Over the holidays, I had a fabulous time making vegan cupcakes, thanks to Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero’s Cookbook, Vegan Cupcakes Take Over The World. If you love amazing desserts, but cannot stomach milk and eggs, this is the cookbook for you.
My family is not vegetarian, but they enjoy eating healthy, good-tasting, gourmet food. Who doesn’t? So over the holidays, I whipped up Green Tea Cupcakes with Green Tea Glaze, Tiramisu Cupcakes, Chocolate Cupcakes with Chocolate Buttercream Frosting and Sexy Low-fat Vanilla Cupcakes with Vegan Cream Cheese Frosting. All of these recipes were simple to make after a trip to Whole Foods and were eaten as quickly as they were made. The adults really loved the Green Tea Cupcakes, although the kids preferred the Chocolate ones.
When I got back home to Hollywood, my husband and I decided to detox from the holidays by eating a wheat and gluten-free diet. In Vegan Cupcakes Take Over The World, there are two gluten-free recipes and I decided to test them out and see if they were as good (or better) than the wheat-based recipes.
The only problem was, when I went to Whole Foods in West Hollywood, I could not find one of the key ingredients: quinoa flour. The authors write that in order for a cupcake to be moist and fluffy, you should blend three to four non-wheat flours. In the Chocolate Gluten Freedom Cupcakes recipe, they recommend blending tapioca flour, white rice flour and quinoa flour. They even go on to write that quinoa flour is the ingredient that has given many chefs wonderful results. So, when I was in Whole Foods and could not find this key ingredient, I had to improvise.
As I looked over the possible replacement flours– millet flour, spelt flour, almond flour, corn flour — I discovered Bob’s Red Mill Organic Coconut Flour. The package said the flour absorbed liquid well and added a light sweetness to baked goods. Since I love coconut and use it frequently in my vegan puddings and ice cream, I figured it may just work in cupcakes.
After making my own Chocolate Freedom Cupcakes, I can tell you that Coconut Flour is wonderful in gluten-free baking. And let’s just say the proof is in the pudding: the entire batch of cupcakes were gone within 14 hours.
Here is my version of the Chocolate Freedom Cupcakes (adapted from the recipe in Vegan Cupcakes Take Over The World) to make Vegan Gluten-Free Chocolate Cupcakes with Coconut Flour and Almond Milk:
1 cup almond milk (unsweetened)*
1/3 cup canola oil
3/4 cup Sucanat evaporated cane juice (To read why Sucanat is healthier than refined sugar, CLICK HERE.)*
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
1/4 cup tapioca flour
2 tablespoons ground flax seed (I ground my own in a coffee grinder.)
1/3 cup unsweetened organic cocoa powder
3/4 cup white rice flour*
1/4 cup coconut flour*
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 350*F and line muffin tray with cupcake liners (or use silicon cupcake pans and grease them well.)
2. In a large mixing bowl, combine almond milk, canola oil, Sucanat and extracts. Mix with an electric mixer on medium speed to make sure the Sucanat is thoroughly combined. Add tapioca flour and flax seed and mix with an electric beater until the tapioca flour is dissolved and the mixture is well emulsified.
3. Add the cocoa powder, white rice flour, coconut flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Mix on medium-high for about 2 minutes. It’s important to mix really well and you don’t have to worry about over-mixing because there is no gluten.
4. Fill cupcake liners a little over three-quarters full. These won’t rise as much as traditional cupcakes so you can fill them a little more than usual.
5. Bake for 20 to 23 minutes, until a toothpick or knife inserted through the center comes out clean. Transfer to a cooling rack and let cool completely before frosting.
Alternately, if you would like quarter-sized cupcakes, I recommend using a Mini Silicone Muffin Pan. This makes bite-sized cupcakes, so you don’t feel forced to eat a whole large cupcake. Just make sure to grease the pan and only bake for 10 to 11 minutes. Using this recipe, you will have enough batter to fill 2 Mini Muffin Pans.
* Ingredients I modified from the original recipe.
XOXOXO
THE HEALTHY FOX
Posted by thehealthyfox 
