Bring these crowd-pleasing favorite, black bottom cupcakes, to your next gathering!
I’m not a big fan of cupcakes.
You know, the ones with a small piece of cake topped with a huge mound of sweet icing.
I find the icing to cupcake ratio to be too much.
Give me a slice of cake any day.
My favorite cupcakes
However, these black bottom cupcakes are different.
They don’t need icing!
And they are good!!
These have been my favorite cupcakes for years now, ever since I tried one at a stall in a local grocery back home (only to find out a few years later that my brother’s ex-girlfriend owned and operated it, but that is another story.)
I love the combination of chocolate cake and cream cheese! Who doesn’t? It is so good!
And the chocolate bits in the cream cheese filling adds another surprise when you bite into it.
So, the recipe I have been using for years now came from David Lebovitz via The Smitten Kitchen. And I haven’t tried anything else because these are perfect! The only change I’ve made is to up the chocolate in the filling a bit, but that’s it!
It is simple to make, you don’t need any mixer, just a couple of bowls and wooden spoons (or rubber spatulas).
First, preheat the oven to 350°F/175°C.
Prepare the luscious, creamy filling!
Then, you have to make the filling.
You will need dark chocolate for this, either chopped up from a bar, or semi-sweet chocolate chips. Either will work well. Then cream cheese, sugar and an egg.
If you are in the US or Philippines, you will need to let the cream cheese come to room temperature, as they come in blocks and are harder. If you are in Europe, straight from the fridge will work well as our cream cheese is softer and already spreadable straight from the container.
In a small mixing bowl, beat together the sugar and cream cheese with a wooden spoon or a rubber spatula. Add in the egg and mix well. Stir in the chocolate. Set aside while you make the chocolate cake.
Make the chocolate cake base.
These are called black bottom cupcakes; ergo we need to make their black bottoms, which come in the form of chocolate cake.
This is a very easy chocolate cake recipe! It doesn’t need any eggs, but still comes out fluffy, moist and oh so good!
You just need to mix all the dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl. In a separate bowl or a pourable jug, mix the wet ingredients. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients, pour in the wet ingredients and mix to incorporate, but do not over-mix.
Putting it all together!
Line a 12-cup muffin pan with your cupcake liner of choice. My daughter chose our cupcake liners and got her favorite – Minnie Mouse.
Using an ice cream scoop (helps the work go fast!), scoop around 1.5 scoops in each cup.
Using 2 tablespoons (the ones you use for eating) and spoon a huge portion of the filling into the center of the cupcakes. You will have more than enough filling, so be generous.
Bake for 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the chocolate cake part (not the cream cheese as there will be melted chocolate) comes out dry.
These are good slightly warm, at room temperature and cold from the fridge.
These will keep for a few days in the fridge as well.
Pin the black bottom cupcakes recipe for future reference:
Other dessert recipes you might like:
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Tweety, via David Lebovitz via The Smitten Kitchen
Yields 12
15 minPrep Time
25 minCook Time
40 minTotal Time
Save RecipeIngredients
- 8 oz (225 g) cream cheese, room temperature
- 1/3 cup (67 g) granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 3 oz (85 g) semi-sweet chocolate, coarsely chopped or semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 1 ½ c (195 g) all-purpose flour
- 5 tbsp (30 g) cocoa
- 1 tsp baking soda
- ¼ tsp fine sea salt
- 1 cup (160 g) light or dark brown sugar (not packed!)
- 1 c (240 ml) water
- 1/3 c (80 ml) vegetable or canola oil
- 1 tbsp vinegar
- 1 tsp vanilla
Directions
- First, you need to make the filling.
- In a small bowl, beat together the sugar and cream cheese with a wooden spoon or a rubber spatula. Add in the egg and mix well. Stir in the chocolate.
- Set aside until needed.
- Then, we start on the cupcakes.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F/175°C.
- Line a 12-cup muffin pan.
- Into a large mixing bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt. Add in the brown sugar and mix well.
- In a separate bowl, or pyrex jug, mix the water, oil, vinegar and vanilla.
- Make a well in the dry ingredients and pour in the wet ingredients. Stir until just smooth, do not over mix!
- TIP: Use an ice-cream scoop!
- Divide the cake filling into the 12 cupcakes.
- Use a tablespoon (the one you use for eating) and spoon a huge portion of the filling and place in the center of the cupcakes. You will have more than enough filling, so be generous.
- Bake for 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the chocolate cake part (not the cream cheese as there will be melted chocolate) comes out dry.
- Cool before serving.
