Black Forest Black Bottom Cupcakes

I needed to do a bit more baking before the kitchen remodeling. I wanted to make one last treat for Emily - so I made Black Forest Black-Bottom cupcakes. (She loves Black Forest cake, and I wanted a portable version...)

Ingredients:

Filling:

• 16 oz. dark sweet cherries, pitted and cut into quarters
• 1/4 cup  water
• 3 tbsp. granulated sugar
  
• 2 tbsp. cornstarch
• juice of 1/2 a lime
     
  
• 8-oz cream cheese, at room temperature
• 1/3  cup sugar
• 1/4  teaspoon salt
• 1  large egg at room temperature
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
  
• 1/2 cup finely chopped bitter sweet chocolate (I ground up some chocolate chips)
  
  

Cupcake:

• 1/2 cup white sugar
  
• 1/2 brown sugar
• 1 cup water
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 1 egg
• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
     
  
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 6 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
     
  

Instructions:

1. For the cherries:
   In a medium saucepan, combine the cherries, water, sugar, lime juice and cornstarch.
   
2. Cook over low heat until thickened, stirring constantly.
   
3. Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla extract. Allow to cool completely before using.
   
   For the cheesecake filling:
4. In a medium bowl, beat the cream cheese, sugar, egg, vanilla, and salt until smooth, about 30 seconds. 
   
5. Fold in chocolate and cherries.  Set the filling mixture aside.  
    
   For the cupcake base:  
6. In a large bowl, beat together the sugars, water, oil, egg, vinegar and vanilla until well blended.
   
7. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt.
8. Gradually beat the dry mixture into the large bowl with the egg mixture until blended.   
   
   Assembling:
9. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
10. Place 24 cupcake liners into the wells of two 12 count cupcake pans.
11. Scoop a large cookie scoop of cupcake batter into each well - it should be about 1/3 full.
12. Using a small cookie scoop,  gently place 2 rounded scoops of cream cheese topping on top of the batter, doing your best to keep them centered.
    (I originally scooped in cherries, then cheesecake filling, but planning on mixing them together next time. So you want about 2 rounded scoops - which may be the same as 1 large cookie scoop.)
13. The cupcakes will be about 90% full - the cupcake base will grow around the cream cheese filling.
    

    

    
    
    
14. Bake at 350° for 18-20 minutes, flipping trays at about 10 minutes.
15. Cupcakes will be a bit puffed in the center, but the filling will sink slightly.
16. Cool in pan for about 5 minutes prior to transferring to cooling racks to cool completely.
    
    

Carole's Notes:

We both really liked these - they were sweet and moist and chocolate cherry! I think they taste better chilled the next day - Doug likes them either way.

The cupcake recipe is adapted from https://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/black-bottom-cupcakes/ and https://lifemadesimplebakes.com/black-forest-cupcakes/