Chocolate Chip Cream Cheese Cupcake

In honor of National Cheesecake Day (July 30), make theses super easy cupcakes and kick back.
(can be made vegan if you've got the right stuff)

Chocolate Chip Cream Cheese Cupcakes
8oz. cream cheese (softened)...low fat & fat free are fine..as is tofutti cream cheese
2 egg whites (or egg substitute equivalent)
1/4 c. vegetable oil
1 box white cake mix (any type)
1 c. water
1tsp vanilla
1 c. chocolate chips..any type

-Preheat oven to 350; put liners in your cupcake pan.
1. In blender (or with hand mixer) beat together cream cheese, egg whites, and oil; beat until creamy.
2. Add the cake mix, water, and vanilla; mix until smooth. (approx. 3 mins, give or take)
3. Fold in chocolate chips. Do not use mixer - fold by hand.
4. Fill each liner to just below the edge. An ice cream scoop is helpful...and less messy than spooning it in.
5. Bake @ 350 for 18 minutes, or until they bounce back when the tops are pressed. (Depending on your oven you might need to take them our @16 mins or leave them in for 20)
Let them cool slightly before taking them out of the pan; cool on racks.

Option:
Want to make them super cream cheesy? Fill or top them with cream cheese frosting.

Cream Cheese Frosting

1/2 cup of butter (1 stick), room temperature
8 oz of Philly cream cheese (1 package), room temperature
2 - 3 cups of powdered sugar
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

1. With an electric mixer, mix the butter and cream cheese together, about 3 minutes on medium speed until very smooth. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl to ensure even mixing.

2. Add the vanilla extract and mix. Slowly add the powdered sugar. Keep adding until you get to desired sweetness and thickness.

3. Either spread on with a blunt knife or spatula, or spoon into a piping bag to decorate your cake or cupcake.

Frosting recipe is from www.simplyrecipes.com; the cake recipe is one I modified...but have no clue where I originally got it.

Review: Famous Cupcakes

Laurel Canyon Blvd, North Hollywood
www.famouscupcakes.com

Cupcake #1: Chocolicious
They Say: "A milk chocolate cupcake made with French milk chocolate and topped with our milk chocolate buttercream frosting."
We say: Cake: It was very moist and had a nice, rich chocolate flavour. Not too sweet.
Frosting: Very smooth and creamy - a perfect chocolate-butter ratio. There was no greasy finish.
Overall, a very solid chocolate cupcake.
Ratings:
Frosting: 4.5
Cake: 4.5
Overall: 4.6

Cupcake #2: Vs-va-va-nilla
They Say: "Our famous vanilla cupcake made with Madagascar vanilla and topped with our creamy vanilla buttercream frosting."
We Say: Cake: It was so moist - a nice change from the previous bakeries visited. It had a nice hint of cinnamon that complemented it...almost like a spice cake.
Frosting: Very smooth and creamy...had a more vanilla flavour than butter flavour. It complemented the cake very well.
Overall, a yummy vanilla cupcake.
Ratings:
Frosting: 4.5
Cake: 5
Overall: 4.8

Cupcake #3: Cookies & Cream
They Say: "A milk chocolate cupcake baked with Oreo cookie pieces, filled with a chocolate whipped cream filling and topped with our cookies&cream buttercream."
We Say: Frosting: It tasted like the inside of an Oreo. It was a little too sweet.
Cake: It was disappointingly dry. There was a lot of the whipped cream filling, which was nice, but it didn't make up for the dryness of the cake.
Ratings:
Frosting: 3 (filling: 2)
Cake: 2.5
Overall: 2.8

Cupcake #4: Coconut
They Say: "Our famous vanilla cupcake made with Madagascar vanilla, filled with chocolate coconut whipped cream, and frosted with our homemade coconut topped cream cheese frosting."
We Say: Cake: It was deliciously moist....exactly the same cake as in the va-va-va-nilla cake. The filling wasn't chocolate as promised, but vanilla. It didn't add anything, nor did it have a particularly coconutty taste, but it was ok.
Frosting: Very good. The perfect cream cheese balance was reached, and the coconut topping complimented it well.
Overall, a tasty cake, but I was disappointed by the lack of coconut flavour.
Ratings:
Frosting: 4 (filling: 2)
Cake: 5
Overall: 4

