Black Bottom Cupcakes and "On Being Girly"
I’ve always been a “girly girl” ie: loved wearing pink, high heels, makeup, and dresses and being formal. I attribute this to a few factors: 1. Gender norms, 2. Being the oldest child and trying to fit in and do what is expected of me, 3. It’s just how I am/genetics. As a sociologist I believe that who we are stems from a complicated intersection of societal and biological factors that are often impossible to disentangle.
I am currently trying to embrace my feminine qualities and tendencies. For a long time I also equated femininity with weakness because I wanted to be a strong, athletic, outdoorsy woman in today’s society. But what I’ve learned is that life is full of nuances and contradictions and you can be feminine and a feminist, a strong athletic woman and a girly girl. In fact, equating femininity with weakness is falling prey to patriarchal reasoning that for centuries was used to undermine the power of women (and femininity in men) and maintain inequality. So let’s all of us embrace both our masculinity and our femininity whether we identify as womxn, men, gender queer or trans.
I wanted to make these black bottom cupcakes because they are so reminiscent of childhood for me. There is a picture of me in my scrapbook of me at my birthday party. I am wearing a flower print dress and my hair is in braids. I am sitting with a cake stand full of black bottom cupcakes that my mom made. This picture is just so quintessentially “me” and I love it.
Black Bottom Cupcakes are a classic chocolate cupcake topped with a cream cheese mixture that is then baked. The result is a lovely chocolate cupcake topped with a cheesecake studded with gooey chocolate chips.
Black Bottom Cupcakes
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/4 cup regular cocoa powder or dutch process
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda (if using regular cocoa) or 2 teaspoons baking powder (if using dutch process cocoa)
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup boiling water
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Combine flour, coco powder, baking soda or powder, and salt.
In a separate bowl, whisk together sugars, buttermilk and boiling water. Add to dry ingredients and whisk until just combined.
Topping:
8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
1 egg
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup chocolate chips
Whip all ingredients except chocolate chips together in standmixer, with food processor or hand mixer. Add chocolate chips when mix is smooth.
Fill 14 cupcake liners about half way with chocolate batter. Dollop a tablespoon of cream cheese mixture on top.
Bake for 15 to 18 minutes until cream cheese is just set on top and chocolate cupcake springs back when touched.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
