Black-Bottom Cupcakes

I felt like taking cupcakes to a pot luck dinner the other day, so checked my recipe binder and decided it was finally time to try these Black-Bottom Cupcakes. I figured they had to be delicious because the cake batter was the same as our favorite Wacky Cake. They did turn out beautifully, maybe not in looks, but definitely in taste!

Powdered sugar covers a multitude of defects!

Black-Bottom Cupcakes
from The Great Book of Chocolate, by David Lebovitz

Filling:
8 ounces cream cheese
1/3 cup sugar
1 large egg
2 ounces (or 1/3 cup) semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped

Cupcakes:
1 1/2 cups flour
1 cup brown sugar
1/4-1/3 cup cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup water
1/3 cup oil
1 tablespoon vinegar
1 teaspoon vanilla

Beat together the filling ingredients and set aside. For the cupcakes, combine the dry ingredients, then the wet ingredients, the mix together. Place batter in cupcake lines, then dollop with filling. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes.

Yield: 12 regular or 30 mini cupcakes.

I only used 2/3 of the filling, so made another 1/2 batch of batter. The original 12 were too full, so the real yield is closer to 14 cupcakes for batter and 18 (or even more) for filling. If I ever make these again, I also need to remember to cover the filling after dolloping because it doesn't really sink.