Cupcakes!

I think the word cupcakes(!) should have an exclamation point after it.

I found this recipe at http://ourgaggleofgirls.com/recipes/.  I'm thinking of trying them for Liam's birthday.

DECADENT CHOCOLATE CAKE

         3/4 cup brown rice flour, or another flour like sorghum or millet

         1/4 cup pea or bean flour

         1/2 cup white rice flour, or a starch such as arrowroot or tapioca

         1 cup good quality baking cocoa – we like Rodelle Dark Baking Cocoa and Frontier Organic Cocoa Powder

         1/2 tsp baking soda

         2 1/2 tsp baking powder

         1/2 tsp salt

         1 1/2 tsp xanthan gum or guar gum

         1 1/2 sticks margarine (Fleishmann’s unsalted is dairy free) or butter, room temperature

         3/4 cup brown sugar

         1 cup granulated sugar

         4 large eggs

         2 teaspoons vanilla

         1 1/2 cups milk (dairy, rice, soy) plus 1 1/2 tsp vinegar to mimic buttermilk


Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

This makes 2 dozen cupcakes or 2 9″ round cakes. Lightly grease the bottom of the baking pans, then dust with a little cocoa powder, or line 2 muffin tins with cupcake liners.

Whisk the three flours together. Add cocoa, xanthan gum, baking powder, and baking soda to the flours and whisk together in a medium bowl.

In a separate bowl, with your mixer, beat the butter until creamy. Slowly add the brown sugar and the granulated sugar. Whip this mixture until fluffy.

Add the eggs one at a time to the creamed mixture, then add the vanilla.

Turn the mixer to low and alternate adding the flour mixture and the buttermilk.

Pour into the prepared pans – if making cupcakes, use an ice cream scoop to measure an equal amount of batter into each cupcake liner. For cakes, bake for 25-30 minutes; for cupcakes 12-15 minutes, until the cake/cup cake is springy to the touch and a toothpick comes out clean.

Let cool, then serve as is or frost with a “butter”cream or faux-cream cheese frosting.

FAUX CREAM CHEESE FROSTING

         1 stick margarine, softened (or 1/2 cup Spectrum shortening)

         3-4 cups powdered sugar

         3-4 TBS milk sub (or water)

         1 TBS lemon juice

Beat margarine in stand mixer. Add lemon juice.  Alternate 1c powdered sugar with 1 TBS milk sub until the desired taste/consistency is reached.  Frost like any buttercream-ish frosting