Black Bottom Cupcakes Recipe from Scratch

Treat yourself to the classic dessert of black bottom cupcakes. This recipe is a chocoholic’s dream come true! Indulge in a chocolate base with a luscious cream cheese center studded with chocolate chips. Satisfaction guaranteed!

How to make black bottom cupcakes

To make the cream cheese filling: In a medium bowl, use a hand held mixer beat 250 grams of room temperature cream cheese until light and fluffy. A stand mixer with a paddle attachment also works. Beat in 1 egg, and ¼ cup of granulated sugar until well blended and smooth. Use a spatula to stir in ¾ cup chocolate chips (130g) until evenly distributed. Set aside.

Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C). Line two muffin tins with cupcake liners as this recipe yields 18 cupcakes.

In another bowl, whisk together the melted unsweetened chocolate and vegetable oil until well combined.

Add the water and granulated sugar to the chocolate mixture. Mix until the sugar is dissolved.

Beat in 1 egg until fully incorporated.

In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, and salt.

Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, mixing until just combined.

Stir in the vanilla extract until evenly distributed.

Fill each cupcake liner about halfway with the chocolate batter.

Spoon a dollop of the cheese mixture on top of the chocolate batter in each cupcake liner, spreading it slightly.

Bake in the preheated oven for about 20-25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean.

Allow the cupcakes to cool in the muffin tin for a few minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.

Once cooled, you can enjoy your delicious black bottom cupcakes!

Essentially, this is a chocolate cupcake, but the center is a mixture of cream cheese and chocolate chips. It’s like biting into a piece of chocolate cheesecake but in a cupcake form. I cannot even begin to tell you how many times I’ve made these surprise cupcakes and for so many different occasions.

You can dress up these Chocolate Surprise Cupcakes with a ganache frosting and they become a decadent dessert for birthdays, Valentine’s Day, and Christmas. Leave them plain and these surprise cupcakes become the best seller for fundraising activities or a simple Sunday dessert. They are so good that everyone will be asking you for the recipe. Yes, these little surprise cupcakes are really that good! 

If you prefer your cupcakes without any surprise, these espresso cupcakes are for you! 

Recipe inspiration

In 1983, General Foods published a collection of recipes called: “Baker’s Chocolate Celebration Cookbook”. And, of course, you know who had to have it.

So I sent away my 2.99$ (or whatever ridiculous amount) for postage and handling and 4-6 weeks later I got the cookbook. Good times!!!!

The recipe for these surprise cupcakes caught my attention right away. I have made a couple of changes to suit my preferences.

I decreased the amount of sugar and chocolate chips, and I like to use a mixture of mint and dark chocolate chips. Mint and dark chocolate…no explanation required!

Go ahead and try this recipe for Chocolate Surprise Cupcakes. What changes will you make to call it your own?

Recipe

Black Bottom Cupcakes Recipe from Scratch

Treat yourself to the classic dessert of black bottom cupcakes, a chocoholic's dream come true. Indulge in a chocolate base with a luscious cream cheese center studded with chocolate chips.

5 from 3 votes

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Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Prep Time: 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes minutes

Total Time: 50 minutes minutes

Servings: 18 servings

Calories: 228kcal

Author: Maria Vannelli RD

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Ingredients

Cheese mixture:

• 250 grams cream cheese room temperature, softened
• 1 egg room temperature
• ¼ cup granulated sugar
• ¾ cup chocolate chips 130g

Cupcake:

• 2 ounces unsweetened chocolate melted and cooled
• ⅓ cup vegetable oil
• ¾ cup water
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 egg room temperature
• 1¼ cup flour
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

To make the cream cheese mixture:

• In a medium bowl, beat the softened cream cheese until light and fluffy.
• Beat in the egg and sugar until well blended and smooth.
• Use a rubber spatula to stir in the chocolate chips until evenly distributed.
• Set aside.

To make the cupcake:

• Place cupcake liners in muffin tins.
• In a medium bowl,combine the rest of the ingredients.
• Beat together with a whisk or fork until smooth (2-3 minutes).
• Separate ½ of the batter equally among the muffin tins.
• Place 1 tablespoon of the cheese mixture over the batter.
• Top with the remaining cupcake batter.
• Bake at 350 F for 30 - 35 minutes.

Enhance Your Cooking Experience!SCROLL UP for essential step-by-step photos embedded in the article above. When available, videos can be found in the next section. These visuals are designed to help you achieve perfect results every time. Happy cooking!

Notes

Any kind of chocolate chips can be used.

Once cooled, you can sprinkle icing sugar over the top or frost with your favorite icing. I have iced these cupcakes with the ganache frosting recipe found in this recipe for chocolate banana cake.

Please keep in mind that the nutritional information provided below is just a rough estimate and variations can occur depending on the specific ingredients used. 

*recipe lightly adapted from Baker's Chocolate Celebration Cookbook

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 228kcal | Carbohydrates: 27g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 12g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Cholesterol: 34mg | Sodium: 153mg | Potassium: 61mg | Sugar: 19g | Vitamin A: 230IU | Calcium: 30mg | Iron: 1.2mg

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2016.01.18 This post has been updated.