Best Gluten Free Vegan Chocolate Cupcake, EVER! xanthan free, soy free, dairy free, egg free, sugar free

 

GUYS!!  I’m so pumped about this recipe!  Seriously, if you were ever looking for a delicate, fluffy, moist and springy perfect chocolate cupcake, my friend, you have arrived.  I’ve been experimenting to make the perfect  GF vegan red velvet cupcake without dye, and while I haven’t yet cracked the code, I HAVE made the most phenomenal cupcake, ever.

One bite of these puppies, and I am telling you, you’re going to jump in the air and screech a little. No, seriously.  I mean, I’ve done pretty good with my gluten free vegan vanilla cupcakes, but they had xanthan and refined sugar and flax (you bet I’m going to fix that soon!).   And I’ve done pretty good with my gluten free, egg free dairy free chocolate cake–  (its awesome, – if you can’t have strawberries use this recipe instead).  BUT- I wanted something even lighter, and super super fluffy.

Impossible for gluten free and vegan and xanthan free? No freakin way. Not impossible. When it comes to food, there is no such thing as impossible!!

Look at that soft, springy tender crumb! so beautiful i can't stand it!

So, A few things about this awesome recipe.  First,  I use strawberries.  If you can’t eat strawberries (they are a known allergen),  you can try to replace them with a mashed banana, or with 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce.  I am counting on the pectin for binding and the fruity flavour of the stawberries to give depth.

Second, I use agar agar powder to hold it together.  Yes, that wierd stuff that you see in petrie dishes.  Hear me out- unlike xanthan gum, its totally natural- made from ground up seaweed.  Its inert. Neutral. Its easily found cheap at your local asian grocer.  Xanthan gum, on the other hand, is made from processing the mold that causes blackrot on vegetables.  Its expensive.  And no, its not good for you- at all.  If you have a mold sensitivity, this stuff will make your head spin, in a bad way.  Just, if you go to such lengths for clean eating, don’t at the last minute, use this stuff. Its really, really not good for you and worse- its really really difficult to find any information on it. That should be your first clue.

Third- sugar.  Sweeteners are a toughie, I know.  I use coconut sap- it has the soft consistency and flavour of brown sugar but half the glycemic index.  In other words- hooray. :)  Its not cheap, but hey, it tastes wonderful and its way healthier.  Also- if you want a more chocolatey taste, use chocolate flavoured non-dairy milk and add in one more tbsp cocoa powder.

Here we go folks! On to the recipe!

 

 

21 Replies to “Best Gluten Free Vegan Chocolate Cupcake, EVER! xanthan free, soy free, dairy free, egg free, sugar free”

  1. Hi Crystal!

    If yo uwant to improve the nutritional value, you could try millet flour or sorghum flour- they are both soft flours and have a good texture. I find quinoa (unless you roast the flour), sometimes has a strong grassy taste, and adding more coconut flour will make them dry (coconut flour tends to slurp up all the moisture in a recipe- i try to use as little as possible) . For cupcakes- If you use an ice cream scoop i believe it should make about a dozen. Hope this helps! :D alea

  2. Love your website! You are so innovative and resourceful.
    I was hoping to increase the nutritional value of these cupcakes and wondered about replacing the white rice flour with a combination of quinoa and maybe more coconut flour? I’d like to take see to a girls night and want really want them to turn out! Also, I may have misses it, but how many cupcakes does it make?
    Thanks!

  3. Hi there Jordan!

    hmmmm…. ok, about the substitutions…. to substitute for the coconut flour, you can do chickpea flour. For the almond flour, can your friend do any nuts? if so, try a mix of 1 part hazelnut meal, 1 part potato starch, and 1 part sorghum flour. I can’t guarantee it will work, almond flour has some pretty unique properties to it, although, you can check for the cupcake recipe at Gluten Free Goddess.com – she doesn’t use almond or coconut in her recipe. :) best of luck, let me know how it turns out! -alea

  4. Hey there!

    I was wondering if you have any substitution suggestions for the coconut flour in this recipe apart from almond meal. I was going to attempt this recipe to cheer up a friend of mine who is quite new to his restricted diet and having a tough time dealing with it, but he has a sensitivity to both almonds and coconuts. Any ideas? Thanks in advance :)

  5. hi there Jay!
    You can use chickpea flour instead, it has similar protein properties and binding capacity. You can also use regular white or brown sugar insteadof the coconut sugar. Happy baking! :D

  6. Hi. I was wondering if you had a substitute for the almond meal in this recipe. My son is allergic to nuts. Also, if I can’t find coconut sugar, coudl I use brown sugar instead.

  7. hey there Jenn!
    thank you so much for that awesome feedback… i kinda love those brownies a bit too :D oh! hey- i just found a barbecue sauce recipe thats sugar free and gluten free- i posted on the FB fanpage wall, hope its helpful… if you have any requests for anything, don’t hesitate to ask :D alea

  8. Thanks! These were yummy. I had to make a few substitutions (didn’t have coconut flour and only had brown rice flour – not white). It was GREAT to be able to have a sweet thing for my kiddos (and me too!).

  9. Hi J!
    The strawberries you cook without water. I don’t think the almond pulp will work too well- even if you dry it out, most of the natural oils in it will have been taken out as well. Your best bet is to check your local healthfood store, or , if you are not sensitive to cross contamination, and live in Ontario, you can get no name brand ground almonds from the baking section at Loblaws.Otherwise, check out Honeyville or JK Gourmet – each company sells almond flour online and also delivers. Unfortunately, Bob’s Redmill almond meal is too coarse so it won’t hold the weight of the dough. However, if thats all you have available to you, I suggest putting it through a coffee grinder or other fine grinder, before using it. That will do the trick. Feel free to give me a shout if you need anything else! :)
    alea

  10. When reducing strawberries, do you add water to them while cooking them? Or do the strawberries reduce by themselves?

    For the almond meal, can I use the leftover pulp from making almond milk?

  11. Heya Alisa!
    Thanks so much for the awesome compliment :) I’m looking into other binding agents too- if you are wanting a vegan xanthan alternative, I’ve hear locust bean gum is also a good binder…. I’m wondering too if buying liquid pectin would be another option. I feel like i have to conquer this binding agent challenge. If its the last thing i do i’ll find something… Hey- i saw a great recipe for soaked pureed figs simmered with apple juice- it makes a very sticky substance- I’d be willing to bet that it would also be a good binder… now i’m getting ideas again ;)

  12. Great job! So creative to use agar. No Asian grocer here, and haven’ t wanted to commit to buying it online as of yet, so I haven’t tried it, but will definitely keep an eye out!

Comments are closed.