Mocha Chocolate Chip Cupcakes

Sorry...a little late for Valentine's Day! But it doesn't have to be a special day for anything chocolate. Right?

I made these for that certain day so I thought I'd share the recipe with you. These cupcakes are chocolatey and so delicious and with the espresso...yum!  I threw in a handful of mini chocolate chips, rather than the regular sized chips and I actually liked the smaller size better.
The frosting is made with sour cream, which I think helps cut down that overly sweet frosting taste.

The recipe is pretty straightforward to make and, as my usual way, I baked them jumbo size! Sometimes you just want a good sized cupcake and it's really even a little less than a slice of cake, too!

First you need to melt the chocolate over gently simmering water.

Once the chocolate has melted, set it aside to cooled slightly.
Next beat the butter and gradually beat in the sugar, followed by the eggs, vanilla and melted chocolate.

Add in the flour in stages, alternating with the espresso mixed with water.
Place the batter into your paper liners and bake 20 to 22 minutes.

Mocha Chocolate Chip Cupcakes with Chocolate Sour Cream Frosting ( from "Fine Cooking" magazine)
Makes 12 regular ( standard) size or 6 jumbo cupcakes

3 ozs. unsweetened chocolate, chopped
1 cup (4.5 ozs.) unbleached AP flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. table salt
1/2 cup (4 ozs. or 1 stick) unsalted butter, room temp.
1 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
2 tsp. instant espresso powder, dissolved in 1/2 cup cool water
2/3 cup semisweet chocolate chips (I used mini chips)
Frosting:
2 ozs. unsweetened chocolate, chopped
1 tbsp. unsalted butter
1/3 cup sour cream (not low-fat)
3/4 tsp. vanilla extract
Pinch salt
1 1/2 cups (6 ozs.) confectioners' sugar
Milk, if necessary
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Preheat oven to 350. Line muffin cups with paper liners.
1. Put the unsweetened chocolate into a bowl set over gently simmering water and stir occasionally til melted. Set aside to cool.
2. In a small bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda and salt.
3. In a mixing bowl, beat the butter 30 to 60 seconds or til smooth. With mixer running, gradually pour in the sugar, scraping the sides and bottom of the bowl a few times. Then beat in medium high til light and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes.
4. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition, scraping the bowl after each addition.
5. Beat in the vanilla and melted chocolate til smooth and blended.
6. On low speed, add the dry ingredients in 3 installments, alternating with the espresso in 2 additions.
7. Stir in the chocolate chips by hand.
8. Divide the batter evenly among the prepared muffin cups. Don't smooth the batter.
9. Bake the cupcakes til they spring back when gently pressed in the center, 20 to 22 minutes.( a little longer if making jumbo cupcakes). Let them cool 5 minutes in the pan, then remove and cool on a wire rack before frosting.
Frosting:
1. Put the chocolate and butter in a bowl over gently simmering water and stir til melted and smooth. Set aside to cool til barely warm.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together sour cream, vanilla and salt.Gradually whisk in the confectioners' sugar til smooth.
3. Add the chocolate/butter mixture and beat it in with the whisk til smooth and creamy.
The frosting must be thick and spreadable. If too thick, thin it with a few droplets of milk. If too thin, chill it briefly, stirring occasionally, til adequately thickened.

Mocha Cupcakes

I love coffee flavored anything. And mocha, a chocolate and coffee combo is really the best... well, after peanut butter and chocolate, that is!

And when I found myself craving cupcakes this week, after trying to cool down from the extreme heat by making granitas all week ( which isn't really such a bad thing !), I searched for a mocha cupcake and decided on this one.

To intensify the coffee flavor, I used espresso powder mixed with hot water, rather than strong coffee and I loved it.

Begin by sifting, then mixing your dry ingredients together into a mixing bowl and stir to combine.

In another bowl, combine buttermilk, oil, egg and vanilla.

Slowly add the wet to the dry ingredients, mixing on low speed.

Then combine the hot water with the espresso powder and pour this into the batter mixture.

