chocolate cream cheese cupcakes

yes, i made some cupcakes last night! finally got around to trying out a recipe i pinned on pinterest (here and here). these are delish! you can have them as is (without the frosting). i added in that extra frosting because i personally have taken to liking my baked goods extra sweet. i know, it's awful huh? but yes, i really think the extra white chocolate frosting on top is just right. either that or the next time i make these again i must add in an extra spoonful of the cream cheese filling.

below's the recipe should you be interested in baking these yourself. they're super easy to make and the cake comes out moist and delicious. enjoy!

Chocolate Cream Cheese Cupcakes
recipe adapted from here

INGREDIENTS:

For the filling:
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
Pinch of salt
1 cup mini semisweet chocolate chips

For the cupcakes:
3 cups all purpose flour
2 cups sugar
2/3 cup cocoa powder
2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
2 cups of water
2/3 cups vegetable oil
2 tbsp. white vinegar
2 tsp. vanilla extract

white chocolate frosting:
1 cup white chocolate chips
1-2 tbsp butter
1 cup powdered sugar
milk

INSTRUCTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare muffin pan by lining with muffin liners or by spraying with cooking spray.

In the mixing bowl of a stand mixer, beat together the ingredients for the filling (except the chocolate chips) until light and fluffy. Gently fold in the chocolate chips. Set aside.

In a large bowl, mix together flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. Make a well in the middle of the dry ingredients and add in the water, oil, vinegar, and vanilla extract. With a whisk or wooden spoon, mix together the dry with the wet ingredients until well combined.

Fill muffin cups with 2/3 full of batter then spool 1 level tbsp. of filling into the center of each cupcake. Repeat until all batter and filling have been used up. Bake 20-25 minutes or until cake portion comes out clean with a toothpick (Personally, I usually just bake mine for 17-18 minutes only and they turn out fine). Let cupcakes cool in pan for 5 minutes before removing and transferring to wire rack to cool completely. Once cool, you can choose them to frost if you like!

Make frosting: Heat the white chocolate chips with the butter in the microwave for 30-40 seconds until melted. Then beat until mixed/smoothed and add in powdered sugar. Mix again to incorporate the sugar. At this point you'll want to add in a few tablespoons of milk to thin it out so it's not so stiff where you can actually mix it. Make sure to not add too much milk or it'll get runny. Once you find the right consistency, beat until it looks good and you should be all sit!

Store in airtight container.

Makes 24-30 cupcakes. Enjoy! :)