Black Bottoms Recipes

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line two 12 cup muffin pans with paper liners. Sift together the flour, baking soda, cocoa powder and salt. Set aside.
• In a large bowl, whisk together 1 cup sugar, oil and water until blended. Stir in the vinegar and vanilla. Beat in the flour mixture until incorporated. Set aside.
• In a medium bowl, beat together the cream cheese, egg, 1/3 cup sugar and salt. Stir in the chocolate chips.
• Fill muffin cups 1/3 full with chocolate batter, then top with a heaping tablespoon of the cream cheese mixture. Bake in the preheated oven until the tops spring back when lightly pressed, 20 to 25 minutes.

Steps:

• In a small bowl, beat the cream cheese, sugar, egg and salt until smooth. Stir in chips; set aside. , For cupcakes, in a large bowl, beat the sugar, water, oil, egg, vinegar and vanilla until well blended. Combine the flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt; gradually beat into egg mixture until blended. , Fill 24 paper-lined muffin cups half full with chocolate batter. Drop a heaping tablespoonful of cheese mixture in center of batter of each cupcake. Sprinkle with sugar and chopped almonds if desired. , Bake at 350° for 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the cake portion comes out clean. Cool in pans for 10 minutes before removing to racks to cool completely. Refrigerate leftovers.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line muffin tins with paper cups or lightly spray with non-stick cooking spray.
• In a medium bowl, beat the cream cheese, egg, 1/3 cup sugar and 1/8 teaspoon salt until light and fluffy. Stir in the chocolate chips and set aside.
• In a large bowl, mix together the flour, 1 cup sugar, cocoa, baking soda and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Make a well in the center and add the water, oil, vinegar and vanilla. Stir together until well blended. Fill muffin tins 1/3 full with the batter and top with a dollop of the cream cheese mixture.
• Bake in preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes.

Steps:

• In a small bowl blend cream cheese, egg, 1/2 cup sugar, and pinch of salt well.
• Stir in chocolate chips and set aside.
• In a large bowl sift flour, sugar, cocoa, salt, baking soda.
• Add water, oil, vinegar, and vanilla.
• Beat well.
• Fill well greased and floured or lined small muffin tins 1/2 full of chocolate batter.
• Top each with heaping teaspoon of cream cheese mixture.
• Bake at 350 for 12 minutes.
• Do not let tops turn brown.
• Remove when cool.

Steps:

• Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with liners. Beat together the cream cheese, egg, 1/3 cup of the granulated sugar and 1/2 teaspoon of the vanilla extract in a medium bowl on medium speed with an electric mixer until smooth and no lumps remain, 1 to 2 minutes. Set aside.
• Whisk the flour, cocoa powder, brown sugar, baking soda, salt and remaining 2/3 cup granulated sugar in a large bowl. Add the oil, the remaining teaspoon vanilla extract and 1 cup water and mix until combined. Let the batter rest 10 minutes at room temperature, then stir in the vinegar.
• Divide the chocolate batter evenly among the prepared muffin cups, filling each cup about two-thirds full. Drop about 2 tablespoons of the cream cheese filling in the center of each cupcake.
• Bake until the cream cheese filling has set and a toothpick inserted into the chocolate cupcake comes out clean, about 20 minutes.
• Cool in the tin 5 minutes and then use a butter knife or small offset spatula to carefully remove the cupcakes to a wire rack. Cool the cupcakes completely before serving, about 30 minutes.

Steps:

