Gluten-Free Lemon Cupcakes

I know, here we are again. Me and yet another cupcake recipe. I doubt you mind. I mean, who can get can enough of cupcakes? I can't. And I also cannot stop testing recipes from my recently purchased cookbook Gluten-Free Cupcakes by Elana Amsterdam.

I had been planning to make Elana's Lime Cupcakes for a few days now. I had even picked up several limes for the occasion on my last grocery outing. Or so I thought. Seems that I must have become distracted at the lime bin because they are not here. I have been guilty of this type of thing alot lately. Is this what comes with middle-age? I guess so. At least for me.

Now that all said, I did find nestled in my crisper a TON of lemons. So I decided to stick with her recipe for lime cupcakes but alter things a bit to turn them into lemon cupcakes instead. They turned out beautifully and I will definitely be making these again.

These cupcakes are INCREDIBLY moist. In fact I have not tasted many this moist in a long while, especially gluten-free cupcakes. The moisture is a result of the addition of 3 eggs, honey and grapeseed oil. This recipe only makes 8 cupcakes so as you can see, 3 eggs is quite a lot for such a small amount of cupcakes. They do the trick ! The flour combo of 1:1 coconut and almond flours also adds moisture and an incredibly rich crumb. DIVINE.

Her recipe recommends finishing them with a coconut frosting. I opted for a lemon buttercream with a hint of cream cheese instead. If you like the style of piping I used then use an open, large round piping tip. Play with your piping on waxed paper for awhile until you get the desired look then simply scrape the frosting back into your piping bag and start decorating the cupcakes!

Let's get started, shall we?


RECIPE:
*altered source recipe: Lime Cupcakes, Gluten-Free Cupcakes by Elana Amsterdam

WHAT YOU NEED

CUPCAKES
1/2 cup coconut flour
1/2 cup almond flour (remove any lumps by mashing together with your fingers)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
3 eggs at room temperature
1/2 cup grapeseed oil
1/2 cup agave nectar (I used honey)
1/4 teaspoon pure lemon oil
zest from one large lemon

FROSTING
1/2 cup butter at room temperature
1/4 cup cream cheese at room temperature
2 cups icing sugar, sifted
2 tablespoons whipping cream
1/8 teaspoon pure lemon oil

MAKE IT

CUPCAKES
PREHEAT oven to 350F
LINE 8 muffin cups with paper liners (double the liners because these do tend to discolor as they bake due to the oil)
IN MEDIUM BOWL, whisk together first 4 cupcake ingredients
IN LARGE BOWL, whisk together remaining cupcake ingredients
WITH SPATULA OR SPOON, fold wet ingredients into dry ingredients stirring until combined
SCOOP 1/4 cup of batter into each muffin liner
BAKE 18-22 minutes until cupcakes are golden and toothpick inserted in center comes out clean
LET cool in pan 5 minutes
TRANSFER cupcakes to cooling rack and let cool completely before frosting

FROSTING
IN BOWL OF STAND MIXER fitted with paddle attachment, whip butter and cream cheese on MED speed for 2 minutes
ADD sifted icing sugar combining first on slow speed then increasing to MED and mixing 4-5 minutes
ADD REMAINING ingredients and mix until fully incorporated and icing is smooth and creamy
PIPE FROSTING onto cupcakes

ENJOY !



Also seen here:

Gluten-Free Pecan Pie Cupcakes

No need to wait for Thanksgiving to enjoy pecan pie. This pecan pie is in the form of a delicious cupcake topped with a whipped cream cheese frosting. One bite and you will be hooked. They are moist, delicious and full of incredible rich, sweet flavor. Let's face it - these are perfect for winter, summer, spring or fall!

I recently purchased my first e-book and wouldn't you know it, it is a cupcake cookbook. But better still, it is a gluten-free cupcake cookbook and it is filled with incredible and easy to make heavenly sweet recipes.

This recipe is perfect for you if you love the taste of pecan pie but prefer something less gooey and not as tooth-achingly sweet. And if you are like me, a cupcake addict, that it is a perfect way to feed that addiction.

My new fave cookbook is Gluten-Free Cupcakes by Elena Amsterdam.

I have her original cookbook too, The Gluten-Free Almond Flour Cookbook and love it to bits but I think this one may top it! So many wonderful recipes to choose from. I decided to test out the pecan pie cupcake recipe even though it listed one ingredient I simply didn't have on hand: Yacon Syrup. So instead I substituted molasses and maple syrup. The combination worked!

Yesterday I made her Strawberry Cupcakes, or rather used it as a base recipe and then really changed things around resulting in Blueberry Cupcakes with Blueberry Cream Cheese Frosting. That recipe used solely coconut as its GF flour. This one though uses mostly almond flour with a couple of tablespoons of coconut flour. Luckily I did have almond flour on hand. I always do.

A few other changes: I halved her cream cheese frosting recipe because her 11 cupcakes ended up being 8 for me. I figured less cupcakes = less frosting and I was right. I also added Whip It to the whipped cream part of the frosting to ensure it stabilized properly and didn't separate after piping. Sure enough, it stood up to the test of time.

LET'S GET STARTED!

