Golden Vanilla Cupcakes

I was considerably excited to receive a review copy of Naturally Sweet & Gluten-Free. Mostly to explore more baking options for Alistaire. The book is “Allergy Friendly Vegan Desserts”. By allergy friendly, that means no eggs, gluten or dairy – and refined sugar. Unfortunately, there is a lot of nuts. Ah well! Still, there were enough recipes I could look over for him. Many are more baked goods, rather than desserts, so if you are looking for muffins and quick breads, be sure to check those out. The pictures are lush, with many to look at. It is a very pretty cookbook.

I chose to make the Golden Vanilla Cupcakes, on pages 160-161. I had set out to make a birthday set of cupcakes for Ford’s 16th birthday last week…maybe I should have made him something just for him – with wheat flour. Alistaire loved the little cakes, so that was successful.Thankfully the new smart phone blinded Ford to the “different” cupcakes.

If you like your cupcakes lightly sweet, these will work for you. If anything, I felt that frosting actually didn’t make them better. A light touch of butter y spread was perfect really. I did frost some, with a mix of frosting recipes, colored with beet juice powder. Beet powder is my trick to pink and red when frosting…..if the frosting is ‘wet’ it is lighter in color. A stiff buttercream made with powdered sugar will be deep red.

Golden Vanilla Cupcakes (Recipe was adapted top be allergen-free) Ingredients:

• 3 Tbsp ground flaxseed meal
• ¾ cup light agave nectar
• ¾ cup non-dairy milk (used unsweetened brown rice)
• 1/3 cup sunflower oil
• 2 Tbsp pure vanilla extract
• 2 tsp apple cider vinegar
• 2 cups all-purpose gluten-free flour mix
• 1½ tsp xantham gum
• 1¾ tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• ¼ tsp fine sea salt

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350°. Line 24 cupcake cups with liners. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flax, agave nectar, milk, oil, vanilla, and vinegar. Set aside while you measure the dry ingredients, or at least 2 minutes.

In a large bowl, sift the flour, xantham gum, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Pout the wet mixture over the dry and whisk again to combine; do not overmix.

Fill the cups 2/3 full. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, rotating the pans about halfway through, till a tester comes out clean.

Let cool for 15 minutes in pan, transfer to a cooling rack.

Makes 24 cupcakes.

FTC Disclaimer: We received a review copy.