This weekend, probiotic potions practice including starting a batch of soy sauce and making a batch of cream cheese.

The soy sauce will probably be done about Christmas, but the cream cheese is ready to go. I promised Michael some of it would go into an old family favorite, black bottom cupcakes. It’s so yummy. And was as easy to make as yogurt, although there are more complex recipes for cream cheese that are in the queue.

I got this recipe from a co-worker at a summer job I worked between my freshman and sophomore years, in an industrial laundry. And that is another story best told over a beer.

Black Bottom Cupcakes

Cream Cheese topping

1/2 lb cream cheese

1/3 cup sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla

1 egg

1/8 tsp. salt

1 cup chocolate chips

Cake batter

1 1/2 cup flour

1/4 cup cocoa

1 tsp. baking soda

1/3 cup oil

1 cup sugar

1/2 tsp. salt

1 cup water

1 T. vinegar

1 tsp. vanilla

Directions

Beat cream cheese until smooth. Add egg, sugar, salt, vanilla and beat well. Stir in chocolate chips and set aside.

Stir together dry ingredients of cake batter. Add water, oil, vinegar, vanilla and beat well.

Line muffin tins with baking cups and fill half way with cake batter. Top with cheese mixture and bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes.