Black Bottom Cupcakes

These cupcakes won the vote at my husband's workplace when I sent him in soliciting requests for what treat they would like next. When he came back and said "black bottom cupcakes" I literally scratched my head, scrunched my nose, and thought, "uhh, ok, what exactly is that..." I'd never baked these before, let alone even eaten one, so I had some "research" to do. Dessert research is the best kind of research, in my opinion!

Once again The Joy of Baking was a great site to get info and a recipe. This one comes from David Lebovitz's The Great Book of Chocolate and, wow, was it a winner.

So, basically these are a devil's food cupcake with a baked cream cheese center. They reminded me a lot of a cream cheese brownie. I also added some mini chocolate chips to the cream cheese batter before baking. You really couldn't tell after it was baked though, so I'd probably just skip that next time.

I wasn't enthused about the quasi-messy look of the cream cheese and cake combos I found while Googling photos, so I pulled out my fancy, schmancy, pastry bag and piped the cream cheese filling into the center and top. It worked pretty well and kept the tops of the cupcakes looking "clean".

These got great reviews from the office and since there is no icing on top, they transport REALLY well! Be sure to store them in the fridge -- I think they actually taste best cold -- and they should last around 3-4 days.


Black Bottom Cupcakes
from David Lebovitz's, The Great Book of Chocolate
courtesy of The Joy of Baking

Cream Cheese Filling:

8 ounces (227 grams) cream cheese, room temperature
1/3 cup (65 grams) granulated white sugar
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 cup mini chocolate chips (optional)

Chocolate Cupcakes:

1 1/2 cups (195 grams) all purpose flour
1 cup (210 grams) light brown sugar
1/3 cup (30 grams) natural unsweetened cocoa powder (not Dutch processed)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup (240 ml) water
1/3 cup (80 ml) canola oil
1 tablespoon white vinegar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (177 degrees C) and line 12 muffin cups with paper liners, or generously butter or spray each cup with a non stick vegetable spray.

Cream Cheese Filling: In your electric mixer, or with a hand mixer, beat the cream cheese until smooth. Add the sugar, egg, and vanilla extract and beat until creamy and smooth. Set aside while you make the Chocolate Cupcake batter.

Chocolate Cupcakes: First, in a large bowl sift together the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. In a separate bowl mix the water, oil, vinegar, and vanilla extract. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and stir in the wet ingredients until nice and smooth. Evenly divide the batter among the 12 muffin cups. Then spoon a few tablespoons of the cream cheese filling into the center of each cupcake.

Bake in the preheated oven for about 25 minutes, or until the cream cheese filling is a little brown and the cupcakes feel springy to the touch (a toothpick inserted into the chocolate part of the cupcake will come out clean). Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool.

These cupcakes can be stored in the refrigerator for about 3 - 4 days.

Makes 12 cupcakes