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Mini Black Bottoms – a deliciously moist and fudgy cake topped with cheesecake dough mixed with mini chocolate chips.
These Black Bottoms are very easy to make and travel well.
This time of year it seems like everybody’s having little gatherings, luncheons, Saturday night parties, church events and pot luck extravaganzas at the office. Â That’s where these fantastic little Mini Black Bottoms come in. Â They’re very easy to put together, bake, pack and share.
Just imagine a moist chocolate cake with a dollop of chocolate chip cheesecake in the middle. Â The cheesecake flavor comes through loud and clear while the mini chocolate chips add a little texture and an extra bite of chocolate.
These Mini Black Bottoms may not be super fancy, but oh my they are good … and perfect for any event, or any time of year.
It’s been YEARS since I’ve made these. Â When I say years, I mean more than 20, at least. Â Do you ever forget about old recipes and then one day it dawns on you that maybe your readers would love this recipe too?!
This recipe came from my sister-in-law’s best friend who ran a successful catering business for years.
I received this recipe back in the early 1980’s but forgot about them for a long time. These mini-black bottoms were always one of her most requested recipes and are perfect for all kinds of events.
I baked these in mini cupcake liners but they’re not necessary.
The Mini Black Bottoms hold together perfectly so as long as you pack them with wax or parchment paper between layers, they should do well. Â They bake up beautifully without the liners in mini-muffin tins. The paper liners just make you have to work that much harder before popping them in your mouth!
The chocolate cake recipe has a unique and surprising ingredient … vinegar!
Just like baking with buttermilk, vinegar does some amazing magic on these tiny bites. These chocolatey bites are moist and tender and oh so good!
Can you freeze mini black bottoms?
Flash freeze the mini cupcakes until frozen. Transfer to an airtight container and store in the freezer for up to one month. Thaw overnight and your’e good to go!
This recipe makes about 48 Mini Black Bottoms so there’s plenty to share, with a few extra to taste-test, and couple more to hide in the back of the refrigerator for later.  Oh don’t forget to try one warm from the oven.  You may just swoon!  Be sure to PIN so you can find this recipe later when you need it!
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Mini Black Bottoms
Ingredients
For the cheesecake mixture:
- 8 ounces cream cheese room temperature
- 1 large egg
- â…“ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 6 ounces mini semi-sweet chocolate chips (1 1/4 cups)
For the chocolate cake mixture:
- 1 ½ cup all-purpose flour
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ cup natural unsweetened cocoa powder (not Dutch processed)
- 1 cup water
- â…“ cup vegetable oil
- 1 tablespoon white vinegar
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly spray a (24 count) mini-muffin pan with vegetable spray.
- In a medium mixing bowl, using an electric mixer, blend together the cream cheese, egg, â…“ cup granulated sugar, and salt until smooth. Using a rubber spatula, fold in the chocolate chips. Set aside.
- In a clean medium mixing bowl, combine all the chocolate cake ingredients. Gently blend (using clean beaters or a wooden spoon) until the mixture is smooth and all ingredients are incorporated.
- Scoop 1 tablespoon of the chocolate mixture into the wells of the muffin tin. Allow the chocolate "bottoms" to rest for 5 minutes. Scoop 1 teaspoon of the cheesecake mixture into the center of the chocolate cake.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes or until done. Immediately remove the mini Black Bottoms from the pan and cool on a wire rack. Repeat with remaining batter until all Black Bottoms are baked.
- Store in an airtight container at room temperature or for longer storage, in the refrigerator.
Recipe Notes
- I use just one 24-count mini muffin pan. After baking the first batch, I cool the pan enough to pick up then wipe out the cups with a paper towel. I redcoat the pan with vegetable spray to prevent sticking of the second batch. Continue with the remaining batter.
- If using mini-paper liners, be sure to spray with vegetable cooking spray.
Nutrition
Here are a few more easy recipes you might enjoy!
- Chocolate Chocolate-Chip Walnut Cookies
- No-Bake Vanilla Bean Cheesecake Bars ~ from The View from Great Island
- Mini Chocolate Thumbprint Cookies ~ from Pinch of Yum
I find myself looking for ways to use my mini muffin tin! Â Click on the photo for more information:
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Originally posted December 2016 – updated September 2018
Stacey
The flavor was good but called for way too much batter in each muffin cup-overflowed all over. Had to throw them away and start over. Super bummed.
Tricia Buice
Sorry you had trouble Stacey. Sounds like you used a heaping tablespoon of batter instead of just one level tablespoon. The cream cheese portion is just one small teaspoon. Hope you’ll try again sometime. Glad you liked the flavor.
Julie G
I made these little treasures this morning and they are wonderful! Sooo simple to mix up after carefully weighing all my ingredients. I can’t say it enough to new bakers…get yourself a kitchen scale. You can’t go wrong if you weigh everything using proper measurements.