Then spoon the batter into the cupcake liners and bake 18 to 22 minutes.
I used jumbo muffin cups to get 6 nice big cupcakes...no little dinky cupcakes around here!

Mocha Cupcakes (adapted from here)
Makes 12 cupcakes

(Note: I halved the recipe and made 6 jumbo cupcakes).

7/8 cup ( 4.1 ozs.) AP flour
1 cup sugar
3/8 cup cocoa powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. kosher salt ( a little less if using Morton's salt)
1/2 cup buttermilk, shaken
1/4 cup vegetable oil ( I used canola)
1 egg, room temp.
1/2 tsp. vanilla
2 tsp. espresso powder dissolved into1/2 cup boiling water

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Preheat oven to 350. Line 12 standard muffin tins with paper liners.

1. Sift the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder and salt into a mixing bowl or standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and stir to combine.
2. In a separate bowl, combine the buttermilk, oil, egg and vanilla.
3. With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the wet ingredients to the dry.
4. Add the espresso mixture stirring just to combine, scraping the bottom and sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula.
5. Spoon or pour the batter into the muffin cups and bake 18 to 22 minutes or til a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
Cool in the cups 15 minutes, then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.
Frosting:
1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter
Pinch of fine grain sea salt
1 tsp. vanilla
4 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted
1 tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted
1/2 tbsp. espresso powder dissolved in 1/2 tbsp. warm water
1 1/2 - 3 tbsp heavy cream or milk
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1. In a medium bowl, combine the sifted confectioners' sugar and cocoa powder.
2. In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter til fluffy.
3. Slowly add the confectioners' sugar/cocoa mixture and cream til well combined.
4. Add salt, vanilla and 1 tbsp. heavy cream ( or milk). Blend on low speed til moistened. Add additional heavy cream (or milk) til it reaches desired consistency. Beat on high speed til frosting is smooth and fluffy.
Frost the cooled cupcakes.

Hot Fudge Pudding Cake

Digging through my old recipe file I came across this Hot Fudge Pudding Cake in a recipe booklet from Hershey's dated 1987. It sounded like an interesting way of making a cake. Mix a batter, sprinkle on a sugar and cocoa mixture, then pour hot water over the whole thing and bake it! I'm not sure how old the original recipe actually is but after I made it I thought I'd check out the recipe online and I did find a lot of these cakes. So I guess I'm not the only one who liked the concept!

It's really a fun cake to make that bakes all together and it turns out like a brownie with a fudgy sauce.

It's an easy one to make and you don't even need to drag out the mixer. Just a few bowls and spoons to mix and maybe your sifter for the cocoa powder.

So if you're in the mood for something chocolaety and gooey...give this one a try.  A big dollop of whipped cream would be the perfect finishing touch!

You don't even need to grease or butter the pan.

Hot Fudge Pudding Cake ( from Hershey's Recipe Sampler Booklet, 1987)

Makes 8 to 10 servings.

1 1/4 cups sugar, divided
1 cup AP flour
7 tbsp. Hershey's cocoa powder, divided
2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 cup milk
1/3 cup butter (5 tbsp.), melted
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1 1/4 cups hot water
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Preheat oven to 350.
1. In a medium bowl, combine 3/4 cups of sugar, flour, 3 tbsp. cocoa powder, baking powder and salt.
2. Blend in milk, melted butter and vanilla. Beat til smooth.
3. Pour batter into a square pan, 8 x 8 x 2" or 9 x 9 x 2".
4. In a small bowl, combine remaining 1/2 cup sugar, brown sugar and remaining 4 tbsp. of cocoa powder.    Sprinkle this mixture evenly over batter.
5. Pour hot water over top. Do not stir.
6. Bake 40 minutes or til center is almost set. Let stand 15 minutes. Spoon into dessert dishes, spooning sauce from bottom of pan over top. Serve with whipped cream.
Notes: I bet if you mix some espresso powder in with the hot water it would taste even more chocolatey!

Chocolate Sheath Cake

For a special celebration tonight I felt like baking something extremely chocolaty and I remembered this cake recipe I'd wanted to try since I bought this book, "The Spice Kitchen" a while back.

