Black Bottom Cupcakes (Gluten Free!)

Sometimes, the strangest food combinations actually go together, and combine to make something amazing, like chips on sandwiches, or cupcakes with bacon. Enter one of the most deliciously strange food combinations of all, chocolate and cheese, and you have the black bottom cupcake.

There are plenty of black bottom cupcake recipes to be found on the internet, but I decided to take a traditional recipe, and attempt to make it gluten free. It has been three months since I gave up gluten, and with Easter occurring in two days, it was important to me to have a recipe that would be safe to eat, without tasting "off" to the friends and family I would be sharing it with.

You will need:

For the cream cheese topping:

• 8 ounces of cream cheese
• 1 egg
• 1/3 cup of sugar
• Pinch of salt
• 1/2 to 1 cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips

For the cake bottom:

• 1 & 1/2 cups of gluten free all purpose baking flour (I use Bob's Red Mill)
• 1/4 tsp of xanthan gum
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup of cocoa
• 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 cup water
• 1/2 tsp salt

First, preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Mix all ingredients for the cheese topping together, and set aside.

Mix the xanthan gum in with the olive oil until dissolved. Add the rest of the ingredients for the cake bottom, and mix until smooth. Pour the cake batter into greased muffin tin (I used muffin cups), filling each cup about halfway. Top with a scoop of the cheese mixture, and bake for 25 minutes.

This recipe makes 18 regular sized cupcakes, and they are amazing!

You may also be interested in:

Breakfast Muffins (Bacon, egg, cheese, sausage)

Easy Macaroni & Cheese