These Black Bottom Cupcakes with cake mix combine chocolate cake with a sweet cream cheese and chocolate chip filling. Readers have told me these are a family favorite, and it’s easy to see why!
Black Bottom Cupcakes are also known as “cupcakes that fill themselves” or “magic middle cupcakes”. The name makes sense when you take a bite and find the sweet cream cheese filling inside!
The original recipe is from the 1961 Pillsbury Bake-Off. It used a homemade chocolate cake, but throughout the years the recipe has been adapted for cake mix (as have many other cake recipes, which you can see in this post of 25+ cakes that start with a box of cake mix). The best part is, these cupcakes don’t need frosting! They’re delicious as-is or with a dusting of powdered sugar.
When I shared this recipe on Facebook, a number of readers chimed in with their memories and tips:
- "This is the exact recipe my grandma used. We no longer have the recipes in this book and my grandma has been gone for 3 years and I miss these from my childhood." - Frankie
- "I used to make these for my kids’ school birthday treats. I never frosted them other than a sprinkle of powdered sugar. One boy asked me why there was no frosting and I told him they were inside-out cupcakes; the frosting is on the inside." - Christine
- "I made the mistake of making these for my family. They could eat them every day if I would make them. They love it when I put pecans or black walnuts in the centers." - Cathi
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Why These Cupcakes are a Favorite
- The cake mix makes these cupcakes really easy to make, and there’s no need for frosting due to the cream cheese center.
- Because there’s no frosting, they travel very well.
- They’re not overly sweet. My kids kept calling them “muffins” and asking for them for breakfast. Those requests were denied. 😊
- They’re delicious cold from the fridge (rare for a cupcake!).
- This is getting picky but I really dislike when cupcakes stick to the muffin liners. These cupcakes peel away easily without having to grease the liners.
- Check out the “Cupcake Variations” list below, but in short, they’re very adaptable for different cake mixes, different morsels, adding frosting, and making in mini size.
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Ingredients
Choose your favorite chocolate cake mix for this recipe. I stick to either Pillsbury or Duncan Hines cake mixes because they contain 15.25 ounces. Some mixes like Betty Crocker are only 13.25 ounces now! You’ll need eggs, oil, and water, per the package instructions, to make the cake.
The filling is made with cream cheese, sugar, an egg, and chocolate chips. I recommend full-fat cream cheese for the richest taste. I used semi-sweet chocolate chips but you can use milk chocolate, dark chocolate, or bittersweet chocolate.
How to Make Black Bottom Cupcakes with Cake Mix
- Make a box of cake mix according to package directions.
- Beat the softened cream cheese, sugar, and egg with a hand mixer until fluffy. Stir in the chocolate chips.
- Divide the cake batter between 24 muffin cups lined with a muffin liner. Place 1 tablespoon of the cream cheese mixture into the center of the cake batter in each muffin cup. There’s no need to push it down or try to cover it with the cake batter-the batter will rise around it and create a pretty swirl.
- Bake for 18-21 minutes at 350°F, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
Cupcake Variations
- Make these into mini cupcakes using two 24-cup mini muffin tins.
- You can use a silicone muffin pan and no liners. I tried it, and while I prefer the look of the cupcakes in a metal pan with muffin liners (they’re a bit taller), they taste just the same in a silicone pan.
- A reader named Janet shared, “I make them in ice cream cones with the flat bottom on a cookie sheet.”
- A reader named Mary Sue says, “I sometimes use yellow cake mix and butterscotch chips in the filling.” (I love this idea!)
- A reader named Sue adds, “I have made it in a Bundt pan, regular and mini size cupcakes. For Easter I make the frosting into different colors, and dye coconut flakes green for the ‘grass’.”
- And finally Christine says, “This recipe makes great mini cupcakes for a crowd. Just use mini chocolate chips and put a rosette of cream cheese frosting on top.”
I dusted the cupcakes with powdered sugar before I sent them off to the neighbor’s, which was really pretty.
If you’d like to add frosting, I’d recommend the cream cheese frosting from these pumpkin bars with cream cheese frosting or this classic chocolate fudge frosting.
More Nostalgic Chocolate Cakes
- Chocolate Gooey Butter Cake (I absolutely love this one)
- Chocolate Mayonnaise Cake
- Ding Dong Cake (a reader favorite)
- Hot Fudge Pudding Cake
- Wacky Cake (a depression-era cake)
📖 Recipe
Black Bottom Cupcakes (with Cake Mix)
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 box chocolate cake mix made according to package directions
- 8 oz cream cheese softened
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar
- 1 egg
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup chocolate chips
- For garnish: powdered sugar for dusting on top
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Place cupcake liners into 24 muffin cups.
- Prepare 1 box chocolate cake mix according to package directions.
- In a large bowl, beat 8 oz cream cheese (softened) and ⅓ cup granulated sugartogether until light and fluffy. Add 1 egg and ⅛ teaspoon salt, and beat to combine.
- Stir in 1 cup chocolate chips.
- Fill the cupcake papers ⅔ of the way full with the prepared cake mix, dividing the batter evenly between 24 muffin cups.
- Drop a 1-tablespoon sized portion of the cream cheese filling into the center of the cake batter in each muffin cup. No need to push the cream cheese mixture into the batter; the cake will rise around it as it bakes.
- Bake for 18-21 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Let cool, and garnish with a dusting of powdered sugar if you'd like.
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