d been arguing for a while if they should (or should not) have colored sprinkles on their tops. Tim kept saying that the sprinkles could significantly increase the cupcakes’ popularity. Well, I had my own counterarguments, and I won after all. They were very well received nevertheless. The cupcake batter is a famous Flo Braker’s devil’s food cake; the one that Alice Medrich tried to improve but couldn’t make it any better. It is delicious, moist and tender, very American, but without so commonly excessive overalkalized cocoa flavor.

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