Soliciting Cake Recipes

S and I have tested several chocolate cake recipes over the past couple years and the best by far is Smitten Kitchen's Double Chocolate Layer Cake recipe. Just look at this deliciousness!

photo courtesy of SmittenKitchen.com

How could anyone resist? Don't you just want to lick the beaters clean?! (As S points out, I do have a "tasting" fascination/obsession/problem.)

Chocolate cake is fine and dandy if you're a chocolate fan. However, I'm fairly sure we're inviting friends and family who do not like chocolate. I know, how can we be friends with anti-chocolate people?! Ahem, mom. I suppose S and I are a tolerant bunch....

These anti-chocolate folks pose a bit of a problem: I have one, ONE! vanilla cake recipe from Magnolia bakery in NYC. The recipe produces a somewhat grainy cupcake - think cornbread - rather than a moist squishy piece of heaven. It's tasty, but not perfect. I am therefore on the search for the perfect vanilla cupcake recipe, taste tested by you since I don't want to bake 5 batches of different vanilla cupcakes that S and I have no interest in eating.

I'm also considering baking Sweet Polly's carrot cake cupcakes, but I'm unsure whether cream cheese frosting will hold-up well enough if it's humid on the big day. And the last thing I need to worry about on Sept. 5 is frosting sliding off the cupcakes. Ugh, the horror!