Cupcakes Are For Sharing

This is a post I've been meaning to write for some time. I've never been a great baker, but when I finally got sick of boxed cake mixes I turned to this recipe. My mom passed it on to me and now I'll pass it on to you: Black Bottom Cupcakes (aka Black and White cupcakes, aka Tuxedo cupcakes). These cupcakes are perfection, because they are the ultimate crowd pleaser:
* They are simple and easy to make
* Substitutions are easy
* They look fancy and taste delicious
* The ingredients are common and inexpensive
* They don't have a mound of pure sugar frosting on top, but are still rich
* If you make them without the topping, you have wonderful, VEGAN chocolate cupcakes!




BLACK BOTTOM CUPCAKES

Chocolate Base:

1 1/2 cups flour
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup water
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 tablespoon white vinegar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (See note)

Cream Cheese topping:

1 8-oz block (1 package) of cream cheese (DO NOT use "lite" - it will taste nasty)
1 large egg
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. For the topping: combine the room-temperature cream cheese, egg, sugar and salt in a bowl and beat until smooth (I like to use a food processor). For the cupcakes: sift together the dry ingredients, and then add in the wet ingredients and beat until just combined. Mix in the chocolate chips.

Line a muffin pan or two with paper cups (the recipe I have says it should make about 24 cupcakes, but I've never gotten more than 18 out of it). Fill the cups about 1/3 full with the chocolate base (don't overfill - these babies puff up). Top with two tablespoons of the cream cheese mixture. Bake for 15-18 minutes, rotate the pans and bake for another 15-18 min or until the topping is just starting to get golden (or the toothpick test if you're not doing topping). Let cool and enjoy! Do not freeze - this will mess up the cream cheese.

Note: If you're making these vegan, be really careful when you buy chocolate chips - I have a really hard time finding chips that don't have dairy products in them at normal grocery stores. I recommend looking for vegan chocolate chips at Trader Joe's.