A Little Baking Went on Yesterday...

During busy mid-term weeks filled with exams, papers, and everything academic in between, you will commonly find me in my kitchen baking up a storm. I can't quite figure out if I do this on purpose to avoid productivity or if my subconscious does it unknowingly as a way to deal with stress. Either way, Black Bottomed Cupcakes are delicious...

Black Bottomed Cupcakes 

Filling:
16-oz cream cheese, cool room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 tsp salt
2 large egg whites, room temperature
2 tbsp sour cream, room temperature
1/3 cup miniature or regular size chocolate chips – or however many you want

***Note: you can literally HALF the filling recipe and you will have enough for all 18 cupcakes. If you want to make the whole recipe because you have a love for all things artery clogging and will eat half of it like some people I've heard of but absolutely don't know personally, then by all means whip up the whole dang thing. 

Cake:
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour (7.9 oz)
3/4 cup unsweetened Dutch process cocoa powder – Hershey’s Dark
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup buttermilk, room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. and line 18 muffin cups with paper liners.

Beat the cream cheese, sugar and salt until smooth. Add the egg whites and stir or beat on low speed just until mixed; stir in the sour cream and chocolate chips. Set aside.

Mix the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt together in a small bowl.

In the actual mixing bowl, beat together the oil and sugar. You can do this with a whisk, spoon or hand-held mixer.

Mix together the buttermilk and vanilla. Add the buttermilk/vanilla mixture and the flour alternately to the sugar/oil mixture. Stir until smooth – be careful not to overbeat.

Divide the chocolate batter evenly among the muffin tins. Spoon large tablespoonfuls of cream cheese batter over the chocolate batter. You should have some cream cheese batter leftover.

Bake on center rack for about 25 minutes. Let cool in cupcake pan for 30 minutes and then transfer to the refrigerator to chill.  Makes 18

{Via Cookie Madness}