I have been craving these black-bottom cupcakes for weeks now. Maybe even months.
Here’s the thing. I have had black-bottom cupcakes before. I can’t remember when, but sometime, somewhere, in my life, I had black-bottom cupcakes.
I was not impressed.
I never thought of them again, until a year or two ago, when a friend made some and I tried one (because hey, I’m not rude!) and they were actually delicious!
I don’t know why I didn’t like them before (maybe I was just being a picky kid, who knows?!) because really… chocolate + cream cheese + mini chocolate chips? What is there not to love?
Of course I couldn’t leave well enough alone, so I added coconut to my recipe. I can’t imagine making these without, but I am a huge coconut fan!
I am a little confused though, since these go by many names. Are these cupcakes or muffins? Breakfast or dessert??
Black-bottom cupcakes? Chocolate Cream Cheese Muffins?
I mean, they are significantly less sweet than you’d expect a cupcake to be, since they’re lacking all that frosting.
But really, aren’t muffins just cupcakes without frosting anyways? Hidden behind a healthier-sounding name so we can eat them for breakfast?
Either way you look at ‘em, they are delicious. And I’m pretty sure I’ll be having them for dessert AND breakfast! Ha!
Have you tried black-bottom cupcakes before? What did you think?
Ingredients
- 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 1 large egg, room temperature
- 1/2 cup sweetened flaked coconut
- 1 cup mini chocolate chips
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup coffee (room temperature)
- 1/3 cup organic extra virgin coconut oil
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Line 48 mini muffins (or 24 regular muffins) with baking liners and set aside.
(Note: You will not likely fill all the liners. It's hard to say exactly, because all muffin pans can be a bit different. Just keep filling and if a few are empty at the end, remove those liners and save them for later! I got 24 mini cupcakes and 7 big regular-sized cupcakes out of this!)
In a medium bowl, cream together the cream cheese, egg and 1/3 cup sugar until smooth. Stir in the coconut and chocolate chips. Place this mixture in the fridge to set up a bit while you continue with the recipe.
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, brown sugar, 1/2 cup sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda & salt.
In a small bowl, stir together the coffee, coconut oil (melted for 10-15 seconds if it's too firm!), vinegar and vanilla.
Form a well in the middle of the dry ingredients, pour in all the wet ingredients, and whisk until just smooth. (Do not overmix this batter!)
Fill each cupcake tin about 1/2 full with batter, and then scoop a tablespoon or two (depending on the size of your tins!) of the chilled cream cheese mixture into the center of each. With clean, damp fingertips, press the cream cheese mixture gently down so the cupcake batter comes up around it on the sides.
Bake for about 28-25 minutes, depending on the size of your cupcakes. Start checking at 18 minutes, and check every 3-4 minutes or so, until the cupcakes spring back when gently pressed and the tops are just barely golden.
Let cool completely, and even chill if you'd like, for best results. These cupcakes freeze well, or you can store them in an airtight container for a few days (if they last that long!).
http://sweetannas.com/2013/09/coconut-black-bottom-cupcakes.htmlRecipe adapted from Dave Lebovitz The Great Book of Chocolate Cookbook
