Oh, black bottoms cupcakes…how I’ve been missing out for so long! I’ve never had a black bottom cupcake until just the other day when I whipped up a batch. What a terrific little cupcake! No they aren’t adorned with some sweet confection of frosting. But! They are even more appealingly bosting a dollop of chocolate chip cheesecake in the center : D Oh yes… chocolate chip cheesecake is what I said.
And they are not difficult to make either. The most tedious part of the recipe is the fact that you have to make two batters- the cupcake batter and the cheesecake batter. The cheesecake batter is SO basic though- a one bowl, one spatula kind of basic. And the cupcake batter is simply a matter of dumping wet ingredients into dry ingredients.
More important than the ease of which they are made is the fact that they are really good. Really good.
Honestly I don’t think I can say much more than that about them.
So let’s just dive right in and see how easy this black bottom cupcake recipe truly is!
Take a small bowl to make the cheesecake filling.
Put the room temperature cream cheese in and smooth it out with a spatula.
Add the sugar and combine until creamy and smooth.
Gently stir in the beaten egg and vanilla.
Add the chocolate chips.
Super simple!
Evenly combine your dry ingredients in a large bowl with a whisk.
In a medium bowl, combine the wet ingredients plus! the brown sugar.
Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and mix until just combined.
You can either use paper muffin cups or just spray a muffin tin with cooking spray.
I didn’t have any paper cups : ( and I live too far away from the store to run and get some so I had to go the cooking spray route and cross my fingers…
Luckily I can tell you that cooking spray is an approved method for getting your cupcakes out without sticking : )
Evenly drop the cupcake batter into the tin (about 2/3 full). You should have pretty much exactly enough to fill the whole tin.
Drop the cheesecake filling into the center of each cupcake, about 2 Tb of filling.
The cupcakes will be up to their rim at this point. You’re probably worried that they are going to overflow.
Don’t worry, they expand perfectly!
After this, pop them in the oven and wait for their deliciousness : )
Aren’t they cute? The cheesecake center doesn’t even crack terribly or anything!
Plus it’s super creamy and moist.
The cupcakes themselves are really moist and tender. Not crumbly and dry.
The cupcake batter is actually a vegan batter. Pretty interesting.
Anyways, LOOK at how amazingly yummy they are! And trust me, they really are.
- For the Filling:
- 8 oz. cream cheese, at room temperature
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
- ¼ tsp vanilla extract
- ⅓ cup semisweet chocolate chips (regular or mini)
- For the Cupcakes:
- 1½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
- 5 tablespoons naturally unsweetened cocoa powder (not Dutch-process)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- teaspoon salt
- 1 cup water
- ⅓ cup unflavored vegetable oil
- 1 tablespoon white or cider vinegar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Make the Filling: Beat together the cream cheese until smooth. Add sugar and combine until creamy. Gently add in beaten egg and vanilla. Stir in chocolate chips. Set aside.
- Make the Cupcakes: Adjust the rack to the center of the oven and preheat to 350°F (175°C). Spray a 12-cup muffin tin with cooking spray or line with paper muffin cups.
- In a medium bowl sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. In a separate bowl whisk together the brown sugar, water, oil, vinegar, and vanilla.
- In the center of the dry ingredients pour in the wet ingredients, stirring just until smooth. Stir any longer and you will over mix the batter and end up with less-than-tender cupcakes.
- Divide the batter among the muffin cups. Spoon a few tablespoons of the filling into the center of each cupcake, dividing the filling evenly. This will fill the cups almost completely, which is fine.
- Bake for 25 minutes, or until the tops are slightly golden brown and the cupcakes feel springy when gently pressed. These moist treats will keep unrefrigerated for 2 to 3 days if stored in an airtight container.
Adapted from “The Great Book of Chocolate” by David Lebovitz