I noticed similar recipes floating around the internet..some called Texas Sheet Cake and one very similar from here but because this recipe is out of a spice cookbook it has some extra "kick" from the cinnamon and ancho chili pepper in the frosting.

It's a very quick and easy recipe to make and you don't even have to haul out the mixer. Just one large bowl and a saucepan is pretty much all you need...well, okay, a few spoons and a whisk help, too!

The cake is moist and very chocolaty. I used Valhrona cocoa powder which is a great quality cocoa to use and always makes baked goods taste so good. But I really think Hershey's would be fine, too.

And because we're a small family, I halved the recipe and used a nine inch cake pan.

And why is it called a sheath cake? Apparently no one knows for sure!

Whisk your dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl.

In a glass measuring cup, beat together the eggs, buttermilk and vanilla.

In a medium saucepan, combine water, butter, oil and cocoa powder and bring to a boil.
Pour the boiling cocoa mixture into the flour mixture and stir to combine.
Add the egg mixture and stir that well.

Pour the batter into your prepared pan and bake for about 20 minutes, or til a tester inserted into the center comes out clean.

Five minutes before the cake is finished baking make the frosting by combining the butter, milk, cocoa, vanilla, cinnamon and chili pepper in a medium saucepan. Bring to boil over high heat, whisking constantly.
Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the confectioners' sugar and chopped pecans.

Spread the hot icing over the hot cake.

Then see how long you can hold out before you cut into it!

Chocolate Sheath Cake ( from "The Spice Kitchen", by Sara Engram and Katie Luber)

Cake:
2 cups AP flour
2 cups sugar
2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. baking soda
1 cup water
8 tbsp.(1 stick) unsalted butter
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 cup buttermilk
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla

Frosting:

8 tbsp.(1 stick) unsalted butter
6 tbsp. milk
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. ground ancho chili pepper or mild chili pepper (I used a scant amount)
1 (1 lb. box) confectioners' sugar
1 cup chopped pecans
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Preheat oven to 400. Grease and flour a 13 x 9 x 2 inch cake pan.
1. Sift or whisk flour, sugar, cinnamon and baking soda in a large mixing bowl.
2. Combine water, butter, oil and cocoa powder in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat, whisking constantly.
3. Pour the hot cocoa mixture into the flour mixture and mix til combined.
4. In a small glass measuring cup beat together the buttermilk, eggs and vanilla and pour into the chocolate batter and mix well.
5. Pour the batter into the prepared pan, dropping the pan a few times on the counter to get rid of air bubbles.
6. Bake for about 20 minutes, or til a tester inserted into the center comes out clean.
7. Five minutes before the cake is done, begin making the frosting.
Frosting:
1. Combine butter, milk, cocoa powder, vanilla, cinnamon and chili pepper in a medium saucepan.
2. Bring to a boil over high heat, whisking constantly.
3. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the confectioners' sugar and chopped pecans.
4. Spread the frosting evenly over the hot cake. 

Chocolate Cupcakes with Natural Pink Buttercream

Happy Valentine's Day!

My final post for this holiday is, again, something chocolate. But I'm mostly excited to have found a natural way to color icing, using fruits or vegetables to get great color.
I found this blogger, who gives a wonderful post on obtaining natural colorings to use for royal icing on cookies. I tried it for the frosting and I made this beautiful pink color for the buttercream using beets! I'm sure this would work great to color any icing, frosting or even the cake itself. I'd love to try it for Red Velvet Cake. I have made cake with beets before but this is the first time I've used it for coloring. Oh, and, in case you're wondering...no, the frosting doesn't taste like beets!

But I'm getting ahead of myself. The chocolate cupcake recipe is from Dorie Greenspan's book, "Baking: From My Home To Yours". It's a lovely moist chocolatey cake and makes a perfect little treat.

So, if it's not too late, whip up a batch of these sweet Valentine's Cupcakes.

First melt the 2 oz. of bittersweet chocolate, double boiler style, over barely simmering water and set that aside.

