Red Velvet Cupcake Treat

While looking for a red velvet cupcake recipe I found this super cool cupcake that offers the red velvet cake with cream cheese on the inside so there is no need for icing The red tender cake with a cream cheese center sounds like a yummy treat for your valentine. They are not as sweet as one would suspect so they may be considered muffins but to me muffins are a bit boring and these are very exciting to me.

Red Velvet Cream Cheese Cupcakes from Cookie Madness via My Baking Adventures
Filling:

4 ounces cream cheese, softened
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 ½ tablespoons lightly beaten egg (break egg, mix with fork, measure)
1/4 teaspoon vanilla

Batter:

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons all purpose flour
2 teaspoons unsweetened natural cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 plus 1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vinegar
1 large egg
1 tablespoon red food coloring
3/4 teaspoons vanilla
3 tablespoons sour cream

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line 8 (I needed 9) muffin cups with paper liners.
Prepare filling first. With a mixing spoon, beat together softened cream cheese and sugar. Add egg and vanilla and stir until smooth. Set aside.
In a mixing bowl, thoroughly stir together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt.
In a second mixing bowl, stir together oil, sugar, vinegar, egg, red food coloring, vanilla and sour cream. Mix very well, then add the flour mixture and stir just until blended.
Measure out approximately 1/3 cup red mixture and set aside. Divide remaining red mixture among the 8 muffin cups – each cup should be a little over 1/3 of the way full. Spoon cream cheese mixture over red mixture, dividing evenly between all cups. Drop small spoonfuls of reserved red batter on top of cream cheese mixture, making a bulls-eye pattern.
Bake for 20-23 minutes. Let cool on a wire rack. Carefully remove lift muffins from cups.
Best served slightly chilled. – Makes 8-9