Chocolate cupcakes

A friend recently gave me some cupcakes that were to die for. They were a day old by the time I consumed them but they were light, fluffy and amazingly moist. I asked her for the recipe and she said it was a good ol' Martha one!
http://www.marthastewart.com/282243/one-bowl-chocolate-cupcakes

One Bowl Chocolate cupcakes:

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 large eggs
• 3/4 cup warm water
• 3/4 cup buttermilk
• 3 tablespoons safflower oil
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line standard muffin tins with paper liners; set aside. Sift together cocoa powder, flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt into a large bowl. Add eggs, warm water, buttermilk, oil, and vanilla, and mix until smooth, about 3 minutes. Scrape down the sides and bottom of bowl to assure batter is well mixed.
   
2. Divide batter evenly among muffin cups, filling each 2/3 full. Bake until tops spring back when touched, about 20 minutes, rotating pan once if needed. Transfer to a wire rack; let cool completely.
   

Cupcakes will keep, covered, for up to three days.

Failed first attempt

I was so excited about making these. To my disappointment, they turned out heavy. So heavy that both my brother and husband commented they tasted like brownies. I refused to eat them after I tried my first one as they reminded me of hockey pucks.

I begged my friend to impart some baking wisdom since this is one of the hobbies I'd like to improve upon during my mat leave. Her hints?

1. Add 1/4 cup of mayonnaise to the mix.
2. Add a bit more buttermilk (~2 tablespoons)
3. Hand mix the batter initially and only use a mixer for a couple minutes (otherwise the batter will be too glutenous)
4. Let the cupcakes cool in the pan for a few minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack
5. Store the cupcakes overnight in an airtight container (otherwise they'll dry out)

My next attempt to make these were foiled as I failed to check my ingredients before I started to bake. (Fundamental Lesson Pen! Sheesh.). No Flour = No Baking.

Success!

So on Thursday I bought more flour and made sure I was ready to bake Friday night. Tried the recipe again and YUM. So much better. I will admit they aren't as moist as my friends, but at least I'll eat them now!

I'll eat the one on the right, thank you very much!

Failed Attempt on top. Note the size difference