Black Bottom Cupcakes

Jane and I are making these on the anniversary of our sister’s, Barbara Shelnutt Bolender, death as a special remembrance as suggested by our youngest sister, Sarah.

Cooking with Gourmet Grains is one of Jane’s favorite cookbooks, her first edition becoming so tattered, it needed to be replaced. She also gave Barbara a copy and Barbara made these Black Bottom Cupcakes with her own special twist. She replaced a key ingredient with prunes. However, as my sister Sarah and her husband Denny happily devoured the miniature cupcakes, they discovered a frequent need to go to the bathroom. That was an experiment which, as far as we know, was not repeated though she continued to make them to share with family and friends.

More remembrances to follow.

For Barbara:

Black Bottom Cupcakes (from Cooking with Gourmet Grains – Stone- Buhr Milling Company, 6th printing, 1976 page 145)

8 oz. cream cheese, softened
1 egg
1/3 cup sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 6 oz- package chocolate chips
1 ½ cup sifted Stone-Buhr all purpose flour
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon soda
¼ cup cocoa
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup water
1/3 cup oil
1 Tablespoon vinegar
1 teaspoon vanilla

Place cream cheese, egg, sugar and salt in a bowl. Beat until well and stir in the chocolate chips. Set aside. Beat in all the remaining ingredients until blended. Fill cupcake liners 1/3 full. Top each with a heaping teaspoon of cream cheese mixture. Bake a 350 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes. Makes about 24 cupcakes.

hot fudge sauce

Remember Wowies’s E-Z 7 minute fudge that never fudged after 7 hours? Remember pulling taffy with out hands all buttered up? Remember Wowie making bayberry candles?

This sauce is reminds me of Rehoboth. It’s so good, so easy, and so addictive. It’s the kind that hardens when it hits the cold ice cream.

Take 2 cups of chocolate chips and melt them in a double boiler over hot water. Add 2 TBS butter (unsalted is good if you have it) and melt, using a whisk. Add 1 tsp of vanilla. Slowly whisk in 1/2 cup of heavy cream till blended. Cook for 5 minutes, whisking. Pour over good vanilla ice cream- it’s better than a Dove bar! Keep in a jar- zap to melt again being careful not to over-cook it when you re-heat it. Lasts about a month in the fridge. You can double the recipe no problem.