My little sister Kelli and I cooked and ran the restaurant. We were famous…famous for arguing all day and stealing beer all night. I’m happy to say, we sold the restaurant after few years, we started buying our own beer and my sister and I are pretty good pals. This cupcake recipe however, has stood the true test of time. A favorite of my husband Marty, these are all the things a cupcake should be- moist, tender, sweet, but-not-too-sweet, and tangy from the help of the cream cheese filling.
What are black bottom cupcakes? It’s almost like a chocolate cupcake and a cannoli had a baby.
The good thing about running my folks restaurant is that it culminated  my love of cooking…the second thing is it taught me to never, ever, ever consider opening up a restaurant of my own! It is back breaking work and unless you have a trust fund with an endless supply of cash, I suggest you get a regular job and feed your foodie needs with a food blog!
Back to the recipe.  Super easy and no frosting required!
First step- preheat oven (always). Mix up cake batter. Â I like to use a hand mixer because cleaning a stand mixer is not very fun to me. Place the chocolate batter in a cupcake pan lined with cupcake liners (and give them a spray of nonstick to make eating them easier!).
Pro Tip: Use cookie scoops for both the cupcake batter and the cream cheese filling to keep things even- this will ensure perfect, equal same size cupcakes!
Chocolate Cupcake Batter Ingredients
1 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup cocoa
1 cup water
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup vegetable oil
After that, mix together the cream cheese filling, and drop a scoop in the middle of each cupcake.
For Cream Cheese Filling:
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 eggs
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup chocolate chips
Bake them up- and once they’re done, I like to top each one with a few extra chocolate chips for garnish, but that of course is optional.Â
There you have it- in under 45 minutes, you have restaurant quality black bottom cupcakes! These are such a treat and to know that you will enjoy this recipe as much as I do makes me so happy…There is so much family history behind them!Â
Looking for other delicious cake recipes? Here are a few more of our favorites!Â
- Peach Dump Cake
- Lemon Loaf Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
- Margarita Cupcakes
- The Best Chocolate Cake
- Easy Apple Cake
Black Bottom Cupcakes
Ingredients
Chocolate Cupcake Batter
- 1 1/2 cup flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup cocoa powder
- 3/4 cup water
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Cream Cheese Filling
- 8 oz cream cheese (softened to room temperature)
- 1 egg
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit. Line a cupcake pan (1 dozen) with cupcake liners and spray with nonstick.
- In a medium sized mixing bowl: Combine flour, baking soda, salt, sugar and cocoa. Whisk to combine. Add water, vanilla and vegetable oil. Stir until fully mixed and no lumps are pressent (hand or stand mixer works best). Set batter aside.
- In a small sized mixing bowl: Combine cream cheese, egg, & sugar. Mix until fully combined. Fold in chocolate chips. *Make sure you are using softened cream cheese, otherwise the mix will be lumpy.
- Fill each cupcake liner with about 1/4 cup batter, then add about 2 tablespoons of cream cheese mixture to the center of each cupcake. *If using a cookie scoop, use a 4 tablespoon scoop (#16) for the chocolate batter and a 2 tablespoon scoop (#30) for the cream cheese filling.
- Bake at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the chocolate cake comes out clean.
This is a great recipe. My mom used to make these for Christmas and I have to thank you for it since I lost my recipe. I always loved them and now I can make these and have fond memories of her. Lost her this past summer at the age of99.
Thanks for this long lost recipe.
cupcakes sound delicious
Thanks foe sharing this quick to make and delicious recipe. It really taste delicious. I tried this last weekend & everyone just loved it.
Are these for standard muffin tins or large ones? I had way too much batter and filling. They were over full and took extra time to cook. Will make 6 more next time.
I’ve made these! Love them! My mother in law made them 25 years ago…she made it with a boxed cake mix! I like your recipe better. I did, however, substituted the water with hot coffee, it gave a more chocolate flavor. I’m making these for a Christmas party this weekend! Thanks for bringing an old recipe back to life!
how many cupcakes does this make? excited to try the recipe!
I’ve been making this recipe since the 80’s also, and never had a problem with the results. The only difference in our two recipes is yours has no vinegar, while mine uses1 tsp of white vinegar. Hmmm, I wonder if that makes a difference.
Now that you mention it, seems to me when I made them years ago it did include vinegar. Not sure how or why it was omitted. I got the recipe from my mom. Didn’t seem to make a difference in the result..maybe it brightens the chocolate flavor?