A cupcake without frosting? Usually I would not put my stamp of approval on such a thing. But do you see that beautiful cheesecake layer on the top? That makes it all okay. A layer of cheesecake on top of a perfectly tasty, moist chocolate cake. Look, I'm not saying you couldn't toss some frosting on top of these cakes, I'll never say no to frosting, but it's actually not necessary. Yes, the cake is just that good.
I recently made these cupcakes to share with some good friends. They were visiting after a recent move to Florida. Nothing beats good friends and food! They are lucky I like them so much or I would have eaten them all myself. This is such an easy recipe, that yields impressive results. The lack of frosting makes them so easy to transport. I'm pretty sure kids will love these in their school lunches.
Black Bottom Cupcakes
from David Lebovitz
makes one dozen
For the filling:
8 ounce cream cheese, softened
1/3 cup sugar
1 egg
1 cup mini chocolate chips
For the cupcakes:
1 and 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
5 Tablespoons cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup water
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 Tablespoon white vinegar
1 teaspoon vanilla
To make the filling: Beat together the cream cheese, sugar, and egg until well blended. Stir in chocolate chips. Set aside.
To make the cupcakes:
Preheat oven to 350. Line a muffin tin with paper liners.
In a medium bowl sift together flour, brown sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. In a separate bowl mix together water, oil, vinegar, and vanilla. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and stir in the wet ingredients. Stir until smooth, do not overmix.
Divide the batter evenly among the muffin cups (I used an ice cream scoop) Spoon some of the cheesecake filling onto the center of each cupcake. This will fill the cups entirely.
Bake for 20-25 minutes or until the tops are lightly brown. Store in an airtight container for up to three days, I kept them in the refrigerator.
Pretty simple right? I think without frosting you've saved yourself some calories. You know what that means....eat two.
