Daily Bite [Make]: Gluten Free & Vegan Orange Creme Cupcakes

Did you know that this Friday is National Celiac Awareness Day? In honor of it, this week’s Daily Bite [Make] goes out to all of our gluten-free readers.

As someone with food allergies (no dairy here!) I get super excited when I see tasty-looking recipes that are actually safe from allergens, and this is recipe is no exception. From the kitchen of the Gluten Free Goddess comes these amazing orange creme cupcakes that are totally safe for celiacs (yay!) Gluten free and vegan cupcakes that look moist, sweet, and delicious? You seriously can’t beat that.

Recipe, from Gluten Free Goddess:

Cupcake Ingredients

3/4 cup sorghum flour
3/4 cup potato starch (not potato flour!)
3/4 cup organic cane sugar
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon xanthan gum
2 teaspoons fresh orange zest
2 tablespoons light olive oil or vegetable oil
1 tablespoon raw organic agave or honey
1 cup fresh squeezed orange juice at room temperature (fresh juice gives the batter a fresh, bright taste)
1 tablespoon Ener-G Egg Replacer whisked with 1/4 cup warm water
2 teaspoons bourbon vanilla

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350ºF. Line a 12-cupcake pan with paper liners.

In a mixing bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients- flours through xanthan gum. Add in the orange zest, oil, agave, orange juice, Egg Replacer and vanilla.

Beat on medium speed for two minutes minutes until the batter is smooth and fluffy. Make a ‘figure eight’ motion if the batter climbs the beaters. Let the batter sit a minute before spooning it into cupcake liners.

Spoon the batter evenly into twelve lined cupcake cups.

Bake in the center of a preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes until golden and firm (they should be slightly tender but too soft). Try not to open the door to peek until the very end of baking time- you don’t want to jar the cupcakes and make them deflate. These cupcakes rose quite high, then slowly settled down to a slightly rounded shape at about 20 to 25 minutes.

Remove and cool on a wire rack.

When the cupcakes are completely cooled, frost with my vegan Orange Creme Frosting (recipe follows).

Frosting Ingredients

2 cups organic powdered sugar
1/4 cup Spectrum Organic Shortening
1 teaspoon bourbon vanilla
2-3 tablespoons fresh orange juice- more as needed

Instructions

In a mixing bowl, combine the powdered sugar with the shortening and vanilla. Begin beating. Add in the orange juice a tablespoon at a time, beating well after each addition. Don’t add too much juice too soon. Go slowly.

Beat on medium high until the frosting is smooth and creamy. If it is too thin, add more sugar; too stiff, add a spoonful of orange juice. You want a medium bodied icing.

Spoon the frosting into a zip-closing plastic sandwich baggie, press out the air and seal tight. Cut a very small hole in one of the bottom corners– not too big. To frost, place the cut tip over the cupcake, near an outer edge, and squeeze the bag of frosting, gripping it tightly and moving in a circular motion, spiraling in toward the center, until the swirl of icing covers the cupcake.

Top with a few pieces of orange zest. Or try a sprinkle of flaked coconut, finely chopped pecans or walnuts.

Place in a freezable container to chill or freeze. Once frozen, you can wrap each cupcake individually for single treats, if you like. Remove wrapping before thawing. To keep the icing intact.

Be sure to check out Gluten Free Goddess for more tips for making this recipe (and for plenty of others!)

What are your favorite gluten free recipes?