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Cooking from the Glossies: Chocolate Cream Cheese Cupcakes

Posted by Grace Kang, March 8, 2009 at 1:55 PM

If you like cream cheese brownies, you'll love these Chocolate Cream Cheese Cupcakes, from the March issue of Bon Appétit magazine. They have a deep chocolate flavor with a tangy cream cheese and chocolate chip filling.

They weren't too sweet, and the ratio of filling to cake was just right. My only complaint would be that the recipe makes a little too much cake and filling for 12 cupcakes. I had to fill the cupcake liners a third more than called for and I still had a bit more leftover batter than I would have liked.

I hate waste, especially when it comes to cupcake batters and cream cheese fillings. So I did what I had to do and licked the bowl clean. It's a tough life I lead—I know.

Chocolate Cream Cheese Cupcakes

- makes 12 cupcakes -

Adapted from Bon Appétit

Ingredients

For the filling
1 8-ounce package reduced fat cream cheese
1 large egg
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips

For the cupcakes
1 cup all purpose flour
3 heaping tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon coarse kosher salt
1/8 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped, melted, warm
1/2 cup two percent milk

Procedure

To make the filling: Using electric mixer, beat cream cheese in medium bowl. Add egg, sugar, salt, and vanilla and beat until almost smooth. Fold in chocolate chips.

To make the cupcakes: Preheat oven to 350°F. Line standard muffin pan with 12 paper liners. Whisk first 5 ingredients in small bowl. Using electric mixer, beat sugar and butter in large bowl until fluffy. Beat in eggs. Stir in vanilla and chocolate; beat at high speed 5 seconds. Beat in flour mixture alternately with milk. Beat on high for 5 seconds to blend.

Divide batter among cups, filling 2/3 full. Place 1 heaping tablespoonful cream cheese filling in each center and swirl with a toothpick.

Bake cupcakes until toothpick inserted into center comes out clean (disregard cream cheese filling that sticks to the toothpick), about 20 minutes. Cool 10 minutes in pan. Remove from pan; cool completely on rack.

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Tags: Bon Appétit, Cooking from the Glossies, cream cheese, cupcakes, desserts