Cupcake #5: 24 Karat
They Say: "Light and fluffy, with fresh carrots and walnut chips, our carrot cupcake is sure to delight the cupcake lover. Topped with our famous cinnamon cream cheese frosting."
We Say: Cake: It was extremely moist. There was a lot of grated carrot and nut inside, which was extremely tasty but made the cake very crumbly. Perfectly spiced.
Frosting: Delicious. The ideal carrot cake topping, and the cinnamon added a really nice flavour and complimented the cake perfectly.
Ratings:
Frosting: 5
Cake: 4.8 (for crumbly-ness)
Overall: 4.9

Cupcake #6: Good Morning Cupcake!
They Say: "A lightly spiced vanilla cupcake with vanilla beans, sprinkled with our unique blend of brown sugar, cinnamon, and graham crackers. " (Topped with a swirl of cream cheese frosting)
We Say: Cake: Again, a beautifully moist vanilla cake. There is no bad.
Topping: Super graham cracker-y, but very messy, because there wasn't anything binding it together. When you tried to peel back the wrapper it flew everywhere. However, it was a nice change from frosting.
Overall, a really nice cake, especially for someone that isn't a big fan of frosting...or chocolate. Not too sweet at all.
Ratings:
Cake: 5
Frosting: 4.5
Overall: 4.7

This is a really solid cupcake shop. While the cupcakes are still pricey at $3.25 each, they're very large (definitely enough to share!) and worth the price.

Review: The Cupcakery

Las Vegas, NV
Inside the Monte Carlo Hotel


Cupcake #1: Coco Frauline

They Say: "Dark chocolate cake stuffed full of traditional German Chocolate goodies... creamy coconut and pecan gooeyness. The little darling is covered with 5 layers of chocolate ganache and rolled in crushed Texas pecans. A must for any chocolate connoisseur or nut lover."

We Say: Cake: It was pretty good - not super dry, but not really moist. Average chocolate flavour..slightly rich. Filling was good...more caramel pecan than coconut flavour going on. Could have used more filling.
Frosting: Tasty. The ganache was just rich enough, and the chopped pecans added a nice crunch. A good departure from traditional buttercream toppers.
Ratings:
Frosting: 5
Cake:3.5
Overall: 4.5


Cupcake # 2: Tickle Me Pink
They say: "Our signature cake: classic white cake with pink vanilla buttercream frosting".
NOTE: We tried the chocolate cake version. Topped with pink sugar.
We say: Cake: It was disappointing. A different chocolate cake than the german chocolate, it was more dry and didn't have a significantly distinctive chocolate flavour.
Frosting: Average. Traditional buttercream - a little too much butter flavour, which is better than a waxy flavour.
Overall, a disappointing "signature cupcake".
Ratings:
Cake: 2.5
Frosting: 3
Overall: 3


Cupcake #3: The Julius

They Say: "The Julius is our October flavor of the month. Our take on the American classic consists of a chunky orange pineapple cake covered with our luscious heavy cream frosting. Just like the drink but dreamier."
We say: Cake: It was almost disturbingly orange coloured. It had a distinct citrusy flavour but the pineapple overwhelmed the orange. Neither dry nor overly moist.
Frosting: It tasted just like a creamsicle. The blend of vanilla and orange cream was a nice addition to the cake, and the two worked together well.
Ratings:
Cake: 3
Frosting: 3
Overall: 3.5


Cupcake # 4: Peanut Butter & Jelly
A peanut butter cake with a grape jelly filling, topped with peanut butter buttercream.
We say: Cake: It had been refrigerated, so it was extremely dense. There wasn't a lot of filling, and the taste of the cake would have been enhanced by more of the grape flavour...it got lost in the mix. Pretty moist, but the peanut taste overwhelmed it.
Frosting: So cold it was almost too hard. It was very peanutty, but the flavour wasn't that pleasing.
Overall, it was too much peanut butter, not enough jelly.
Ratings:
Cake: 2.5
Frosting: 2.5
Overall: 2.5

