Behold: a baking concoction I didn’t mess up from start to finish. I made these for the Super Bowl Sunday party Matthew and I attended oh, you know, a month ago. I’m a food blogger slacker, but at least I’m getting this recipe up now. And it’s not as though my memory of these cupcakes has diminished with time. Nope, these are too delicious for that.

The original recipe calls for using real cream cheese in the center of the cupcakes but since we’re a lactose intolerant(ish) household, I used Tofutti Cream Cheese for the middle section. It tasted great! I’m sure regular cream cheese would have tasted even better but my brain never once told me to stop shoving these cupcakes in my mouth.

And actually, my favorite part of this cupcake would have to be the cake part. It was so moist, with the exact amount of chocolate in it. It wasn’t heavy or dense, but fluffy and perfectly sweet without giving me a sugar headache. Yum! Loved it. In fact, I think this will be my go-to chocolate cupcake recipe from now on. Mmm, want some. Right now.

Anyway, I made only minor changes to the recipe I found online, which was to omit the chocolate chips in my cream cheese batter and use Tofutti Cream Cheese instead of regular. Regular works fine, of course.

Black Bottom Cupcakes
slightly adapted from Baking Bites
makes 24 cupcakes

Cream Cheese Filling:
16 oz. cream cheese (or Tofutti), room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
2 large egg whites, room temperature
2 Tbsp sour cream, room temperature

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

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place paper cupcake liners in two 12-cup muffin tins. In medium bowl, combine cream cheese, sugar and salt. Beat until smooth, then beat in egg whites and sour cream. Set aside.

In large bowl, mix together flour, cocoa powder, sugar, salt and baking soda. Make a well in the center and add sour cream, water, melted butter and vanilla extract. Stir until just combined, with no remaining bits of flour.

Pour cake batter evenly among the 24 lined muffin tins. Top each with one tablespoon of cream cheese mixture (some may be left over).

Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the cake portion of each cupcake comes out clean. If using two racks, rotate pans halfway through baking to ensure even cooking. Remove and place on wire racks until completely cooled. Sink your teeth in and enjoy chocolaty, creamy bliss.

*Note: I find that these are very, very good straight out of the refrigerator once they have cooled all the way!

Nom.