• Make the crust: Stir together graham cracker crumbs, butter, sugar, and salt in a bowl. Press into bottom and up sides of a 9-inch pie plate. Refrigerate until firm, about 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake until crust is set and begins to turn golden brown, about 12 minutes. Let cool completely on a wire rack.
• Make the filling: Sift together sugar, cocoa powder, cornstarch, and salt into a medium saucepan. Gradually whisk in milk. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring constantly, until almost boiling. Reduce heat to medium; add chocolate. Cook, stirring constantly, until chocolate has melted and mixture is thick, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat; whisk in butter and vanilla until smooth. Spread chocolate mixture over crust. Refrigerate until cold and firm, about 1 hour.
• Make the topping: Prepare an ice-water bath; set aside. Sprinkle gelatin over 2 tablespoons cold water in a small bowl. Let stand until soft, about 3 minutes. Whisk 1/4 cup sugar, the cornstarch, and salt in a medium saucepan. Gradually whisk in the milk. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring constantly, until mixture is thick and boiling, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in gelatin mixture, and let cool completely. Stir in vanilla and rum. Briefly place pan in an ice-water bath to thicken slightly, if needed. Do not let it set completely. Set aside.
• Put egg whites in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Beat on medium-low speed until soft peaks form. Reduce speed to low; continue beating while you make syrup.
• Bring remaining 1/2 cup sugar and 3 tablespoons water to a boil in a saucepan, stirring to dissolve sugar. Brush down sides of pan with a wet pastry brush to prevent crystals from forming. Cook, without stirring, until syrup registers 240 degrees on a candy thermometer.
• Raise mixer speed to high, and beat egg whites just until stiff peaks begin to form. Immediately pour syrup into egg whites in a slow, steady stream near side of bowl, avoiding whisk. Beat until glossy and cooled, about 7 minutes.
• Fold meringue mixture into reserved gelatin mixture in 3 batches until just combined. Mound the mixture into the chocolate-filled crust. Refrigerate pie for 2 1/2 hours or overnight before serving.

Steps:

• Sift dry ingredients together in large mixing bowl.
• Form well in center of dry ingredients and add water, oil, vinegar, and vanilla.
• Beat with mixer until smooth.
• Stir in chocolate chips.
• In separate bowl, cream together cream cheese and powdered sugar.
• Fill greased or paper-lined muffin cups 2/3 full with batter.
• Drop 1/2 tsp of cream cheese mixture on top.
• If desired, sprinkle with slivered almonds.
• Bake at 375 for 12-15 minutes.

Steps:

• To make the crust: Lightly butter a 10-inch pie plate. On a lightly floured board, roll out the half of the pate brisee to a 1/8-inch thickness (unused dough can be wrapped and plastic and stored in the refrigerator or freezer). Place the dough in the pie plate, and press it into the bottom edges and along the sides. Trim the dough using scissors or a sharp paring knife. Crimp or decorate the edges of the crust if desired. Chill crust for 30 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Carefully line the pie plate with parchment paper, gently pressing the parchment into the edges of the crust; weigh down parchment with dried beans or pie weights. Bake until edges of pastry begin to turn golden, about 15 minutes. Carefully remove pie weights and parchment paper. Continue to bake until crust is golden brown, 15 to 20 minutes more. Transfer the crust to a wire rack to cool completely.
• To make the filling: Prepare an ice-water bath. In the top of a double boiler or in a heat-proof bowl set over simmering water, melt chocolate; set aside. Place 1/4 cup cold water in a small bowl, and sprinkle gelatin over it; set aside to soften.
• In a medium bowl, whisk together 4 egg yolks, 1/4 cup sugar, and the cornstarch; set aside. In a medium saucepan, combine milk and 1/4 cup sugar. Bring just to a boil. Add about one-quarter of the hot-milk mixture to the egg mixture, whisking constantly, until combined. Return egg-milk mixture to saucepan, and bring to a boil. Remove from heat when mixture has boiled and thickened, 3 to 4 minutes.
• Measure out 1 cup of custard, and transfer to a medium bowl. Add the melted chocolate and vanilla to it, stirring until the chocolate is melted. Transfer the bowl to the ice-water bath to cool completely. When cool, spread evenly in the bottom of the pie crust. Transfer pie crust to refrigerator until set, about 5 minutes. Add softened gelatin to remaining custard. Transfer pan to the ice-water bath to cool until just beginning to set.
• In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat egg whites with salt and cream of tartar until soft peaks form. With machine running, gradually add remaining 1/2 cup sugar, and beat until stiff glossy peaks form. Stir 1/3 of whipped egg whites into custard to lighten. Gently but thoroughly fold in remaining whites and rum. Spread over chocolate layer. Refrigerate pie for at least 3 hours and up to overnight.
• Whip cream until stiff peaks form. Spread over custard or pipe on top with a pastry bag fitted with a star tip. Sprinkle chocolate shavings on top. Chill until ready to serve.