I decided to bake today. Katrina gave me The Hummingbird Bakery Cookbook for my birthday this year but I’ve yet to make anything from it. She has, on the other hand been going through the cookbook trying out nearly every single recipe! The few recipes left that she’d not tried but was keen to is the Black Bottom Cupcake.
This is essentially a dark chocolate cupcake with a dollop of cheesecake baked into it, then topped with Cream Cheese Frosting. I’ve been baking cupcakes since Sarah trained me in Edinburgh, but have only tried making straightforward recipes. This is my first attempt at something a little bit more complicated.
Preheat the oven to 170ºC (325ºF)
For the chocolate sponge base: Put the flour, sugar, cocoa powder and bicarbonate of soda in a large bowl and mix with a handheld elelctric whisk on slow speed until all the dry ingredients are well incorporated.
Put the oil, vinegar, vanilla extract and 125ml water in a jug and whisk to combine. While the electric whisk is running in the flour bowl, slowly add the contents of the jug, increasing the speed of the blender as the mixture thickens. Continue to beat until all the ingredients are incorporated (scrape any unmixed ingredients from the side of the bowl with a rubber spatula).
Spoon the mixture into the paper cases until two-thirds full and set aside.
For the cheesecake filling: Beat together the cream cheese, sugar, egg, vanilla extract and salt in a freestanding electric mixer with a paddle attachment (or use a handheld electric whisk) on a medium-slow speed until smooth and fluffy.
Sitr in the chocolate chips by hand until evenly dispersed. Don’t overmix, otherwise the cream cheese will start to split.
Scoop about 1 tablespoon of the cheesecake filling on top of the cupcake mixture in the cases and bake in the preheated oven for about 20 minutes. Don’t overcook as the cheesecake will become very dry and crumbly. LEave the cupcakes to cool slightly in the tray before turning out onto a wire cooling rack to cool completely.
When the cupcakes are cold, spoon the Cream Cheese Frosting on top, if using and decorate with a light sprinkling of cocoa powder.
Ingredients
1 quantity Cream Cheese Frosting
Chocolate Sponge Base
190g plain flour
120g caster sugar
40g cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
40ml sunflower oil
1 1/2 teaspoons white vinegar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Cheesecake filling
140g cream cheese
60g caster sugar
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
a pinch of salt
100g milk chocolate chips (I ran out and had to use half milk and half white)
Makes 12
Tags: baking, black bottom cupcakes, cupcake, dessert, Recipes, the hummingbird cupcake cookbook
The Doughnut Plant sells both cake doughnuts and yeast doughnuts, and the flavors change often depending on the season. Currently the seasonal flavors include Pomegranate, Panetton, Marzipan, Roasted Chestnut, and Gingerbread.
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