chocolate cupcakes

back to basic 
chocolate cupcakes 

With as complicated, fancy, and down right creative I get with baking sometimes its just nice to get back to basic. Especially when your niece, nephew and parents are coming over 
Back to basic chocolate cupcakes
3 1/3 c gluten free flour or all ours pose flour
3 tsp xanthan gum omit for non gluten free
2/3 c dark cocoa powder and 2/3 c regular cocoa powder there are dairy free versions of this that I found in our local markets organic section
1 tsp baking soda
1 1/3 c brown sugar and regular sugar
1 tsp slat
1 1/2 c almond or regular butter
3 c buttermilk now I make my own butter milk by using 3 c almond milk and adding viniger to it
2 tsp vanilla
5 eggs or egg replacer or even apple sauce if you need egg free
Mix your wet and add your dry
Bake at 350 for 18 to 20 mins
Frosting
1/2 c almond or regular butter
1/2 c crisco
5 c powdered sugar
1/4 c of almond milk or regular milk. What I found works really well is silk creamer as a dairy free option. Makes the frosting thicker

banana bars with banana frosting

½ cup shortening
1 cup sugar
½ cup milk we used almond milk
1 tsp vanilla
1 ½ cups all purpose flour 
we used 1 ½ cups gluten free flour and added a tsp of xantham gum
½ tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
1 very ripe mashed banana
1 tsp lemon juice, we use juice from a lemon 
optional ½ cup walnuts

frosting
2 tbs melted butter we used almond butter
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups powdered sugar
½ ripe banana mashed
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp lemon juice gain we used it from a lemon

350 for around 15 to 20 min in a greased 9 by 13 dish

cream together sugar and shortening add milk and vanilla then dry ingredients

Strawberry shortcake cupcakes

Strawberry picking and creating new recipes is my new all time favorite past time. We live strawberry shortcake and the kids live cupcakes so why not combine the two. My first batch was gluten free for my one daughters pleasure but I forgot she hates strawberries. But still a winning recipe either way

Lets start with the filling 

2 cups of diced strawberries

1/2 cup sugar

2 tbs cornstarch

 Over medium heat place strawberries in the pan stir for 4 minutes the add your other ingredients cooking until it thickens. 

Cupcakes ingredients 

1 2/3 cup gluten free flour (same ratio for all purpose flour)

1 tsp xanthan gum

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp baking soda 

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup of sugar

1/2 cup butter again we use almond butter

2 egg whites

1/4 cup yogurt again we used almond yogurt 

3/4 cup of milk we used almond milk 

2 tsp vanilla

Start with dry and add your wet . You will want to use cupcake liners in your cupcake pans for these 

Bake at 350 for about 15 mins

Allow the cupcake to cool. You want to remove a hole in the center of the cupcake. We used a frosting tip turned upside down to make the perfect hole in the cupcake. Fill your hole with your filling in the sauce pan.

Frosting 

We have a few for you to chose from

Whip creme frosting 

1 1/2 cups of whipped creme

3 tbs sugar

1 1/2 tsp vanilla

1/2 cup of filling

Or our butter creme

1/2 cup butter or almond butter

1/2 cup crisco

5 cups powdered sugar

2 tsp vanilla 

1/4 cup of filling

Water Mellon cupcakes

Ever have left over  watermelon from a summer picnic or fruit salad and just don't know what to do with it?

We recently had that same problem. The kids wanted cupcakes and I wanted to make a new kind instead of the same old ones they already love . So I began thinking watermelon cupcakes.

First we need to make a watermelon purée . I did 2 cups of cut up watermelon and a tsp of fresh lemon juice. I puréed it in the blender

Ingredients 

1 1/2 cups of gluten free flour ( all pour purpose  same ratio for non gluten free)

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp xanthan gum

1/2 cup butter we used almond butter for dairy free

1 cup sugar

1 tsp lemon zest

2/3 cup of your water Mellon purée 

Creme your butter and sugar and slowly add your dryly ingredients, purée and lemon zest

Bake at 350 for around 20 mins

We used a typical butter creme frosting 

1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup crisco

5 cups powdered sugar

1/4 cup of water Mellon purée