Name: Black Bottom Cupcakes
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 30 min
Ingredients: 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; 8 oz cream cheese ((softened to room temperature)); 1 egg; 1/2 cup sugar; 1/2 cup chocolate chips

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This is a tried and true Black Bottom Cupcake recipe. It has been around since at least 1982. And how do I know that? I know that because my parents had a small restaurant and I used to bake these cupcakes every morning. I am the black bottom cupcake expert! Yup, just me and the crickets that found their way under our refrigerator, from the pet store next to our restaurant…oh yeah, those were the days. Who wouldn’t wanna eat at a restaurant with crickets and cupcakes? We did serve Starbucks though, one of the first restaurants to carry it south of Seattle, and I’m sure the first to serve it with crickets.

black bottom cupcakes on a white dish towel

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. 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.

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!

Looking for other delicious cake recipes? Here are a few more of our favorites!