Let Them Eat Cupcakes

It's been a while since I've posted, and it's also been a while since my mad cupcake frenzy. Mad cupcake frenzy? you say. Yes... It all started when our department was hosting an open house. We decided that we would make cupcakes for the open house. Since there are several other people at work who are gluten-free, and because I wanted to be able to have some treats myself, I decided to take that as my challenge--gluten-free, egg-free cupcakes. 3 dozen.

That was followed shortly by my son's birthday. Every mom wants their child to be able to have a cake (or some such substitute) for their birthday. Yet another wheat-free, egg-free cake.

Then, a couple of weeks later, our church honored November birthdays during coffee fellowship after the service. Again, cake.

Add in a batch of experimental cupcakes, and that made 5 batches of cupcakes in less than a month. See, mad cupcake frenzy. Sure, I could have used cupcake recipes from one of my allergy cookbooks, except for the fact that I didn't have all the flours, and didn't have time to track them down. I also wouldn't have the satisfaction of successful experimenting, or a blog post chronicling those attempts.

For the sake of variety, I did three different kinds of cupcakes: Yellow, Devil's Food and White. Here are the recipes:

Yellow Cake

This one could be made vegan, by replacing the butter with a vegan substitute, but it really needs the yellow color, as the lack of egg yolks already makes it pale. If you want it more yellow, and don't mind food coloring, you could add a few drops of yellow coloring with the milk.

Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups gluten-free all-purpose flour (I use Bob's Red Mill)
1 1/4 teaspoons xanthan gum
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup butter or margarine
1 3/4 cups sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
3 teaspoons Ener-G Egg Replacer mixed with 4 tablespoons water
1 1/4 cup rice milk

Preheat oven to 375°F. Line 24 to 30 muffins cups with paper bake cups.

Whisk together flour, xanthan gum, baking powder and salt; set aside.

In a large mixing bowl beat butter or margarine with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds, just long enough to cream it. Add sugar and vanilla; beat until well combined. Mix 1 1/2 teaspoons Egg Replacer with 2 tablespoons water. Add to butter mixture and beat until well combined. Repeat with remaining 1 1/2 teaspoons Egg Replacer and 2 tablespoons water. Add dry ingredients and milk alternately to butter mixture, beating after each addition just until combined. This would be a good time to point out that this combination of ingredients tends to be thicker than traditional cake batter, and will tend to "crawl" up the beaters of a standard hand-held mixer. To avoid have cake batter forever rattling around in your mixer, use a sort of in-and-out motion when beating. Or, simple avoid the issue altogether and use a good stand mixer. This is what I'm hoping for for Christmas.

Fill cupcake liners about 2/3 full. Again, the batter is thicker, slightly gelatinous (for lack of a better word). It will not "flow" off the spoon as easily.

Bake at 375°F for 18 to 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in one of the center ones comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack.

Devil's Food Cupcakes

2 1/4 cup gluten-free all-purpose flour
1 1/8 teaspoon xanthan gum
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup shortening
1 3/4 cups sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
4 1/2 teaspoons Ener-G Egg Replacer mixed with 6 tablespoons water
1 1/3 cups cold water

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 24-30 muffins cups with paper baking liners.

Whisk together flour, xanthan gum, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt; set aside. A whisk is highly recommended for this; both the flour and the cocoa have a tendency to clump otherwise.

In a large mixing bowl beat shortening with an electric mixer on medium speed for 30 seconds, or until it is creamed. Add sugar and vanilla; beat until well combined. Mix 1 1/2 teaspoons Egg Replacer with 2 tablespoons water; add to shortening mixture and beat well. Repeat twice with 1 1/2 teaspoons Egg Replacer and 2 more tablespoons water, beating well after each addition. Add dry ingredients and water alternately to shortening mixture, beating after each addition until combined. See above warning about using a hand mixer.

Spoon into baking cups about 2/3 full. Again, the batter is thicker than traditional cake batter.

Bake at 350°F for 18 to 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in one of the center cupcakes comes out clean. If using more than one cupcake pan, be sure to rotate half way through to ensure even baking. Cool on wire rack.

White Cake

I'm including directions for both cupcakes and layer cake here, as I made both. I made cupcakes for the coffee fellowship and an actual cake for my son's birthday.

Ingredients:
2 cups gluten-free all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon xanthan gum
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup shortening, butter or margarine (shortening will give you a whiter cake, and will also be vegan, assuming you use an all-vegetable shortening)
1 3/4 cups sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
6 teaspoons Ener-G Egg Replacer mixed with 8 tablespoons water
1 1/3 cups rice milk

Preheat oven to 350°F. For layer cake, grease and flour two round cake pans. For cupcakes, line 24-30 muffin cups with paper baking cups.

Whisk together flour, xanthan gum, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, beat shortening (or butter or margarine) with an electric mixer on medium speed for 30 seconds, or until creamed. Add sugar and vanilla; beat until well combined. Mix 1 1/2 teaspoons Egg Replacer with 2 tablespoons water; add to creamed mixture and beat well. Repeat 3 more times with remaining Egg Replacer and water, using 1 1/2 teaspoons Egg Replacer and 2 tablespoons water each time. Add dry ingredients and milk alternately to beaten mixture, beating after each addition just until combined. Again, be wary of the batter "climbing" the beaters if using a hand mixer.

Pour into cake pans or fill cupcake liners 2/3 full. Bake at 350°F for 30 to 35 minutes for cake layers, 20 to 25 minutes for cupcakes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool layers on wire rack 10 minutes, then remove from pans to cool completely. Cool cupcakes completely on wire racks.

For any of these, use your favorite safe frosting. For the devil's food, I used dark chocolate frosting (from a can). For the white cupcakes, I made white frosting and sprinkled them with coarse sugar.