Cupcakes for all

Are you ready for a cupcake recipe that is gluten free, dairy free, and pretty darn simple?

Maybe I should explain on why I'm bothering making such ridiculous cupcakes that are missing all of my favorite things. Well, a few weeks ago, we found out my adorable little nephew had celiac's. Poor guy. Turns out most of my family actually has the gene for it. I decided to give a go at trying a gluten-free diet for the next two weeks or so, and seeing how I feel at the end. I figured that the worst that can happen is that I feel the same, but learned a few tasty recipes to make my newphew.

So, the only "special" ingredient that you may not have in your pantry is the gluten-free AP flour. I picked this up at either Trader Joe's or Whole Food (sorry, I can't rememeber which!). It's definetely more expensive then regular flour, but it's way easier than mixing all the special flours you need to make it yourself, and I'm pretty darn lazy with that kind of thing.

Gluten-free "Allergy-Free Chocolate Cupcakes" (also vegan!)
Adapted from this Martha Stewart recipe

• 1 1/2 cups Gluten-Free cake flour (take AP cake flour and add 2Tbsp of corn-startch for every cup)
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 5 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 tablespoon white vinegar (I used Apple-cider Vinegar instead)
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 1/4 cups water

*If you are making these for someone who is gluten free and you don't usually bake gluten-free, make sure you double check ALL of your ingredients are in fact gluten free*

 

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with cupcake liners; set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt; set aside.
3. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix together oil, vinegar, vanilla, and water until well combined. Add flour mixture to the mixer and mix until smooth, scraping down the sides of the bowl with a spatula as necessary.
4. Pour batter into prepared muffin tin, filling each cup 1/2 to 3/4 full. Transfer to oven and bake, rotating pan halfway through cooking, until a cake tester inserted into the center of one of the cupcakes comes out clean, 20 to 25 minutes.
5. Immediately remove cupcakes from muffin tin and transfer to a wire rack. Let cool completely before frosting.

 

So, how did they taste?

Well, as far as the taste, they tasted just like regular chocolate cupcakes. The only difference was the texture. They were more chewy than fluffy, although I found that keeping them in the fridge improved this a little bit. And they also didn't rise as much in the oven as normal cupcakes, so make sure you fill the cupcake  liners almost full, instead of the normal 3/4 full. I would definetely make these again though, and I can't wait to give some to my nephew!

**UPDATE: My sister made these and added a few teaspoons of Xantham Gum to give it a bit of "fluff". For some reason my AP Flour didn't contain any, some brands of GF AP Flour does, check your box!**

 

 

Comments

[Christina]

Your cupcakes didn't rise because they lacked a leavening agent, besides the baking soda. Try adding a teaspoon of Xanthan gum next time.

[Abigail C]

I have a good friend who is gluten free. It's been quite the adventure learning to make food she can eat! (Her husband blogs here: http://soakednuts.wordpress.com/ and he's got some fun recipes). Just when I got the hang of making GF desserts and finger food another friend moved into the area who has a corn allergy. Suddenly the popcorn/corn chip and dip fail-safes are gone! I discovered the corn allergy to rather more crippling than the gluten one for snacks. But the world of desserts is gloriously versatile and forgiving.

[Laura Molas-Elwell]

these were delish. just delish. and actually almost all, if not all, AP gluten free flours contain xanthan gum. You CAN add extra to a recipe, but that does NOT guarantee a higher rise. I have added tons of xanthan gum to a recipe and there is only so far it will take you in rising non gluten flour!

[FineandFeathered]

I just checked the ingredients and apparently this AP flour doesn't have xanthan gum in it, which seems weird to me - it's supposed to be a replacement for flour, which is a leaven-er, so why wouldn't they just put that in it already?

[J'Ann]

Looks yummy!

[Elizabeth]

We have done gluten free in the past and I highly recommend Better Batter for gluten free flour. And I also highly recommend the Gluten Free on a Shoestring Budget Cookbook as well as the website glutenfreeonashoestring.com

Good Luck with the gluten free way!

[FineandFeathered]

Thanks so much Elizabeth! I'm trying it for like 2 or so weeks to see if I really feel better or not!