This post may contain affiliate links. If you make a purchase through links on our site, we may earn a commission.
Whip up a batch of these delicious Chocolate Cream Cheese Cupcakes! From scratch, you won’t be able to resist our chocolate cream cheese filled cupcakes! Don’t miss out on these tasty treats – grab the recipe now! Looking for another delicious dessert, check out my Coconut Guava Cake, and you’ll be helping animals from the 2025 LA wildfires; take a look for more info.
Maybe you prefer to call them black-bottom cupcakes or creamy chocolate chip cheesecake filling inside moist chocolate cake. Either way, these cupcakes don’t need any frosting, and are a unique Decadent heavenly dessert. So, get baking now!
This cupcake recipe has been on my blog since 2011 when I first shared them after making them for my birthday party. It was a big number that I celebrated with a friend. But it was time for an update, and for these cupcakes to have a space of their own. I still have the birthday party up with a recipe for Coconut-Lemon Mini Cupcakes. I’ve updated these chocolate cupcakes with new photos, information, and an easier to read recipe card, all for a better user experience.
These cupcakes also showed up in my popular recipes of 2023! Check out my Best Recipes of 2023 today!
Thank you for being here
Please let me know if you have any questions about this recipe. I read all the comments myself and I try to help as soon as I can. I have readers from all levels of comfort and experience in the kitchen on my site, and I’ve tried to answer some of your questions already in the post. But if I’ve missed anything, please feel free to leave a comment and ask.
What is the secret to good moist cupcakes?
If you follow along with this recipe, and a few tips, you’ll have delicious moist cupcakes in no time. Here are a few highlighted tips to make your baking a success:
Hungry for more baking tips, be sure to check out all of them that I offer!
- Follow the recipe, remember baking is a science
- Get good quality ingredients
- Make sure your ingredients are at room temperature. The cream cheese will be smoother, it’ll mix with the egg better, and so on down the recipe.
- Don’t over mix the ingredients. Stop mixing when they just come together. When you overmix the batter, you collapse the air bubbles in the batter, and you’ll end up with a heavy dense cake.
- Have fun with baking! I mean, you’re making cupcakes!
How to make
There are two parts to these cupcakes: the cream cheese cheesecake filling and the chocolate cake batter. You’ll scoop the batter into the cupcake liners first. Then, you’ll add a dollop of the chocolate chip cream cheese filling. Then, just bake them up!
The full printable recipe ingredients and instructions are available in the recipe card at the bottom of the post. You can find important tips and tricks in the post.
Line two 12-cup muffin pans with paper liners. Spray the liners with non-stick cooking spray.
I always recommend spraying the inside of the paper liners. This way the moist cupcake or muffin doesn’t stick to the liner when you go to eat it.
Make the cream cheese filling
Make sure all your ingredients are at room temperature. The cream cheese will be soft. Don’t forget to set the egg out too.
And, speaking of cream cheese, do yourself a favor and always buy Philadelphia cream cheese. It has more flavor, a better flavor, and an always great consistency.And, no they aren’t paying me to say this. It’s just so important to me that you get good quality.
Using an electric hand mixer or stand mixer, combine the room temperature cream cheese, sugar, and salt in a medium mixing bowl.
If you’re using a hand mixer, place the bowl down in the clean kitchen sink while you mix. That way, when the little bits of chunks fly out (and they will fly out!) they are contained in the sink. Makes for easier clean up!
Add the egg to the cream cheese mixture, and mix well. Fold in the chocolate chips, and set aside.
The cream cheese mixture will be soft. But don’t worry, it sets while cooking.
Make the chocolate cake batter
In a separate large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, salt, baking soda, and cocoa powder.
My note on cocoa powder: I always use Special Dark 100% cacao powder. It has a beautiful dark color and a more mellow flavor. Regular unsweetened cocoa powder will also work here.
If you’d like to learn more about cocoa powder hop over to read more.
Add water, oil, vinegar, and vanilla and mix until smooth.
You can also up the chocolate flavor in these cupcakes by using coffee instead of water or add 1 teaspoon of espresso powder to the cake batter.
Why do you put vinegar in cupcakes?
Yes, you read the recipe correctly, that’s apple cider vinegar in there.
Vinegar’s function when used in baked goods like this is to supply acid. The acid reacts with a base, in this case baking soda, to leaven the baked goods by creating carbon dioxide or little bubbles. Those little bubbles help make a tender bouncy cake.
In addition, the vinegar keeps the cake nice and tender as it inhibits gluten from developing when beating the flour in the batter.
And, yes, you can use white vinegar instead of apple cider vinegar. The ACV just has a bit more flavor, and it’s a bit sweeter, which is good for a cake.
So, there’s no egg in the cake batter part?
Yep, again, you read that right. The cake part is egg-free. In fact, this cake is vegan, and it’s very similar to my Dark Chocolate Cake.
The leavening comes from the vinegar and baking soda combination. That’s all you need; no eggs necessary in the cake.
