in search of the perfect black bottom

i recall my first experience with the black bottom cupcake. it was at starbucks with my friend kim, and i while doing a little dance and singing “black bottom cupcakes you make the rockin world go round” (go ahead, try to get queen’s “fat bottom girls” out of your head), i tried to figure out what the name meant– they looked more like white middled cupcakes than black bottom cupcakes. while i havent done enough research to discover the origin, i had declared that i would make them myself. a year or two ago, i searched for a clone of the starbucks recipe, found one, and they turned out phenomenal! however (and you might be noticing a trend here) i did not make a note of which one i used.

so today, today i made two different recipes in hopes of finding the perfect black bottom cupcake recipe, even if it wasnt the same as last time. the first batch went in the oven this morning while i was getting ready to go to the party that i was bringing the scrumptious peanut butter chocolate krispies to. while they were baking, i decided to measure out the ingredients for the second recipe incase i did not get home from the party until later than i had planned on.

since i was making two different batches and the first one was for 24 cupcakes i decided to halve it. since it was decently early in the morning, i accidentally cracked two eggs so i had to either throw them both out and use a third, or try to pour out as close as i could to half; since i hate wasting food, i went with the latter, and based on how they turned out, i am thinking that perhaps i did not get it quite right. at least i caught it before pouring them in to the batter!

when i prepped them, i was feeling quite confident…

the filling appeared to be the perfect amount, and i even had it centered!

when they came out of the oven, though, they did not look as i remembered them. it seems that all of the filling had sunken in. this one was making a face at me, i thought it was kinda cute, and considered putting some eyes on it

even though the cheesecake sunk in, i cant say that i am complaining about the way they turned out, and if someone had never seen a real black bottom cupcake before, they might think that this is how they should be.

during my black bottom intermission (aka erica’s party) i was providing a baking tip to a girl that was having difficulty with cheesecake swirl brownies: the trick is to make sure that your cream cheese is at the proper temperature. of course when i got home i was so impatient that i had to force my cream cheese to the right temperature, and thankfully it appears to have worked! when the batter was prepped in the pan it kinda looked the same as the first batch, so i was starting to think that they would turn out the same despite the recipes being quite different.

but then they came out of the oven with glorious cheesecake tops! granted they werent all centered or perfect looking, but unless you are meticulous about the placement this is generally what they look like. although i have ocd, i am perfectly okay with”real” looking baked goods…it gives them a home made feel.

and now, to take a look inside…. oh.heck.yes.

Recipe 1 from Cook’s Country:

Cream Cheese Filling
16-oz cream cheese, room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 tsp salt
2 large egg whites, room temperature
2 tbsp sour cream, room temperature
1/3 cup miniature chocolate chips (not full size*)

Cake
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder
1 1/4 cups sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/4 tsp baking soda
3/4 cup sour cream
1 1/3 cups water
1/2 cup butter, melted and slightly cooled
1 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350F. Line two 12-cup muffin tins with paper liners.
In a medium bowl, make filling. Beat together cream cheese, sugar and salt until smooth. Beat in egg whites and sour cream. Stir in chocolate chips and set aside.
In a large bowl, whisk together sugar, salt, flour, cocoa powder and baking soda. Make a well in the center and add in sour cream, water, butter and vanilla. Stir together until just combined and no streaks of flour remain.
Divide cake batter evenly among 24 cupcake liners. Top each portion of batter with 1 rounded tablespoon cream cheese mixture (It is ok to have a little left over).
Bake for 20-25 minutes. A toothpick inserted into the side (cake only part) should come out with a few moist crumbs on it. Rotate pans halfway through baking if you are using two racks.
Cool in pans for 5 minutes. Cream cheese filling should sink slightly in this time. Remove to wire racks to cool completely.

Makes 24 cupcakes.

Recipe 2 from David Lebovitz:

For the filling:

8 oz. cream cheese, at room temperature

1/3 cup granulated sugar

1 large egg, at room temperature

2 oz. bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped

For the cupcakes:

1 ½ cups all-purpose flour

1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar

5 tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder

1 tsp. baking soda

¼ tsp. salt

1 cup water

1/3 cup vegetable oil

1 tbsp. white or cider vinegar

1 tsp. vanilla extract

Directions:

To make the filling, beat together the cream cheese, granulated sugar and egg until smooth.  Stir in chopped chocolate pieces.  Set aside.

To make the cupcakes, adjust a rack to the center of the oven and preheat to 350°.  Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners.

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

Divide the batter among the muffin cups.  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.  Bake for 25 minutes, or until the tops are slightly golden brown and the cupcakes feel springy when gently pressed.  These will keep unrefrigerated for 2-3 days in an airtight container.