Chocolate Butterscotch Halloween Cupcakes

I know - it's still September but I think it is time for some Halloween treats, don't you? Besides, there is meaning to my madness in posting these lovelies even though Halloween is a little over a month away. That is because giveaway time is fast approaching. Stay tuned to see my post this coming Saturday for a Halloween themed giveaway here at Lemon Drop!

In addition to my desire to make Halloween inspired treats and the upcoming giveaway, it is also Wednesday in our household and Wednesday is dessert night. It is not just any normal dessert night either but gluten-free dessert night. My son is on a gluten free diet . Why? Well he definitely has food sensitivities to wheat. No question about it. Plus, he is autistic and a gluten-free diet (dairy too but that doesn't seem to be an issue for him) is high up on the list of strategies many use to help manage the disorder. Honestly, I am still on the fence with the latter but it can't hurt! As a result, all of my baked goodies that he enjoys must be gluten-free.

His favorite type of dessert? You guessed it : Cupcakes! And that is why I am here today posting my recipe for Chocolate Butterscotch Cupcakes. Ok, it is not really my recipe but rather an adapted one by Elana Amsterdam. Her recipe was for triple chocolate cakes of sheer delight. I swapped out the dark and white chocolate additions for butterscotch. I also made a few more changes to the base recipe as I went along. My frosting is my beloved buttercream recipe but this time it is tinted brightly with orange icing gel. Then topped off with Halloween sprinkles !

If you like the sprinkles then be sure to pick up Wilton's new Halloween Test Tube Sprinkles pack.


For the liners I once again tested out Reynold's new StayBrite liners and again, true to their word, they stayed bright and vibrant.

I frosted these with a 1M Wilton Swirl tip but feel free to use any tip you want. The french tip is also quite nice.

No almond flour in these this time around. Instead the dry base is a mixture of coconut flour, deep dark cocoa powder, some salt and baking soda. The sweetness comes from honey and the moisture comes from 3 eggs (and yes, the honey too of course). Some people worry that the flavor of coconut will come through. Trust me it doesn't. Plus a little bit of coconut flour goes a long way. This type of flour is very "thirsty" so you only need a small amount. This recipe only calls for 1/4 cup and believe me, that is all you need.

These are rich and luscious. The recipe only makes 9 cupcakes so if you want more then go ahead and double up the ingredients.

Don't worry about the batter being runny. It will bake up nice and fluffy. Just fill the cups 3/4 full with batter and bake away.

So without further delay, let's get baking !




RECIPE:
*adapted source recipe for cupcakes only: Triple Chocolate Cupcakes, Gluten-Free Cupcakes by Elana Amsterdam

WHAT YOU NEED

CUPCAKES

1/4 cup coconut flour
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, that darker the better
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon of baking soda
3 eggs
1/2 cup honey (or agave nectar)
1/2 cup milk chocolate chips
1/3 cup butterscotch chips

FROSTING

1/2 cup unsalted butter at room temperature
3 cups icing sugar, sifted
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3 tablespoons whipping cream
orange coloring gel

MAKE IT

PREHEAT oven to 350F
LINE 9 muffin cups with liners

IN LARGE BOWL, whisk together first 4 ingredients
IN MEDIUM BOWL, thoroughly whisk together honey and eggs
ADD WET INGREDIENTS TO DRY INGREDIENTS and whisk well until fully blended
FOLD in chocolate chips
DIVIDE batter between muffin cups filling each one 3/4 full
BAKE 25-30 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean

MAKE FROSTING

IN BOWL OF STAND MIXER FITTED WITH PADDLE. beat butter on HIGH speed for 2 minutes
ADD sifted sugar and continue beating until it starts to come together
ADD vanilla and cream
BEAT on HIGH speed for 5 minutes
ADD a little bit of coloring at a time, combining after each addition, until desired color is reached
PIPE frosting onto cooled cupcakes
TOP with spinkles

ENJOY !

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