Whisk the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt together in a medium bowl and set aside.

Beat the butter til soft and creamy.

Then add the sugar and beat 2 minutes, til well blended into the butter.

Add the egg, then the egg yolk, beating a minute after each addition.

Scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl.

Then beat in the 1/2 tsp. of vanilla.

Reduce the mixer to low speed and add half of the dry ingredients.

Add in the 1/2 cup of buttermilk, mixing til just incorporated...

Then the last half of the dry ingredients, mixing just til the flour disappears.

Using a rubber spatula, stir in the melted chocolate.

Then scoop the batter into your muffin cups lined with paper liners.

Bake for about 22 minutes, or til a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Just a shot of the beets before I roasted them in the oven with water for the natural coloring. It's really an easy process and it's kind of neat to be able to obtain a color this way.

Chocolate Chocolate Cupcakes with Vanilla Buttercream Frosting with Natural Coloring

(Cupcakes from"Baking: From My Home To Yours", by Dorie Greenspan)

Cupcakes:
1 cup AP flour

1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1/4 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp. salt

1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, room. temp.

3/4 cup sugar

1 large egg

1 large egg yolk

1/2 tsp. vanilla

1/2 cup buttermilk

2 oz. bittersweet chocolate. melted and cooled

Vanilla Buttercream:

1 cup ( 2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened

6-8 cups confectioners' sugar

1/2 cup whole milk

2 tsp. vanilla

Coloring, natural or otherwise, if using.( Enough to obtain the desired color)

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Preheat oven to 350. Line a muffin pan with paper liners.

1. Whisk the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and slat in a medium bowl and set aside.

2. In a mixing bowl, beat the butter on medium speed til soft and creamy.

3. Add the sugar and beat 2 minutes til well blended into the butter.

4. Add the egg, then the egg yolk, beating 1 minute after each addition. Scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl.

5. Beat in the vanilla, then reduce the mixer to low sped and add half the flour mixture mixing til flour just disappears. Scrape the bowl.

6.Add in the buttermilk, mixing til just incorporated.

7. Mix in the remaining flour mixture, scraping the bowl to get it all combined.

8. With a rubber spatula, stir in the melted chocolate.

9. Scoop the batter into the muffin cups, filling about 2/3 full and bake for about 22 minutes, or til a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Let the cupcakes cool a few minutes in the an, then trasnfer to a wire rack to cool.

Vanilla Buttercream:

1. Place butter in a bowl and begin beating, gradually adding in 4 cups of confectioners' sugar, milk and vanilla.

2. On medium speed, beat til smooth and creamy, about 3 - 5 minutes.(Be sure to beat for the correct amount of time for desired creamy texture).

3. Gradually add the remaining confectioners' sugar, one cup at a time, beating well after each addition, til thick enough to be of good spreading consistency. ( You may not need all of the sugar).

4. If using a coloring, add it in now, a little at a time, til you achieve the desired color, mixing thoroughly.

The frosting can be stored in an air tight container at room temp. for up to 3 days.

Hazelnut Brownies

The name of these brownies are actually Gianduia Brownies and the recipe comes from "The Gourmet Cookie Book" from Gourmet Magazine's Single Best Recipe From Each Year Cookbook that I got when I went to see Sara Moulton back in November. Since I already made those delicious cookies that were her favorite, I found this brownie recipe to make for day three of my all things chocolate week for Valentine's Day.

Gianduia ( pronounced zhahn-doo-yah) is, from what I can figure, basically Nutella and these brownies have a little bit of Nutella in them, along with chopped hazelnuts. If you love Nutella, like we do around here, then you'll love these brownies.

The book says these are the best brownies you'll ever eat. Now, I'm really not a true brownie expert but there are a lot of brownies out there, and the variety is mind boggling...fudgey, cakey, double chocolatey, triple chocolatey, with stuff in them, and so on! So to say they're the best...well, you be the judge. You'll just have to make a batch to find out. I did halve the recipe easily and I baked the half batch in a loaf pan and it worked out fine.

