I’ve been trying to avoid sugar lately (trying being the operative word here), which means I haven’t been baking very much. Let me tell you what a bitter irony it is to discover that your most beloved hobby is hazardous to your health. While I’ve been mostly good about gorging myself on the white stuff – and if you think about it, sugar really is similar to any other white powder out there – I occasionally just need to BAKE SOMETHING.
I mean, come on – you know what I mean, right? Don’t you ever have the undying urge to just bake? To watch the satisfying flow of batter into a pan? To cover something with velvety layers of brightly colored icing? To see the look of gratitude and ecstasy on your loved ones’ faces? These, my friends, are all reasons why I love baking. That and I have this friggin $400 KitchenAid mixer that I bought literally a week before I discovered I couldn’t have gluten. >_<
But, I digress. I recently had the urge to create something beautiful, and while I can fix a steak that will make you cry, I wanted curved and colors that only baking could provide. As luck would have it, I had also just interviewed Chef Richard Coppedge of the CIA, who wrote the most amazing gluten free baking book I’ve ever read. Seriously folks, if you’re sans-gluten and have a hankering for gorgeous pastries, you must have this book. It inspired me out of my rut, and I can’t recommend it enough.
Below you’ll find Chef Coppedge’s recipes for gluten free vanilla sponge cake, which converts easily into a cupcake batter. Now, keep in mind that Chef Coppedge is a classically trained pastry chef, and his recipe isn’t just mix and go. Listen to the man, follow his directions and your cakes will turn out lovely. When he says sift, sift. When he says stream while folding, for the love of god, do it. Don’t just throw a bunch of junk in a bowl and call it done. It’s not hard to get good results with gluten free baking, but you do have to read the directions.
Enjoy!
Gluten Free Vanilla Cupcakes
Makes one 10″ cake or two 6″ cakes.
9 eggs
1 cup + 2 tablespoons sugar
1-1/2 cups Flour Blend #3
4 tablespoons butter, melted (or vegetable oil)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Preheat oven to 325°F.
- Grease a cupcake pan and insert paper cups.
- Combine eggs and sugar in a mixing bowl and heat over a hot water bath until eggs and sugar are warm, about 120°F.
- Whip egg mixture on high speed to maximum volume. Stabilize mixture by whipping at second speed for ten more seconds.
- Sift the flour blend and gradually fold into wet mixture. Stream in melted butter while folding and add vanilla extract.
- Fill prepared pans two-thirds full.
- Bake until set, about 15-20 minutes. The cakes should spring back when you press the center and a toothpick inserted in the middle should come away clean.
- Let the cupcakes cool for five minutes in the pan. Finish cooling on rack (I love these). Once they have cooled completely, frost and top with a chocolate covered strawberry.
- Variations: To make chocolate cupcakes, replace 2/3 cup of flour with 3/4 cup of Dutch-process cocoa powder.
Chef Coppedge’s Gluten Free Flour Blend #3
Makes 5-1/2 cups or 1.5 lbs by weight.
3/4 cup white rice flour (5.25 oz)
4 cups potato starch (14.25 oz)
5 tablespoons guar gum (1.25 oz)
1/2 cup albumen (3.38 oz)
Chocolate Dipped Strawberries
For these particular cupcakes I dipped the cake tops and berries in a chocolate ganache, because it’s easier to eat than hard chocolate. Just mix up your ganache, dip the top of all of your cupcakes and let them set up for a few minutes before topping with a nice swirl of mocha buttercream frosting. Let the buttercream set up for about half an hour before you add the fruit.
Tip: when you dip the berries in the ganache, dip them heavily so that there’s actually enough to keep it steadily attached to the top of the cupcake! You might to set down a dollop of ganache before attaching the berry to make sure you get the nice overflow effect.
If you want to use real chocolate dipped strawberries, check out Jen Yu’s “Use Real Butter” blog entry for a great primer.
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WOW!! Look at that! I am so hungry now, but I should stay away from the sugar.
Maybe just one little bite wouldn’t hurt?
Thanks! I have the exact same struggle. Grrr.
Yum!! What did you use for frosting?
This particular cupcake has a chocolate ganache with a mocha buttercream to add some dimension.
how do you get the chocolate to cover the buttercream frosting so nicely after shoving the chocolate covered strawberry in there?
Since ganache is soft when its warm, it will ooze a little bit before it cools down. It takes a little practice to get the perfect amount of trickle, but after three or four you’ll get the hang of it.
I know what you mean about trying to avoid sugar. I love to bake, love it! But, I’m trying to cut down on my refined sugar intake.
These cupcakes look amazing. They’re so lovely. A great alternative to the refined flour variety.
Thanks! I’m trying to come up with some new variations on the recipe, like a spice cake. Hopefully it will turn out.
They do look the same! How funny! Your cupcakes are just gorgeous.
Thanks! Yours are too… they look delicious.
is it ok to substitute Flour Blend #3 with normal flour?
Hi…I know I am years late the cupcakes are beautiful and I would like to make them. Question, if using regular flour would I just sub the gluten free for the same amount of regular all purpose flour?
If you want to use regular flour, just use the same amount – but you’d be better off using a recipe that’s specially designed to use regular flour. I like this one: http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/double_vanilla_cupcakes/
was up
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