The Cupcake Addict's Cupcake Collection

I was torn between Bananas Foster and Black Bottom for the 2nd letter of my year.  Black Bottom won out for 2 reasons: Mrs Cram wanted them and they seemed to be much easier than Bananas Foster.   I was correct about “easier”.  It’s amazing how time consuming icing is!  Since I have only 1 bowl for my KitchenAid, washing in between is involved AND there’s the extra step of actually getting the icing on the cupcake.  Lots of time saved by not icing and I reused the bowl without washing it between making the cream cheese part and the chocolate part.

I used the Black Bottom cupcake recipe at CooksCountry.com.

Mookie made sure all usually refrigerated items were brought to room temperature before mixing. (Click to enlarge)

For cheesecake layer:

Beat 16 ounces of cream cheese with 1/2 cup sugar and 1/4 tsp salt until smooth.  Beat in 2 egg whites and 2 tablespoons sour cream until combined, about a minute.  Stir in 1/2 cup miniature chocolate chips and set aside.

Cheesecake layer: Click to enlarge

For chocolate layer:

Combine 1 1/4 cups sugar, 1 1/2 cups AP flour, 1/2 cup Dutch-processed cocoa, 1 1/4 tsp baking soda in mixer bowl and whisk together.  Add 3/4 cups sour cream, 1 1/3 cups water, 1 stick unsalted butter (melted and cooled slightly), and 1 tsp vanilla extract and mix on low until just combined.

Chocolate Layer: Click to enlarge

To finish:

Divide chocolate batter evenly among 24 lined cupcake cups.  Top each with 1 rounded tablespoonful of cream cheese mixture.  (apparently I forgot to photograph before baking).  Bake at 400 degrees for 23-25 minutes, until tops begin to crack.  Cool for 10 minutes in pan before transferring to wire racks. Store in the frig.

Finished Black Bottom Cupcakes: Click to enlarge

These cupcakes turned out to be quite delicious.  They were moist but still a bit airy.  The cream cheese and chocolate complemented each other nicely and the mini chocolate chips provided a bit of textural contrast.  Mr Shuck rated them 2.75 to 3 ❤’s.

My complaints: The chocolate flavor could have been stronger.  I used cocoa from the bulk bins at the Central Market, led there by one of the bakers who happened to be wandering about the store.  I was going to buy Droste, but he told me the bulk cocoa was better.  I don’t know if he was correct about it being better than Droste or not, but I didn’t think the cupcakes ended up with a very rich flavor (LOVED the almost black color though).  I have ordered some Cacao Barry (French Callebaut) Extra Brut cocoa and may attempt these again.  CooksCountry also used just egg whites because they wanted to obtain a whiter cream cheese filling.  I think I’ll a whole egg instead next time so the cheesecake layer will set up a bit firmer.  It seemed a bit too loose.