Chocolate Surprise Cupcakes

To me nothing says “LOVE” like chocolate. This is a rich chocolate cup cake with a surprise cream cheese and chocolate chip center. Normally I like them without icing, but if you wanted to make them for an extra special occasion you can ice them.

Mix together:

3 cups flour
2 cups sugar
½ cup cocoa
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking soda

Add:

2/3 cup oil
2 cup water
2 Tablespoons vinegar
2 teaspoons vanilla

Mix together until fluffy:

1 large( 8 ounce) package cream cheese
1/3 cup sugar
1 egg
¼ teaspoon salt

Add to above 1 cup chocolate chips.

Fill cupcake papers 2/3 full of the chocolate batter – I use my 3 Tablespoon scoop. Drop one heaping teaspoon of cream cheese-chocolate chip mixture into each cup cake.

Bake 25 minutes at 350 degrees. Frost when cool, if desired.

Chocolate Buttercream (optional):

1 cup unsalted soft butter
4 teaspoons milk
6 ounces semisweet chocolate, melted and cooled to lukewarm .
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 ¼ cups sifted confectioners’ sugar

In medium size bowl, beat together the butter until creamy, about 3 minutes. Add the milk carefully and beat until smooth. Add the melted chocolate and beat well. Add the vanilla extract and beat for 3 minutes. Gradually add the sugar and beat until creamy and of desired consistency.

Printable version of recipe – chocolate surprise cupcakes