St. Patty's Day Black Bottomed Cupcakes

I'm a Celtophile, and part Irish (some great-great uncle of mine was in the Irish senate!), and mostly I love wearing green t-shirts and making nametags that say "kiss me, I have Celtic ancestry". Every St. Patty's day I put on a mix of the Dropkick Murphys and the Pogues and rock out with whoever's handy. Last night our old neighbors came over and ate cupcakes (and Jameson, of course).

My girlfriend Lindsey has a great black bottomed cupcake recipe she made in high school, but I could never get the cream cheese in the right place for it to sink to the bottom. Last night I decided to use my grandmother's Stork Cake recipe, which is a (delightfully easy) smooth chocolate cake made with water and mayonnaise. It caused the cream cheese to spread and bake across the top, an effect I liked.

Black Bottomed Cupcakes:

(Stork Cake)

for 9x9 pan

2 cups flour

1 cup (cane) sugar

1/2 tsp soda

1/2 tsp baking powder

4 Tblsp baking cocoa (Hersheys or Equal Exchange)

In a separate container (preferably one with a lid), shake together wet ingredients:

2 tsp vanilla

1 cup salad dressing (not mayonnaise)

1 cup cold water

Mix the wet and dry together in a bowl by hand with a wooden spoon. It needs to be moist enough to flow slowly, so add more water and salad dressing (equal parts) if necessary.

Cream cheese topping:

1 8oz package cream cheese, softened

2 Tblsp. butter, softened

1 small egg

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp vanilla

3 Tblsp. white sugar

3/4 cup chocolate chips

Pour the chocolate batter into cupcake papers 1/2 way full, then evenly place 1 heaping tablespoon of the cream cheese topping in the center. Bake at 350 for 10-15 minutes, using a toothpick in the center.

The frosting I used was just a basic buttercream:

1/2 cup (one stick) butter, softened

1 1/2 cup powdered sugar

3 Tblsp. cream cheese, softened

1 tsp vanilla

1/4 cup half and half

Beat powdered sugar, butter and cream cheese together until well mixed, then add vanilla and cream, beating at a high speed. Then food coloring, and pastry bag!

Mmm, leftover Baileys.