RECIPE:
*adapted source recipe: Pecan Pie Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting, Gluten Free Cupcakes by Elena Amsterdam

WHAT YOU NEED

CUPCAKE

1 cup almond flour
2 tablespoons coconut flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
3 large eggs
1/4 cup molasses
1/4 pure maple syrup
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup pecans, chopped

FROSTING

1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons whipping cream
1 tablespoon Whip It! whipping cream stabilizer
4 oz cream cheese at room temperature
2 tablespoons honey (feel free to add an extra tablespoon if you like a sweeter frosting)

MAKE IT

PREHEAT oven to 350F
LINE 8 muffin cups with paper liners

IN LARGE BOWL, whisk together first 4 cupcake dry ingredients
IN MEDIUM BOWL, whisk together remaining ingredients except pecans
POUR WET ingredients into dry ingredients and mix on MED speed with handheld electric beater until thoroughly combined
FOLD in chopped pecans
WITH ICE CREAM SCOOP fill each liner 3/4 full with batter
BAKE 15-20 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out with only a few moist crumbs
REMOVE immediately from pan
LET COOL completely at room temperature
FROSTING

IN MEDIUM BOWL, combine cream and Whip It!
WITH HAND HELD ELECTRIC BEATER, whip until stiff peaks form
IN SEPARATE BOWL, beat cream cheese and honey until smooth and no lumps are remaining
ADD whipped cream into cream cheese mix and fold gently until combined
PIPE onto cupcakes

SPRINKLE frosted cupcakes with chopped pecans or cinnamon

Elana sprinkles the finished tops with chopped pecans.
I liked the look and flavor of sprinkled cinnamon instead.
So there you have it - Pecan Pie Cupcakes!

Also seen here:

Gluten-Free Blueberry Cupcakes

These gluten-free cupcakes are nothing short of amazing. They are packed with a sweet flavor and topped with a gorgeous blueberry cream cheese frosting. The best part? These are very easy to make and do not require a slew of gluten-free ingredients so commonly found in other allergy-sensitive recipes. The "flour" ingredient is coconut flour. I have never baked with it before. In fact I have never seen it outside of a bag. The closest I have gotten to it is buying it and stuffing it so far back in my cupboard that I forgot I even owned any...until recently.

I have been eying up Elana Amsterdam's Strawberry Cupcake recipe from her cookbook Gluten-Free Cupcakes for a few weeks now. So I started with that recipe as my base. As I recently made gluten-based strawberry cupcakes I decided to switch things up a bit. In fact, I pretty much changed 50% of the ingredients. Why not be daring? Isn't that what baking is all about?

My absolute favorite summer fruit is the glorious blueberry. I usually have several pints in the fridge during the summer months. Sure enough, an overflowing pint was in there today and was perfect for this recipe.

I also didn't have agave nectar on hand or arrowroot so using what I did have and substituting as I went along produced one incredible, if not kick-@ss, gluten free cupcake.

I also have a love of almonds. Blueberry and almonds go hand in hand. Instead of using vanilla extract (her recipe calls for a significant quantity: 1 tablespoon for just 8 cupcakes) I went with organic almond extract instead at a reduced amount - 1 teaspoon. The flavor combos? PERFECTION.

And of course, a cupcake is not a cupcake until it is crowned with rich and creamy frosting. I considered a standard vanilla buttercream. Even a whipped cream frosting was a possibility. But in the end cream cheese won over (it usually does!). To jazz it up a bit I added 1/2 cup of blueberries processed in my food processor. For a bit of added flavor, I threw in a tablespoon of vanilla sugar during the processing phase. Piped on in a rosette style (Wilton 2D tip) and topped with more blueberries = Beautiful!

SO LET'S GET BAKING, SHALL WE?

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

WHAT YOU NEED

CUPCAKES

1/2 cup coconut flour
1 tablespoon cornstarch (gluten-free)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
4 large eggs
1/2 cup honey
1/2 to 1 teaspoon almond extract (you choose, 1/2 tsp will give a milder flavor)
1 cup blueberries dusted with coconut flour to prevent settling in batter during baking

FROSTING

1/2 cup blueberries
1 tablespoon vanilla sugar (or 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract)
4 ounces plain cream cheese at room temperature
2 tablespoons butter at room temperature
2 cups powdered sugar

EXTRAS

blueberries
powdered sugar

MAKE IT

CUPCAKES

PREHEAT oven to 350F
LINE 8 muffin cups with paper liners. Fill empty cups 1/2 way with water

IN LARGE BOWL, whisk together flour, cornstarch, salt and baking soda
IN MEDIUM BOWL, whisk together eggs, honey and almond extract
POUR wet ingredients into dry and blend with handheld electric beater until smooth
STIR in blueberries

FILL muffin cups 3/4 full
BAKE 20-25 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean and tops feel dry to the touch

IMMEDIATELY remove from pan and allow to cool completely on cooling rack

FROSTING

IN SMALL FOOD PROCESSOR, blend blueberries and vanilla sugar until no large pieces remain. You will see a dark purple paste dotted with flecks of blueberry. Set aside
IN BOWL OF STAND MIXER fitted with paddle attachment (or handheld electric beater) combine blended blueberries, cream cheese and butter.
BEAT ON HIGH speed until thoroughly blended and no noticeable lumps can be seen
SLOWLY add in powdered sugar blending until just combined
ON HIGH SPEED, mix frosting for 2-3 minutes
PLACE frosting in the refrigerator to set for 10 minutes before piping

PIPE frosting onto cooled cupcakes, top with fresh berries and a sprinkling of powdered sugar

ENJOY!

Also seen here: