Gluten Free Vegan Cupcake

Ahhh the holy grail and bane of my existance!  I’ve been working for ages now on trying to pull off a great combination for a gluten free, egg free, and dairy free vanilla cupcake.  I’ve had many, many different experiences.  There are indeed some blog recipes out there that are terrific, but inevitably there’s one or two ingredients in them that I can’t have — *argh*.  

So, to start this off, I’m going to link to my favorite recipes that I’ve come across, just in case there’s something in MY recipe YOU can’t have and are stuck with the same dilemma!  

First up-  my favorite blogger, Karina. Grace and art in all she does, I’m telling you.  Her cupcakes are vegan, gluten free, soy free, and nut free.  However, they use Ener-G egg replacer, and I don’t, and she uses sorghum flour, and I don’t.  Her stuff is quite reliable and her words are an absolute pleasure to read.  Do check it out:  Chocolate Cupcakes with Coffee Icing  and her Vanilla Cupcakes with Mocha Icing.

Second up- if you can do nuts and eggs, but you can’t do xantham gum or any grain product or refined sugar or soy, go for Elana’s Pantry.  She uses coconut flour and almond flour and agave nectar.  Here is her Vanilla Cupcakes with chocolate frosting,  her coconut flour Chocolate Cupcakes and her almond flour Chocolate Cupcakes. She also has soy free, dairy free, sugar free Frosting Recipe (although I must admit that this particular recipe has me stumped. I can’t master it yet. argh. One day!)

I’m personally going to give this recipe a shot and try it without sugar.  However, for now, this one time, I’m gonna cheat.  Refined white sugar it is.  Sorry homies…. I’m still working on it I swear!

Gluten Free Vegan Vanilla Bean Cupcakes

NOTE:

Now, the recipe below makes a cupcake that is soft, and very filling. I’ve learned the best way to make it is to use an ice cream scoop/food scoop (one of the round ones) and fill it till it is exactly level.  It plops nicely in the pan with a rounded top and cooks evenly cause each is the same weight. Don’t cook them too long!!! They can dry out very quick if you do, and suddenly become rocks :( I learned this, this morning. urgh. I know the cuppies  I brought to the Cupcake Challenge could have been alot more moist. You learn. You learn. (frosting was awesome though!!)

Ingredients

Wet

• 1 cup unsweetened almond milk ( try this first.  you can do other non-dairy milks, but they may give different results)
• 1/3 cup grapeseed oil (or another super light oil. Results will vary with different oils)
• 1 1/2 vanilla bean plus 1 tsp vanilla extract (OR 2 tsp extract)
• 1/2 tsp almond extract
• 2 tbsp ground flax
• 1 tsp apple cider vinegar

Dry

• 1/2 cup and 3tbsp  white rice flour
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup tapioca starch
• 1/3 cup almond flour (don’t use bob’s redmill, its not  fine enough.  Either re grind it, or get it from Rainbow Foods).
• 1/3 cup coconut flour
• 1/4 tsp xantham gum
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt

Directions

1. Mix the wet ingredients together first-  you want the ground flax to have time to soak in to the wet.
2. Mix all the dry ingredients in a separate bowl.  Push through a sifter, to make sure you remove any large almond chunks and even out any baking soda chunks. Very important!
3. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients, and mix thoroughly.
4. Scoop into muffin cups.  Bake at 350 for 10 min, then check on them. If the top sinks when you touch it, cook for 1 more minute at a time (they can firm up fast!). You’ll know they are ready if they are still soft but have a bit of firmness to the touch.
5. Let them cool inside their tins (sounds wierd I know… but the trapped steam makes the inside of the cupcake moist instead of soggy… if you don’t want to chance it, no worries, take them out right away.  They are still yummy!

MANGEZ!

FROSTING

Oh! btw-  for the frosting in the picture.  I did cheat and used vegetable shortening (2 cups), plus 4 cups of icing sugar,  2 tbsp of cooked, pureed, then strained blueberries and raspberries mixed together, plus a touch of food colouring.

Related posts: