Black Bottom Cupcakes

Source

Author: Robin Young

Source: Adapted From: The Great Book of Chocolate, David Lebovitz

Web Page: http://www.rockinrs.com, http://boisefoodieguild.blogspot.com, Facebook - Here's What's Cookin!

Degree of Difficulty

Degree of Difficulty: Easy

Oven Temperature: 350°F

Servings

Yield: 12 Cupcakes

Ingredients - For The Filling

6

Dark Sweet Cherries, fresh, pitted and cut in half

8

oz

Cream Cheese, room temperature

1/3

c

Sugar, granulated

1

lg

Egg, room temperature

2

oz

Bittersweet or Semi Sweet chocolate, cut into pieces

Ingredients - For The Cupcakes

1½

c

All-Purpose Flour

1

c

Light Brown Sugar, firmly packed

5

T

Unsweetened Cocoa Powder (not Dutch-process)

1

t

Baking Soda

¼

t

Salt

1

c

Water

1/3

c

Vegetable Oil, unflavored

1

T

White or Cider Vinegar

1

t

Vanilla extract, real vanilla

Make The Filling

1

Beat together the cream cheese, granulated sugar, and egg until smooth. Stir in the chopped chocolate pieces. Set aside.

Make The Cupcakes

1

Adjust the rack to the center of the oven and preheat to 350°F (175°C). Butter a 12-cup muffin tin, or line the tin with paper muffin cups.

2

In a medium bowl sift together the flour, brown sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. In a separate bowl, mix together the water, oil, vinegar, and vanilla.

3

Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and stir in the wet ingredients, stirring until just smooth. Stir any longer and you will over mix the batter and end up with less-than-tender cupcakes.

4

Divide the batter among the muffin cups. Option - place ½ Cherry in center. Spoon a few tablespoons of the filling into the center of each cupcake, dividing the filling evenly. This will fill the cups almost completely, which is fine.

5

Bake for 25 minutes, or until the tops are slightly golden brown and the cupcakes feel springy when gently pressed. These moist treats will keep well unrefrigerated for 2 to 3 days if stored in an airtight container.

Cooking Times

Preparation Time: 30 minutes

Cooking Time: 25 minutes

Inactive Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour and 5 minutes

Tips

Two notes:

1). If you choose to go mini for these, keep the filling at a tablespoon or less, lest you run out, as, ahem, someone else may have.

2). Though I’ve only made this recipe once, and therefore don’t think you should take my input as absolute authority, I’ve got to advise against actually letting these guys fill up. Not an issue if you’re going full-size, but if you go mini, aim for 90 percent full.