Fill and bake
Fill each baking cup with two tablespoons of the cake batter, and top with 1 tablespoon of the cream cheese mixture.
Pop the trays of cupcakes into the preheated oven, and bake until the edges are firm to the touch, about 25-30 minutes.
Let cool in the pan for 20 minutes before removing to wire racks to cool completely.
Serving suggestions
These cupcakes can be enjoyed warm and gooey soon after coming out of the oven, or chilled from the fridge.
Cream Cheese Stuffed Chocolate Cupcakes also travel well. They’re perfect for a picnic or potluck at work!
They also freeze well, so you can save them for later.
Enjoy them with a nice Dirty Chai Cocktail.
Storage
Do cream cheese cupcakes have to be refrigerated?
They can sit out on the counter for a little while, but for storage, the fridge or the freezer are best.
They will keep in the fridge for up to a week. And in the freezer, properly wrapped and stored, for up to 3 months.
Wrap the cupcakes individually in plastic wrap or aluminum foil. Then pop them in an airtight container or even a zip top storage bag for best flavor.
Let’s keep in touch
If you like seeing my recipes subscribe via email in the upper right.
Or, connect with me on your favorite social media channel for recipes, photos, & much more:
Pinterest, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and Twitter!
And find my shop on Amazon for recommendations on cool tools
If you try this recipe,
please come back & leave a comment below letting us know how it goes.
Share a picture & tag @lifecurrents on Instagram.
Or you can upload a “tried it” photo (I would love to see)
via the pin.
Recipe
Chocolate Cream Cheese Cupcakes
Ingredients
- Non-stick cooking spray
Cream Cheese Filling
- 8 oz cream cheese at room temperature
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1/8 teaspoon fine grain salt
- 1 large egg
- 6 ounces semisweet chocolate chips
Chocolate cupcake
- 2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ cups granulated sugar
- 3/4 teaspoon fine grain salt
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
- ¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 ½ cups water
- 1/3 cup plus 3 tablespoons light flavored vegetable oil
- 1 ½ teaspoons apple cider vinegar
- 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350° F. Line two 12-cup muffin pans with paper liners. Spray the liners with non-stick cooking spray.Non-stick cooking spray
- Using an electric mixer, combine the cream cheese, sugar, and salt in a medium mixing bowl. Add the egg and mix well. Fold in the chocolate chips, and set aside.8 oz cream cheese, 1 cup granulated sugar, 1/8 teaspoon fine grain salt, 1 large egg, 6 ounces semisweet chocolate chips
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, salt, baking soda, and cocoa powder. Add water, oil, vinegar, and vanilla and mix until smooth.2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour, 1 ½ cups granulated sugar, 3/4 teaspoon fine grain salt, 1 ½ teaspoons baking soda, ¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder, 1 ½ cups water, 1/3 cup plus 3 tablespoons light flavored vegetable oil, 1 ½ teaspoons apple cider vinegar, 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- Fill each baking cup with two tablespoons of the cake batter, and top with 1 tablespoon of the cream cheese mixture. Bake until the edges are firm to the touch, about 25-30 minutes.
- Let cool in pan for 20 minutes before removing to wire racks to cool completely.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations, and should be considered estimates. Actual nutritional content will vary based on brands used, measuring methods, portion sizes, and more.
Julie
What a gorgeous cupcake, perfect for a black-and-white affair but easy enough for any occasion! I made these for bookclub and everyone asked for the recipe!
Kathleen
Made these yesterday; my chocolate-loving family thanks you! They were so easy and so good, and you are right, they don’t need frosting!
Linda
can these cupcakes be made with a box cake mix
Debi
you could certainly do the same thing with a box cake mix and the cream cheese filling. I don’t know if the number of cupcakes would be the same with the box mix. Though I do recommend the from scratch cake in this recipe – it’s so easy to make, moist, and flavorful!
Myra
I make this in square cake pan, swirl the cream cheese mixture in with cake mixture, bake 40 minutes, best kept in fridge and made day ahead.
Love
I made these and they turned out amazing!! Thank you for a wonderful recipe!
Julie Mowery
I accidentally bought low fat cream cheese, can I use it in this recipe?
Debi
Julie, low fat cream cheese will be fine. It may not be quite as rich, but will still work just fine.
Sky
I’m making cupcakes for a family member that wants cupcakes baked with cheesecake in the middle, and graham cracker crust at the bottom. Do these taste like cheesecake?
Debi
Sky, yes the center tastes like cheesecake. You’ll need to add graham cracker crust at the bottom. There’s a graham cracker crust in this recipe you could use: https://lifecurrentsblog.com/eggnog-cloud-pie/
I know you’ll love these.
Lori M
Have you ever tried to make this in a bundt pan?
Debi
Lori, no I haven’t made these as a larger bundt cake. In theory, it should work. Probably a bit longer to bake. I have made this cake https://lifecurrentsblog.com/from-scratch-dark-chocolate-cake/ as both cupcakes and larger cakes.