Black bottomed cupcakes

Black bottom cupcakes, when done well, are one of my favorite cupcakes.  I have made them three times now, and each time, they have turned out differently.  I found that if I tried to double or triple the recipe, it doesn't work.  i made these because I will be going to Seattle tomorrow morning, and this will make a good cupcake to bring for people to eat.  I am also bringing my mixer, so that I can make a few cupcakes while I am there.

I love having a 24 cup cupcake pan, makes making cupcakes so much easier with one batch going in the oven at a time, since most of my recipes makes 24.

Cream cheese filling.  Ignore the pill bottle next to it.  That is just the pain pills for the who knows what is going wrong with me in my abdomen.

I want to eat this filling by itself.  Its the perfect cheesecake filling.

The chocolate part of the batter.  So easy.

My little helper.  She insists on being in the kitchen and cooking with me every time I cook.  I wonder if Aiden would have been like this, had we not had the kitchen off limits with a gate.  Ciera figured out the gate too early, and isn't one to listen to me.

Its a messy job, but I had just enough batter for all 24 cups.

See how when you add the cheesecake part, it fills to the top?  I love the way this looks.  And tastes.  The first time I made these, the cheesecake went to the bottom.  I haven't been able to replicate that.  Now they stay black bottomed with the cheesecake at the top.

These are overcooked a little bit.  Don't work on getting a recipe ready to blog until after cupcakes come out of the oven.  They still taste good, but you don't want your cheesecake that browned.  A little light brown is ok, though.

They are supposed to sink that way.  Explaining that to everyone who eats them is funny.  If they sink, you did it right, in my opinion.

I never listen to recipes, and take my cupcakes out of the pan right away.  The leads to squished cupcakes, like the one on the bottom left of this picture.  Which is ok, I eat that one first.

YUM!

But, for once, I am adding a recipe to the end of this post.

Black Bottom Cupcakes

For the filling:

16 oz. cream cheese, at room temperature

2/3 cup granulated sugar

2 large eggs, at room temperature

For the cupcakes:

3 cups all-purpose flour

2 cups firmly packed light brown sugar

½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder

2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

2 cups water

2/3 cup vegetable oil

2 tbsp. white or cider vinegar

2 tsp. vanilla extract

Directions:

To make the filling, beat together the cream cheese, granulated sugar and egg until smooth.  Stir in chopped chocolate pieces.  Set aside.

To make the cupcakes, adjust a rack to the center of the oven and preheat to 350°.  Line two 12-cup muffin tins with paper liners.

In a medium bowl, mix together the flour, brown sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt.  I usually use my hands to break up all the clumps, because I don’t own a sifter. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients.  In the well, add all the liquid ingredients.  You can mix them first, or do as I do and put them in as I am going, therefore not messing up another bowl.  Stir until just smooth, making sure not to over mix. 

Using either a ¼ cup scoop or a ¼ cup measuring cup, fill all the liners.  Put two tablespoons of filling into the center of each cupcake.  This will fill the cupcake liners to the top.  Bake for about 15-20 minutes, they are done when they spring back to the touch.

Do not over bake, which I have done.  It's not good and you will cry at the dismal failure this awesome cupcake should be.