Marble Cupcakes

I recently baked some banana cupcakes for a baby shower, but I felt like I should also bake some cupcakes that were a more traditional flavor to take along as well.  That's where Martha Stewart comes in.  I baked her marble cupcakes.  They were fine, but nothing memorable or spectacular.  These are versatile and can be covered in a variety of icings.  I chose to use a chocolate icing and added some matching decor.

MARBLE CUPCAKES
From Martha Stewart's Cupcakes

YIELD - 16 CUPCAKES

INGREDIENTS
1 3/4 cups cake flour, sifted
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup milk, room temperature
1/3 cup heavy cream, room temperature
1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
3 large eggs, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/3 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
1/4 cup boiling water

DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line standard muffin tins with paper lines. Sift together cake flour, baking powder, and salt. Combine milk and cream.

2. With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, cream butter and granulated sugar until pale and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until each is incorporated, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Beat in vanilla. Add flour mixture in three batches, alternating with two additions of milk mixture, and beating until combined.

3. To make chocolate batter, measure out 1 cup batter, and transfer to another bowl. Combine cocoa and the boiling water in a bowl. Stir into reserved 1 cup batter.

4. Fill prepared cups with alternating spoonfuls of vanilla and chocolate batter, filling each three-quarters full. Run the tip of a paring knife or wooden skewer through batter in a figure-eight motion to make swirls. Bake, rotating tins halfway through, until tops are golden and a cake tester inserted in centers comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Transfer tins to wire racks to cool completely before removing cupcakes. Unfrosted cupcakes can be stored overnight at room temperature, or frozen up to 2 months in airtight containers.