Black-Bottom Cupcakes

These cupcakes are a tasty cross between a chocolate cake and chocolate chip cheesecake in one convenient and portable form.

I first mentioned these cupcakes EIGHT YEARS ago. I’m pretty sure I’ve made them once or twice in the interim but I wouldn’t bet on it. I have a new stove (which runs cool) and had to bake them longer but the original time should work for most people.

Black Bottom (aka Chocolate Chip Cheesecake) Cupcakes – makes 12 large cupcakes

NOTE: The paper liners end up VERY full once they’ve baked so you can probably make 14-16

Cupcake

1/4 cup cocoa
1 1/2 cup flour
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 tsp baking soda
pinch of salt
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup water
1 cup sugar

Cream Cheese Filling

1 x 8 oz package of cream cheese, room temperature
1/3 cup sugar
pinch of salt
1 egg, room temperature
1 x 6 oz package chocolate chips **(reduce to 4 ounces if you wish)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Cupcakes

In a large bowl combine cocoa, flour, oil, baking soda, salt, vanilla, water, and sugar until smooth. You can use a whisk or stir gently with a wooden spoon.

Cream Cheese Filling

In a smaller bowl, cream together the cream cheese, sugar, salt until you get a smooth mixture. Stir in the egg and make sure it’s well blended. Stir in chocolate chips.

Line a 12 cup cupcake pan with large size paper liners. Pour equal amounts of chocolate mixture into each cup. This will be a bit more than half the liner if you use the large size liners.

Top with equal amounts of cream cheese mixture (a heaping tablespoon).

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until a wooden toothpick inserted into the cakey part (not the cream cheese part) of the cupcake comes out clean.

Cherry Variation

Instead of adding mini-chocolate chips to the cheesecake layer, chop up maraschino cherries and stir them in.

To the cupcake batter, add 1 tsp liquid from jar of maraschino cherries (or vanilla extract if you’re using fresh cherries)

Cream Cheese Filling

1 x 8 oz package cream cheese, room temperature
1/3 cup sugar
pinch of salt
1 egg, room temperature
1 1/2 oz chopped dark chocolate
14-16 maraschino cherries (or fresh if preferred)

Optional garnish

14-16 additional whole cherries for topping the cupcakes

Prepare the filling for the cupcakes by thoroughly mixing the cream cheese, salt, egg, and sugar. When these ingredients are well combined, fold in the chocolate and cherries.

Drop about two tablespoons of the filling into the center of each of the already batter filled cups. It will sink slightly into the batter. Once each of the cups has both batter and filling, add the decorative whole cherries and then bake them for 20-25 minutes. Allow the cupcakes to cool slightly before serving or storing in an airtight container.

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