Black Bottom Cupcakes

By mariannefeldman

Recipe: Black-bottom cupcakes
Chris Kimball
Do not substitute regular chocolate chips for the miniature chips; regular chips are much heavier and will sink to the bottom of the cupcakes.

Makes 12 cupcakes

Ingredients

• For filling:
• 1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1 large egg white
• 1 tablespoon sour cream
• 1/4 cup semisweet mini chocolate chips (see note above)
• For cupcakes:
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup water, room temperature
• 6 tablespoons sour cream, room temperature
• 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preparation

Step 1

Preparation
Adjust an oven rack to the lower-middle position and heat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with cupcake liners.
For the filling: In a medium bowl, beat the cream cheese, sugar and salt together with an electric mixer on medium speed until smooth, about 30 seconds. Beat in the egg white and sour cream until combined, about 30 seconds. Stir in the chocolate chips.
For the cupcakes: Whisk the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda and salt together in a large bowl. Whisk in the water, sour cream, melted butter and vanilla until just incorporated.
Using a greased 1/3-cup measure, portion the batter into each muffin cup. Spoon a rounded tablespoon of the cream cheese mixture onto the center of each cupcake.
Bake the cupcakes until the tops just begin to crack, 18 to 22 minutes, rotating the tin halfway through baking. Let the cupcakes cool in the tin for 10 minutes, then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely before serving.