I ended up with 45 mini black bottoms and still had a little cream cheese mixture leftover. I filled the last 3 liners just with the cream cheese mixture and got 3 little cheesecakes! Divine.
I had both regular liners and parchment ones. Using half of each, and spraying the regular liners, I found they were equally fine. The mini cupcakes released perfectly from both.
When I compared my end result with your photos, they look exactly as yours do. I used a cup of room temperature black coffee in lieu of the water. I like how coffee enhances the chocolate flavor. Otherwise, followed the instructions to a T. Another perfect recipe, Tricia!! You are my go to for no-fail, tried and true recipes!!
Tricia Buice
Thanks so much Julie! These are indeed little treasures. So easy to pop in your mouth and are perfect with a cup of tea. I also LOVE the addition of the coffee. We often use espresso powder in chocolate recipes, but your adaptation of coffee in place of the water is brilliant. Bravo!!
Emily
I had the same issue as Maeghan. The cake batter seemed very liquidy but I thought after letting it sit for a few minutes it might thicken up enough to hold the cheesecake. The little tsps of cheesecake just sank to the bottom and got covered up by the cake batter. Only tiny amounts showed if at all when done.
I made the cheesecake mixture the day before, then took it out to thaw a bit while I mixed up the chocolate cake recipe. I thought I followed the recipe to a T, but now that I re-read it, I THINK my cocoa powder might be dutch-processed. I’m not at home now so I don’t have it in front of me, but I think I may have made that mistake. Still, I don’t think that would make the batter so liquidy to cause the cheesecake mixture to sink. But it could cause other necessary chemical reactions to occur or not occur, I’m a novice so I don’t know enough! I also see Tricia noted, maybe it’s the baking soda. I honestly don’t think my baking soda is more than a month or two old though, but I will get more.
And… :/ I ran out of mini cupcake liners… gah. So the mini black bottoms that were made in a greased pan and not in the paper liners, were stuck to the bottom of the pan because of the cream cheese and basically fell apart. I was so disappointed. I’ve made delicious regular black bottom cupcakes before and was excited to make minis! But I know mistakes are for learning, so if others have had success with this recipe (and it is a simple one) I will try again with regular cocoa and a fresh box of baking soda, and see if that helps. And a whole container of cupcake liners. 🙂 Hope my mistakes prevent others from making the same!
Cheryl Henry
I made mine with Hershey’s, it said Dutch processed on the box. Its all I had so I tried it and it all came out perfect making these mini cupcakes. The cheese mixture didn’t sink or anything. The only thing I did do was get brand new ingredients.
Tricia Buice
Thanks for the feedback Cheryl. So glad you enjoyed these treats.
Maeghan
My cheesecake part did not come up in the top. The cake is covering the cheesecake part. What could I have done wrong? I did just a tbsp of batter and tap of cheesecake. I let the batter sit 5 minutes before putting adding cheesecake. I’m stumped!
Tricia Buice
Hi Meaghan. I am not sure what happened. You may need to check your baking soda is still active. If it did not react with the vinegar, the dough may not have had enough lift to hold up the cream cheese. I’ve never had that happen and I’ve been making these for years and years. Hope you’ll try again. To test that you baking soda is till good, use THIS testing method.
Julie G
I haven’t made these years! Thanks for reminding me how good they are. I’m adding them to my cookie tray for Christmas. Great tip on spraying the mini liners. They always stick a little so I’m sure that’ll help. I used your glaze from the pfeffernusse cookies on my ricotta cookies and loved it! I have to try the pferrernusse soon too.
Tricia Buice
Thank you Julie! I’ve always wanted to make ricotta cookies. Let me know if you want to share your recipe 😉
Windy Calder
This recipe is an old family favorite!! I remember you copying my recipe many years ago when you were here in Denver, Colorado. I had gotten this recipe from my life long friend Barbara Eaton, who went on to have a successful catering bussiness. These delicious chocolate bites were one of her most requested dessert items. What a fun blast from the past!! ?
Tricia Buice
Thank you so much Windy! You solved the mystery and now that you mention it, I remember Barbara as well. Thank you both for sharing this recipe with me. Please tell Barbara that I don’t know where she got this recipe, but we all love it and send a great big thanks!! XOXO hope to see you all soon Windy and thanks for reading and following along 🙂
Gerlinde
A moist bite of chocolate with a dollop of cheesecake, yummy. I am glad you are posting old recipes like this. Your video is great. Pinned!
Tricia Buice
Thanks Gerlinde – it was fun to make!
Susan
I love it when I remember an old favorite recipe that I’ve forgotten about! These look so delicious, Tricia, and loved watching your YouTube video 🙂
Tricia Buice
Thanks Susan!