Black Bottom Cupcakes

My friend Danielle's birthday was on Friday so I had to bring something into the office to celebrate.  She let me choose so after lots of searching I decided on these black bottom cupcakes.  A mixture of rich chocolate cake and cheesecake with chocolate chips?  What could be better?  Of course, when I went home and told Joe what I was making, he gave me the look and asked if there would be any for him to take to work too.  Since the recipe only makes 12 cupcakes, of course I then had to double it.  They went over very well in both offices and were really easy to make.

Black Bottom Cupcakes
From Brown Eyed Baker

Ingredients:
For the filling:
8 oz. cream cheese, at room temperature
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg, at room temperature
2 oz. semi-sweet mini chocolate chips

For the cupcakes:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
5 tablespoons naturally processed cocoa powder (not Dutch-process)
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1 cup water
1/3 cup unflavored vegetable oil
1 tbsp. white vinegar
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Directions:
Make the filling:  Beat together the cream cheese, granulates sugar and egg until smooth.  Stir in the mini chocolate chips.  Set aside.

Make the Cupcakes:
Adjust the rack to the center of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F.  Line a 12 cup muffin tin with paper liners.

In a medium bowl sift together the flour, brown sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt.  In a separate bowl, mix together the water, oil, vinegar, and vanilla extract.

Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and stir in the wet ingredients, stirring just until smooth.  Stir any longer and you will over mix the batter and end up with less than tender cupcakes.

Divide the batter among the muffin cups.  Spoon a few tablespoons of the filling into the center of each cupcake, dividing the filling equally.  This will fill the cups almost completely, which is fine.

Bake for 25 minutes or until the tops are slightly golden brown and the cupcakes feel springy when gently pressed.  Let cool completely before serving.  Store in refrigerator.