Black Bottom Cupcakes – chocolate cupcakes are baked with a cream cheese filling and served with a chocolate glaze on top.
I love food blogging and the food blogging world. What started out as a way for me to keep track of what I’ve made and what I thought about it, and maybe to get a little practice on my photography, has turned into an all out hobby and obsession. When I’m making a meal or a dessert, in my head, I’m already coming up with the words I want to post with that meal. Sometimes the words come easy, and sometimes it’s a little more difficult, but it is always fun.
I never imagined that I would actually have people come and comment on my blog, or even come look at my blog for that matter! I look at my stats every once in awhile, and see that a lot of my hits come from people “googling”, looking for a recipe, and it humbles me that they sometimes end up on one of my pages. Now if only I could find a way to make a living from blogging – then I would have a job that I could truly say that I loved!
There is a downfall with blogging, though. I sometimes make something, or want to make something, and feel like it’s just not blog worthy, or that it’s been done so many times that why would someone want to hear about it again from me?? With the shear amount of food blogs out there today, though, it’s almost impossible to find a recipe that someone has not done. And sometimes, I need to remember that this blog really is about me, and about what I cook and bake and about what I like. I don’t think anyone would enjoy going to a blog where the author is not passionate about what he/she makes.
So today’s recipe is one of those recipes that has been done a hundred times over, but really, it’s so good that it could be done another hundred times over and I wouldn’t get sick of it. I grew up knowing these as Chocolate Cheesecake Cupcakes, and I never knew of their popularity. The recipe my mom used is a little different. The cheesecake portion would always sink to the bottom, which I loved, but I also love that with this version, the cheesecake stays put in the middle of the cupcake. My mom’s never had the chocolate glaze on top, either, but I loved that addition.
I did have to change this recipe up a bit. The filling was the perfect amount for 24 cupcakes, but I was quite short on the cake batter. I found that 1 1/2 times the batter was just about right (I had a little left over), so that is what I have included in the recipe below. I also had way too much of the chocolate glaze, so I halved that amount. I could have added more to the cupcakes but I didn’t want the glaze to overpower the cupcake.
So even though they’ve been done many times before, they really are worth doing again!!
Black Bottom Cupcakes
Ingredients
Filling:
- 8 ounces cream cheese
- 1/2 cup confectioners sugar
- 1 large egg
- pinch of salt
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
Cupcakes:
- 2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
- 3/4 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 3/8 cup natural cocoa powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 3/8 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 cup boiling water
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 1 1/2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
For the Chocolate Glaze:
- 4 ounces semi-sweet chocolate finely chopped
- 1/3 cup unsalted butter cut into 3 pieces
- 1/8 cup light corn syrup
- 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line 2 standard 12-cup cupcake tins with paper cupcake liners.
- To make the filling: In a medium bowl, cream together the cream cheese, confectioners’ sugar, egg, salt, and vanilla until smooth and creamy. Stir in the chocolate chips.
- To make the cake batter: In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, brown sugar, granulated sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. In a 2 cup measuring cup, combine the boiling water, oil, vinegar, and vanilla. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour in the liquid ingredients. Stir together until smooth.
- Fill each cupcake cup ¼ full of batter and top with a heaping tablespoon or so of the filling. Divide it evenly and use it all. Top the filling with the remaining batter, dividing it evenly. Bake until cupcakes are puffed and firm, about 25-28 minutes.
- Meanwhile, make the glaze: Combine all ingredients in a microwave-safe bowl and microwave on high for 1 minute. Remove from the microwave and stir until smooth. If the chocolate is not completely melted, continue to microwave for 30 second intervals and stir until smooth.
- Transfer the cupcakes in the pans to a wire rack and let cool completely. When cool, dip the top of each cupcake in the chocolate glaze. Feel free to double dip, if you like. Let the excess glaze drip from the cupcakes for a few seconds and then place the cupcake right-side up on the wire rack until glaze firms up before serving. I found that it was easier to just spoon the glaze on top of the cupcakes and spread gently.
Jaime says
i have seen these popping up everywhere and now i want to make them! they look perfect, thanks for listing your modifications for us
Aimée says
Ok, so this is new to me! Hope that encourages you. I have a lot of similar feelings about blogging- it’s been a great journey.
I’ll be making these soon! They look great.
hot garlic says
You have to know I feel you on that one! It is hard to strike a balance once people start to read it and follow you isn’t it!? You feel like you then have to please them!
I think this is great, though I have heard of them a hundred times, it never gets old and I still haven’t made them. Maybe this will be the time!
Jacque says
Well, I haven’t seen anyone blog about these that I can remember, so I’m glad you did. They look fantastic….mmmm, really! I like how the cheesecake stays in the middle, just like it should. 🙂
Elle says
Another great recipe from that great book! Love that the cheesecake stays in the middle…and the glaze is just the thing to top ’em with. It really is awesome when someone finds a post from the past and comments that it is what they were looking for…and they made it, too! Bet someone will do that with these great cupcakes!
kamailesfood says
Mmm…these look great. Even when something’s been done a bazillion times, I enjoy seeing other people’s versions.
eatme_delicious says
I agree – you have this blog because you love food and posting/writing about the stuff you make, so who cares if other people have made the same thing. I’ve seen these done many times but never with a chocolate glaze which seems like the perfect addition!
Rosie says
Hi Deb, I have an award waiting on my blog for you 🙂
http://rosiebakesapeaceofcake.blogspot.com/
Rosie x
Debbie says
The cupcakes look great. I would love to try them. It is hard to come up with new things to make a blog interesting. Sometimes I think mine is kind of boring, but it is so much fun and you just can’t come up all the time with something new. I post things that probably have been made a million times, but it is STILL fun!!!!!
Kate / Kajal says
i hear ya girl …i feel that way about my food n photographs too .. !
and its always nice to see a chocolate recipe …even if its done a 100 times over !! 🙂
love the picture where of the cross section … shows what you’re gonna get !
Prudy says
This one’s definitely worth doing again. I haven’t made these in ages and I don’t want to forget about them. They’re so good and pretty easy and everyone always loves them.
Paula says
I hope you keep on blogging! I love looking at your creations and enjoy the narratives that accompany them! These cupcakes are no exception! How do you keep from, you know, eating them without stopping? I love your colorful cupcake cups, too. I wonder if these would hold up in a lunch box. My family would go nuts over these! YUM!
giz says
I’m so intrigued by black bottom cupcakes. I have to tag this one and try it. They’ll be putting a sign on my door soon that says “muffins r us”…
They look so good.
Psychgrad says
Maybe I should consider redundancy of recipes, but I really never do. I just like to post fruits of my labour, successful or not. I think we’re all learning from each other.
Plus, the more I see a recipe, the more I want to make it myself. So, repetition is good.
I have seen black bottom cupcakes before. But now I’m reminded that I really should make them.
Mrs. L says
And just because they’ve been done a hundred times before, doesn’t mean that every has done them! I’ve never made these nor do I have a recipe for them bookmarked so know that they will now go on my list of things to make.