(Which I was going to call “Gluten-free vegan chocolate cupcakes with a customization option which I made with blood oranges” but I realized that this was a rather long-winded way of titling something which, quite simply, was delicious).
These pictures are not the greatest; I was in a hurry to finish baking before a meeting.
A lot of people in my life have food
allergies/intolerances now, and so it is pretty common to have long
email threads before a gathering to see who can eat what, and what
people should bring that everyone can eat. This is very confusing for
folks who do not live with these dietary issues, particularly when it
comes to baking. So, usually I am asked to handle the desert. Which I
am happy to do!
Most recently, we needed to accommodate
egg, dairy, and gluten issues, so the brownies that I normally make
were out. I had made these mocha cupcakes before, and they were
delicious, but there were young kids at the gathering, and I didn't
think their parents would appreciate a caffeine-laden desert. But I
liked the idea of cupcakes (according to The Internet, cupcakes are a
culinary trend that is becoming unfashionable) (I think that is
ridiculous, cupcakes have always been a mainstay of birthday parties
and gatherings where a layer cake is impractical) (plus they are
super-kid friendly and seem to make a bit less of a mess) (good
heavens this is a lot of parentheticals) so I tweaked the
already-fabulous recipe into something that would work for me.
And thus we have this recipe for a
plain chocolate cupcake, which is also vegan and gluten-free.
Chocolate cupcakes
Adapted from the Gluten-Free Goddess
Dry ingredients
¾ cup sorghum or brown rice flour
¾ cup cornstarch
½ cup cocoa powder
1 cup granulated sugar
½ rounded tsp sea salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp xanthan gum
Other ingredients
2 Tbs ground flax seed + 4 Tbs warm
water (you can use 2 eggs instead if you prefer)
1 cup non-dairy milk of choice
3 Tbs light-tasting oil
½ tsp vinegar
1 tsp vanilla extract
Preheat oven to 350 F.
Combine the flax with the warm water in
a small bowl, and set aside, allowing it to sit for at least five
minutes. This is your “egg.”
Combine the dry ingredients in a medium
sized bowl, and whisk together to incorporate.
Add in the other ingredients, including
the flax “egg,” and mix for 2-3 minutes. This can be done in a
stand mixer or with a regular spoon or whisk if you don't mind a
work-out. The batter will be very thick, and somewhat stringy.
Fill muffin tins (lined with cupcake
liners) about 2/3 full of batter. It may be necessary to smooth out
the tops of each tin of batter with the back of a spoon in order to
get a smooth top after baking.
Bake cupcakes for 20 minutes.
Makes 1 dozen cupcakes.
Remove from the tin to a wire rack to
cool, or else the cupcakes become slightly soggy.
Wait until the cupcakes have completely
cooled prior to frosting.
Frosting:
2 cups powdered sugar
2-4 Tbs shortening (I used Spectrum)
¼ cup cocoa powder
1 tsp vanilla extract
2-3 Tbs non-dairy milk
Combine the first four ingredients,
then add “milk” one tablespoon at a time. Blend with a stand or
hand mixer until fluffy. Add more liquid if necessary. Pipe or spread
onto cooled cupcakes.
Unfrosted chocolate cupcakes. Gluten-free baked goods are often a little lumpy if you don't smooth out the batter.
Variation:
After making these, I decided to try to
make another variety. I suspect you could make infinite variations to
this recipe if you so desired. Basically, you change what spices or
extracts you add to the batter, replace cocoa powder with cornstarch
if the cupcake is non-chocolate, and use different liquids for the
“milk.” I made a blood orange cupcake, and it was fantastic. I
used these ingredients, following the instructions above. Please
experiment with making your own changes to the recipe, until you find
something that you really like! The recipe seems to be pretty
forgiving.
Blood orange cupcake variation
Dry ingredients
¾ cup sorghum flour
1 ¼ cup cornstarch
1 cup sugar
½ rounded tsp sea salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp xanthan gum
half the zest of a blood orange
½ tsp nutmeg
2 Tbs flax + 4 Tbs warm water
3 Tbs oil
½ cup blood orange juice
½ cup coconut milk
2 tsp lemon juice
Frosting:
2 cups powdered sugar
2-4 Tbs shortening
half the zest of a blood orange
~2 Tbs blood orange juice
Unfrosted cupcakes. These were pretty tasty plain.
Pretty pink frosting.
So try either variation, or play with the ingredients and make your own! Cupcakes should be fun as well as tasty.
