When I asked my friend Maria what cupcake she would like for her birthday she requested black bottom cupcakes. I had honestly never heard of them before but I am always game to try something new. These are incredibly easy, in fact you can bang these out in under and hour and with no frosting to complicate things, clean up couldn’t be easier. They taste fabulous, somewhere between a cupcake and a muffin, with the mix of the cake and cream cheese filling keeping everything very moist. If you want a quick fun cupcake try these out, they do not disappoint.
Black-Bottom Cupcakes (makes about 12-14 cupcakes)
Adapted from: Smitten Kitchen
Recipe:
Filling:
- 8 ounces cream cheese at room temperature
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
- 2 ounces chopped semisweet chocolate (I used mini chocolate chips)
Cupcakes:
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
- 5 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder (natural)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup water
- 1/3 cup vegetable oil
- 1 tablespoon white or cider vinegar (I used cider)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
To make the filling: Beat the cream cheese, sugar and egg together until smooth. Stir in the chopped chocolate pieces (or mini chocolate chips).
To make the cupcakes: preheat oven to 350’F. Prepare you muffin tin with paper wrappers. In a medium bowl sift together the flour, brown sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt-stir with a whisk. In a separate bowl, mix together the water, oil, vinegar and vanilla.
Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and stir in the wet ingredients, stirring until just smooth- do not overmix. Divide batter among muffin cups, I filled about 1/2 way. Then add a few tablespoons of the filling to the cupcakes. I did it off to the side for a black and white look but you can just add it to the center. This will fill the cups almost completely, mine went over the edge a bit but not too bad. Bake for 25 minutes, or until the tops are slightly golden brown and feel springy when gently pressed. Let them cool in the pan till they are set, about 20 minutes. Then cool completely on a cooling rack.
