Black-bottom cupcakes

Due to popular demand, here are Belinda Jeffery’s black-bottom cupcakes.

1 1/2 cups plain flour (gluten free white wings)
1 cup castor sugar
1 teaspoon bicarb soda
1 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup Dutch-processed cocoa
1 cup warm water
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/3 cup light olive oil
1 teaspoon white vinegar

Topping:
250g cream cheese
1/3 cup castor sugar
1 egg
1 cup dark chocolate bits

Preheat your oven to 180*C. Line a 12-hole muffin tin with paper cupcake cases – or smaller if you like.

For the topping beat together the cream cheese and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the egg and mix it in thoroughly, then stir in the chocolate bits.

Tip the flour, sugar, bicarb soda and salt into a bowl. Sift in the cocoa and mix it all together. In another bowl whisk together the warm water, vanilla extract, oil and vinegar. Make a well in the dry ingredients and pour in the wet ingredients and stir them together thoroughly.

Spoon the batter into the cupcake cases so that they’re about two-thirds full. Scoop a heaped dessertspoonful of the cream cheese mixture on top of each one.

Bake for about 30-35 minutes or until the dark chocolate part springs back when pressed or a skewer inserted into the dark chocolate comes out clean.