Cupcake # 5: Lemon Creme
A zesty lemon cake topped with a lemon buttercream frosting and yellow sugar.
We say: Cake: The best of the bunch. Refrigerated, like the peanut butter, it was very dense, but it was moist and flavourful. It tasted more like real lemons than artificial flavouring, but it could have been improved with more (or any) grated zest in the batter.
Frosting: Again, almost too hard, thanks to the fridge, but very tasty. Crisp and clean with no overwhelming butter taste.
Ratings:
Cake: 4.5
Frosting: 4.5
Overall: 4.5

At about $4 a cupcake, these were pretty disappointing. They have a number of other flavours, (about 20 at any given time) so the chance of finding one that you like is pretty good.

The Cupcakery also has 2 additional Las Vegas locations and 2 in Texas.
Visit them @ http://www.thecupcakery.com

Review: Mrs. Beasley's

Ventura Blvd, Encino, CA

#1. Red Velvet Cupcake (mini)
A red velvet cake with cream cheese frosting, topped with red sugar.
Frosting: It was decent: pretty light, but not as cream-cheesy as one would like. It lacked that rich flavour that traditionally accompanies a red velvet cake.

Cake: It was very dry. The chocolate taste within the cake was nice, but diminished by the very dry cake.

Ratings:
Cake: 2
Frosting: 3
Overall rating: 3

#2. Coconut Cupcake (mini)
A vanilla cake with vanilla whipped cream frosting, topped with coconut flakes
Frosting: It was very plastic tasting. While we expected coconut, there wasn't a hint of coconut flavour to be found.
Cake: An average vanilla cake. It tasted like a standard grocery store bought cupcake, and was a little dry.
Overall, the only hint of coconut on this supposedly "coconut" cake was the coconut sprinkled on the frosting.

Ratings:
Frosting: 2
Cake: 2
Overall rating: 2.5 / 3


#3. Chocolate Mint Cupcake (mini)
A chocolate cake with an indeterminate frosting, topped with a mint chocolate cup.
Frosting: It tasted super heavily of peppermint extract, which was almost overwhelming. It had a very greasy feel and left a film in our mouths.
Cake: A completely unremarkable chocolate -very dry with bland flavour.

Ratings:
Frosting: 1
Cake: 1
Overall rating : 1



#4. Peanut Butter Cupcake (mini)
A chocolate cake with a peanut butter buttercream, topped with a peanut butter cup.
Frosting: It had a strong peanut butter taste, which read as slightly unpleasant. It was the same consistency as the mint frosting but was not as greasy.
Cake: The same cake as featured in the mint cake. It was slightly less dry, but still very bland.

Ratings:
Frosting: 2.5
Cake: 2
Overall: 3 (the whole was better than the parts.)


Overall, a disappointing outing . None of the cupcakes stood out at all.
Best of the 4: Red Velvet

The Great Valley Cupcake Hunt

Today was a study in futility. We, hereafter mentioned as "the girls", attempted to hit up a number of cupcake bakeries (or regular bakeries that featured an assortment of cupcake flavors) in order to compare them in terms of presentation and taste. It didn't seem like it'd be that much of a challenge, but we were surprised.
We compiled a list of bakeries in the Valley, with Ventura Blvd as our starting point. We listed cupcakes that we'd read about, places we'd been, and ones that we'd passed at some point previously.
First stop: success! Mrs. Beasley's Bakery had a charming assortment of cupcakes, both regular and bite sized. We selected four mini cakes, figuring that we'd have more to choose from later. The girls' choices: red velvet, coconut, peanut butter, and chocolate mint.
The next three stops: failure. Every bakery we'd gone to in the past has closed down.
Then, finally, a glimmer of hope. A bakery still in business! We parked, and started for the door....only to find it closed. What kind of bakery closes on a Sunday? With the exception of Monday, when everyone needs a sugary hug, what better day is there for a cupcake? And yet -closed. So we climbed in our car, admitted defeat, and went home to try some cupcakes.