Toast the hazelnuts first in a 350 oven for about 8 minutes, then wrap them in a kitchen towel and rub like crazy to get most of the skins off. ( Then take the kitchen towel outside and give it a good shake!) Don't worry if some of them don't give up their skins completely. Just do the best you can.

Chop up the chocolate...

Pulse the toasted hazelnuts to get them into small pieces and set them aside.

In a small bowl, you can sift together flour, baking powder and salt and set aside a minute.

In the top of a double boiler over barely simmering water, melt the butter, chocolates and Nutella, stirring til smooth. Then remove from the heat.

Transfer the melted chocolate mixture to a large bowl and let it cool a few minutes, then whisk in the sugar til combined well.

Whisk in the eggs, til mixture is glossy and smooth.

Stir in the flour mixture and hazelnuts til just combined.

Pour into your prepared pan, smoothing out the top and bake for 35 to 40 minutes or til a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Hazelnut Brownies or Gianuia Brownies (from "The Gourmet Cookie Book")

1 1/4 cups hazelnuts, about 6 1/4 ozs., toasted(see above)

4 oz. fine quality bittersweet chocolate ( not unsweetened)

3 oz. fine quality milk chocolate

1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter

1/4 cup Nutella

1/4 cup AP flour

1/2 tsp. baking powder

Pinch salt

1/2 cup sugar

2 large eggs

**********************

Preheat oven to 350. Line a 9" square baking pan with foil and butter lightly.

1. Pulse hazelnuts in a food processor til coarsely ground, bits should be about 1/8")

2. Chop chocolates into small pieces and, in a double boiler set over barely simmering water, melt the chocolate, butter and Nutella, stirring occasionally til smooth. Remove from heat and transfer to a medium bowl.

3. In a small bowl, sift flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside a minute.

4. Whisk sugar into chocolate mixture til well combined.

5. Add eggs, whisking til smooth and glossy.

6. Stir in flour mixture and hazelnuts til just combined.

7. Pour batter into pan and smooth out evenly. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or til a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Cool in pan for about 30 minutes, then lift brownies out and cool completely before cutting.

Last Minute Chocolate Cake

This is an seriously intense chocolate cake.

If you want a dense, extremely chocolatey, fudge like quality cake, then this one's for you!

I even added to the chocolatey goodness by adding in chocolate chips.

I been totally enjoying reading Ruth Reichl's books lately. The first one I read was "Tender at the Bone" and I highly recommend it. It's a delightfully funny book, I especially loved the stories about her Mother! And I came away with one recipe I made from that book, the Beouf a la Bourguignonne. Wow! Three days and a bottle of wine later...it was amazing!

But I digress. In this book, "Garlic and Sapphires", she recommends just a scoop of vanilla ice cream to top off each slice of this cake. And that's really all you need for this...my all things chocolate for Valentine's Day, day two. Bake on!

Combine the chocolate, butter and coffee in the top of a double boiler and stir constantly over low heat til melted.
Let the mixture cool for 15 minutes.
Then add the Grand Marnier, sugar, egg and vanilla. Stir well.

In a small bowl, stir the flour, baking soda and salt together, and add this to the chocolate mixture.

Stir in the chocolate chips, if using.

Pour into your prepared loaf pan and bake 30 to 40 minutes, or til tester comes out clean.

Last-Minute Chocolate Cake ( from "Garlic and Sapphires", by Ruth Reichl)

4 ozs. of fine quality unsweetened chocolate (I used Ghirardelli's 100% cacao)*( see note below)

6 tbsp. unsalted butter

3/4 cup brewed strond black coffee (I used 2 tsp. of espresso powder mixed in 3/4 boiling water)

2 tbsp. Grand Marnier

3/4 cup sugar

1 egg

1 tsp. vanilla

1 cup AP flour

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp. salt

********************

Preheat oven to 300. Butter and flour a 9" x 5" loaf pan then line bottom of pan with parchment paper. The cake is much easier to get out using the parchment paper, trust me!

