Cream Cheese Chocolate Chip Cupcakes

Chocolate cupcakes with a cream cheese and chocolate chip center. The contrast between the light and fluffy cupcake and the stout filling makes for a delicious treat. This quick and easy dessert is 100% vegan.

Ingredients overview

Vegan Cream Cheese

For this recipe I used Kite Hill Plain cream cheese. They specialize in making almond milk based spreads. Aside from being vegan it is also gluten-free, Non-GMO, dairy free, soy-free, and kosher without added sugar or preservatives.

If you can’t find Kite Hill at your local health food store or grocery store here are a few alternative brands to look for:

• Miyoko’s
• Oatly
• Tofutti

Types of Tofu

Not an exhaustive list but here are some of the common types of tofu:

• Silken Tofu: Soft and creamy, silken tofu is often used in desserts, smoothies, and sauces. It has a high water content and a delicate texture.
• Soft Tofu: Softer than regular tofu, soft tofu is great for dishes where you want a tender and creamy texture. It’s often used in soups, stir-fries, and salads.
• Medium Tofu: As the name suggests, medium tofu falls between soft and firm in terms of texture. It’s a good all-purpose tofu for many recipes.
• Firm Tofu: Firm tofu is the most common type and has a dense, chewy texture. It’s great for stir-fries, grilling, and pan-frying.
• Extra-Firm Tofu: Extra-firm tofu is even denser than firm tofu and has a texture similar to meat. It’s often used in dishes where you want a meat-like texture.

As the list above demonstrates there are many types of tofu and they each have their strengths for different recipes. For this recipe we used silken tofu.

Cupcake Liners

Let’s quickly discuss cupcake liner selection. There are two types of liner that come to mind: paper and silicone.

Paper Liners – These are great for potlucks or family gatherings. If you are on the go and need a disposable liner that you don’t need to keep track of then these save the day. When I use paper liners I usually reach for these compostable unbleached liners.

Silicone Liners – The majority of the time I use silicone liners. They are reusable so there is no waste. They peel easily away from your cupcakes similar to a paper liner. You literally get to have your cupcake and eat it too. These Amazon Basics silicone liners are a steal and highly rated. Since they are reusable I tend to use these for smaller family gatherings or situations in which I can keep track of them.

Baking notes

To begin add the silken tofu and sugar to a food processor and pulse until the ingredients are combined. The sugar crystals should no longer be visible and the mixture should be creamy and smooth without any lumps.

Use a standup mixer and add the vegan cream cheese, chocolate chips, salt, and tofu mixture. Mix all the ingredients together on a low setting. Once everything is combined pull the standup mixer bowl and place it in the refrigerator until ready to add to the cupcakes.

In a large mixing bowl add all the dry ingredients followed by the wet ingredients. Use a silicone spatula to mix the batter. Mixing until it is smooth with as few lumps as possible.

Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Add your cupcake liner of choice to a cupcake pan. Then fill the liner halfway with the cupcake batter. Then add a tablespoon of the cream cheese mixture on top of the batter.

Bake for 25 – 30 minutes. When the time has almost elapsed stick a tooth pick into a few of the cupcakes. If the toothpick is gooey on the end then add a few minutes and repeat until the toothpick pulls out cleanly. Then remove the cupcakes from the oven and allow them to cool on a wire rack.

Substitutions and Variations

Chocolate Chips – For this recipe we used Tollhouse semi-sweet morsels. Replacements you may also consider are Dark chocolate morsels or mini chocolate chips.

Caramel Chips – In place of chocolate chips you might try adding Lieber’s Caramel Chips.

Caramel Sauce – For a truly decadent experience these might be good with some vegan caramel sauce on top. Either added after they are baked or maybe try adding some to the filling before baking.

Storage

These store nicely in glassware or your preferred storage container. I like this set from Pyrex and it is usually what I use.

If you stack them on top of one another I recommend adding a piece of wax paper between the layers. This will help them from sticking to one another.

These should store nicely in a container for three to five days before the freshness starts to taper off. They seem to vanish long before then but your results may vary. 🙂

If you liked the recipe be sure to check out our other recipes below:

• Peanut Butter Cup Cheesecake
• Double Chocolate Chip Cookies
• Chocolate-Caramel Coconut Bars
• Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins with Walnuts