Tuesday, January 14, 2014

Easy, Delicious, Gluten-Free Cupcakes


For Klair's first birthday I decided that I wanted to do all of the baking myself because it's tastier, and a lot cheaper... especially when you're forced to do everything gluten-free. In the beginning I was feeling extra ambitious and set out to do everything from scratch. But, after making two 3-layer cakes (one for smashing and one for her party) an assortment of other desserts, and decorating... I was feeling, well, less than energetic.

Thus, I cheated a little on the cupcakes. I remembered a friend of mine (whose husband has Celiac Disease) mentioning that the best gluten-free cake mixes are the Betty Crocker ones. I decided to give it a go. With a few additions (that I learned from a baker regarding boxed cake mixes) and some homemade buttercream  frosting, I was pleasantly surprised by the outcome. They were ridiculously easy, and ridiculously yummy!

The Cupcakes 
The trick to making any boxed cake mix taste especially good (gluten-free or not) is to follow the directions on the box with two exceptions--you substitute half of the milk for buttermilk, and you add a package of pudding mix (vanilla for a white or yellow cake, chocolate for chocolate, etc.) I used this method with the Betty Crocker white cake mix, and the cupcakes were perfectly soft and delicious. No one could tell they were gluten-free unless I told them.

Homemade Buttercream Frosting
As I mentioned before, I topped my cupcakes off with a frosting that is to die for. It's another recipe that I learned from a baker, and it's always a crowd pleaser...and sooo easy to make! Even my husband who is not a big fan of sweets (so weird to me) can't get enough of it.

You'll need: 
1 lb of powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup of salted butter (softened)
1/4 cup of milk

Blend all of the ingredients together and add the milk slowly.

...that's it! :)

*Notes:
  • This recipe creates a stark-white frosting, but I added a few drops of red food-dye to make my cupcakes oh so pretty-in-pink. 
  • Also, to get the rose look on my cupcakes, I used a pastry bag and flower tip and simply made swirls. It's so much easier to frost things this way! If you don't have a pastry/icing bag kit, I suggest you get one immediately.
  • This recipe yields enough frosting for the cupcakes. I would double it if you are using it on a 3 layer cake. 
  • If you want to make the frosting thicker or thinner (depending on what you're trying to accomplish) simply add milk to thin, and powdered sugar to thicken
Oh my. All this talk of cupcakes and frosting has my mouth watering. I hope this post was helpful! Let me know if you have any questions and I'll be sure to get back to you. I think I might need to go bake now... 

5 comments:

  1. So cute! I bet she LOVED every bit of that party!

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    1. Thank you! She wasn't too sure of the candle (as evidenced by the picture haha) but she enjoyed the cupcake and thought tearing off the wrapping paper was especially fun :)

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  2. oh my goodness - everything on that table looks delicious!! I'll have to give that recipe a try

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    1. Thank you! You should and let me know how it goes :)

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