1. Combine chocolate, broken into pieces, butter and coffee in the top of a double boiler over barely simmering water. Stir the mixture constantly til smooth, then take off the heat and let it cool about 15 minutes.

2. Once the mixture has cooled, add in the Grand Marnier, sugar, egg and vanilla. Stir well.

3. In a small bowl, combine the flour, baking soda and salt. Stir into the chocolate mixture.

4. Stir in chocolate chips, if using.

5. Pour the batter into your prepared pan and bake 30 to 40 minutes, or til a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Note: This cake is very crumbly, made more so by adding the chips. Be sure to let it cool completely before cutting and use a clean sharp knife with each cut.
* FYI- I made this cake the day before and used unsweetened cocoa powder (not Dutch process) because I didn't have any unsweetened chocolate at the time.

I subbed 3 tablespoons of cocoa powder plus 1 tablespoon of butter for each ounce of unsweetened chocolate called for in the recipe.*
The result was a less dense cake with a lighter crumb, but still very good.

Black Bottom Cupcakes

Countdown to Valentine's Day. It's time for all things chocolate here at The Cookie Scoop. Hoping to inspire you to create something wonderfully chocolatey for Valentine's Day, I've decided to bring you chocolate recipes the rest of this week. That's it...I've made up my mind.

And first up...Black Bottom Cupcakes. These little gems have a sweetened cream cheese and chocolate chip center surrounded with a rich chocolate cupcake. And there's no need to drag out the big standing mixer. These are easy to make with a hand held mixer. My recipe has one more addition I didn't find with any others, which is a sugar and nut topping. With or without the topping, these are great, and so easy to transport...no mile high fluffy frosting to worry about!

First combine the water, oil, vinegar and vanilla in a small bowl and set aside.

Sift together the flour, 1 cup of sugar, cocoa, baking soda and 1/2 tsp. salt into a medium bowl.

Set that aside for a minute.

Beat the cream cheese in a medium bowl til smooth, add the egg, 1/3 cup of sugar and 1/8 tsp. salt.

Then stir in the chocolate chips.

Now add the oil mixture to the cocoa mixture and beat on medium speed til well blended, scraping the sides and bottom of the bowl with a spatula.

Spoon the batter into muffin cups, filling about halfway.

Then scoop a large teaspoonful of the cream cheese mixture into the chocolate batter.

They next need the topping.

Mix the 2 tbsp. of sugar with the 1/2 cup chopped walnuts and sprinkle on top of each.

Bake for approx. 35 minutes or til a toothpick comes out clean.

Black Bottom Cupcakes ( from Farm Journal's Complete Home Baking Book, 1979 Edition)


Makes 18 cupcakes

Filling:

6 ozs. cream cheese

1 egg

1/3 cup sugar

1/8 tsp. salt

6 ozs. semisweet chocolate chips

Cake:

1 1/2 cups sifted AP flour

1 cup sugar

1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (not dutch processed)

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

1 cup water

1/3 cup vegetable oil ( I used canola)

1 tbsp. vinegar ( I used white vinegar)

1 tsp. vanilla

Topping:

2 tbsp. sugar

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

*************************

Preheat oven to 350.

1. In a small bowl, combine water, oil, vinegar and vanilla. Mix well and set aside.

2. In a medium bowl, sift flour, 1 cup sugar, cocoa, baking soda and salt. Set aside a minute.

3. Beat the cream cheese til smooth,then add in the egg, 1/3 cup of sugar and 1/8 tsp. salt.

Beat til blended. Stir in the chocolate chips.

4. Add the oil mixture to the cocoa mixture and beat on medium speed til well blended, scraping sides and bottom of bowl with a spatula.

5. Spoon the mixture into the muffin cups, filling halfway.

6. Then spoon a heaping teaspoonful of cream cheese filling into the center of the chocolate batter.

7. Mix the sugar and walnuts together in a small bowl, then sprinkle the tops of each cupcake.
8. Bake for 35 minutes, or til a toothpuck inserted comes out clean.

Remove from pan as soon as you can handle them, then cool on wire rack.