Black -Bottom Cupcakes
Source of Recipe
America's Test Kitchen
Recipe Introduction
While both moist and fudgy, black-bottom cupcakes are best known—and loved—for their creamy centers of cheesecake. When we tried out recipes for this bakery favorite in our test kitchen, we ended up with greasy cupcakes devoid of rich chocolate flavor and cheesecake that was dry, chalky, and completely separated from the cake in sunken craters. Here’s what we discovered while perfecting this recipe:
For color and flavor, our tasters preferred the rounded flavor of Dutch-processed cocoa to natural cocoa. Our cupcake batter also got a boost from sour cream, which accentuated the chocolate flavor and added richness.
Black-bottom cupcakes are usually made with oil, which is great for creating a fudgy texture, but can also cause greasiness. We used melted butter instead—our cupcakes turned out dense and fudgy, but not greasy. Best of all, they were sturdy enough to support the cheesecake filling.
We omitted the egg yolk from our cheesecake filling—it lent an unappealing yellow hue and mealy texture when baked. Using two egg whites added moisture and helped the filling look better, and a few tablespoons of sour cream gave the filling the perfect tang.
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 24
List of Ingredients
16 ounces cream cheese , at room temperature
1 3/4 cups sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 large egg whites , at room temperature
2 tablespoons plus 3/4 cup sour cream , at room temperature
1/3 cup miniature semisweet chocolate chips
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder
1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/3 cups water
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter , melted and slightly cooled
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Recipe
Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 400 degrees. Line 2 standard muffin tins with cupcake liners.
With electric mixer on medium speed, beat cream cheese, 1/2 cup sugar, and 1/4 teaspoon salt in medium bowl until smooth, about 30 seconds. Beat in egg whites and 2 tablespoons sour cream until combined, about 1 minute. Stir in chocolate chips and set aside.
Whisk remaining sugar, remaining salt, flour, cocoa, and baking soda in large bowl. Make well in center, add remaining sour cream, water, butter, and vanilla and whisk until just combined. Divide batter evenly among 24 cupcake liners and top each batter with 1 rounded tablespoon cream cheese mixture. Bake until tops of cupcakes just begin to crack, 23 to 25 minutes. Cool cupcakes in tins for 10 minutes before transferring to wire rack to cool completely. (Cupcakes can be refrigerated in airtight container for up to 2 days.)
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