Black-Bottom Cupcakes

Since moving back to school, starting classes and then catching a terrible cold that originated in Georgia (the state, not the country), I've had little to blog about. I did have a previous blog from the end of August when I made the most delicious and moist vegan mini-cupcakes ever but before I could write the blog post my memory card deleted all the photos and then the memory card was lost forever (karma's a bitch and it doesn't distinguish between people and memory devices). But today I took all my baking supplies on the long trek to the campus ghetto to bake at my friends' house. Carrying my cupcake carrier, camera bag and a massive bag filled with canisters, a mixer and every other ingredient for half an hour resulted in quite a few rests along the way and my friend saying, "You look like you're about to cry." So we went to McDonald's to cheer me up.

For the recipe this week I returned to The Hummingbird Bakery Cookbook for their Black-Bottom Cupcake recipe. The final product was delicious but not quite a cupcake and I wish it had been better described in the recipe especially the consistencies, none of which seemed accurate while mixing. The "black-bottom" was called a cake filling but never reached a consistency of cake batter (actually the thickest 'goop' I've ever come across) and tasted more like a brownie after being backed. Alternatively, the cheesecake batter was a liquid mess. 

Black-Bottom Cupcakes (makes a dozen)

Ingredients:

Cake Base (Brownie)

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 + tablespoon sugar

 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 cup sunflower oil (I used vegetable oil)

1 1/2 teaspoons distilled white vinegar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Cheesecake Filling

4 1/2 oz. cream cheese

1/3 cup sugar

1 egg

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

a pinch of salt

2/3 cup chocolate chips

Directions for chocolate base:

Whisk the flour, sugar, cocoa and baking soda in a large bowl. 

In a glass, whisk the oil, vinegar, vanilla, and half a cup of water. Gradually add to dry ingredients.

Continue to mix until all ingredients are fully combined.

Dived into cupcake liners.

Directions for the cheesecake filling:
Beat together the cream cheese, sugar, egg, vanilla and salt on medium-slow until smooth and fluffy (or in my case, not at all).

Stir chocolate chips by hand.

Spoon a tablespoon of the filling into the cupcake liners.

Bake at 325 degrees for 20 minutes. A good indicator is when the cheesecake filling turns golden on the edges. Decorate with cream cheese frosting and cocoa powder.