FoodBanter.com - Chocolate cake or cupcake recipe

I made the following recipe twice this w/e modifying it a bit each time.
Its a winner. The first time I was suspicious of the amount of sugar so
cut it by 25% but the full amount is better and I used that in the
second go round. I have iced the first batch to compensate. In the
second, I thought of using buttermilk as the sourness brings out the
chocolate flavour but ended up using Kefir instead. It works but the
batter is a little thicker. Most will go to my d-i-l for the
grandchildren who are on a growth spurt and are burning calories like
there's no tomorrow.
Ive been clearing out the freezer so for the 1st batch I used €œ00€
Italian flour and for the second about 1/3 €œ00€ and 2/3 whole wheat
pastry flour.

The original was published in a Canadian newspaper last year.

I have added the weights that I used.

1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted (55g)
1/4 cup canola oil (60ml)
1/2 cup cocoa powder plus extra for dusting the pans (50g)
2 tbsp instant coffee powder
250ml hot water
250ml milk
1 tsp vinegar
2 eggs (I used XL)
2 cup flour (450g)
2 tsp baking soda
2 pinches of salt
2 tsp vanilla
2 cups white sugar (400g)
Method
Preheat the oven to 350 F. If you are making cake layers, grease two
round 8-inch pans and sprinkle with cocoa powder. Shake the pans to
evenly distribute the cocoa powder. Once the pans are completely coated,
turn them upside down and tap the excess powder into a bowl. For
cupcakes, place 24 large cupcake liners into your muffin tins.
In a large bowl, stir together the butter, canola oil, cocoa powder and
instant coffee powder until completely combined. Whisk in the cup of hot
water. Measure out the cup of milk and add the teaspoon of vinegar to
it. Allow it to sit for a minute to sour. Whisk the eggs into the milk,
then add the soured milk and eggs into the big bowl and whisk to combine.
Sprinkle the flour on the surface of the cocoa batter in the bowl, then
sprinkle the baking soda and salt on top. Whisk to combine. There should
be no large lumps of flour in the batter. Stir in the vanilla and sugar.

The batter will be thin.

Divide the batter evenly between the two cake pans or the muffin tins.
Bake at 350 F for 25-30 minutes for the cake layers or 18-22 minutes for
the cupcakes. The cupcakes should bounce back when gently pressed and
the cake layers should be slightly pulling away from the edges of the
pan. Allow the cake layers to cool in their pans on a cooling rack
before turning them out. Remove the cupcakes from their tins and allow
to cool completely before frosting.