Great-Grandma's Chocolate Cupcakes (GF)

I think I've finally nailed it. You need to understand (and you probably do already) that gluten-free baking just isn't like regular baking. I have been told over and over again that in order to enjoy GF baked goods, you have to change your expectations. Well, for these chocolate cupcakes, I promise that you don't. They are so good that I keep taking a break from writing to take another bite. Everybody at my son's birthday party today were amazed that they were so rich, moist, and generally tasty.

I've been using this particular flour blend for several months now, and it has worked amazingly. I'll put it down here so you can see it for yourself. I read this recipe for gluten-free bread and it was AWESOME. Here's the blend that has become my GF happy place:

1 part fine rice flour (brown or white, doesn't seem to make a difference)
1 part tapioca starch
1 part corn starch (I have heard that potato starch will work perfectly well as a replacement, but haven't tried it out yet)

To that combination, I add 1/4 tsp of xanthan gum per volumetric cup of flour blend. I have made bread, muffins, cookies and a couple of different kinds of cupcakes with it. All have turned out wonderfully.

I wanted to make some chocolate cupcakes for my son's birthday party, but I had two attendees who cannot have gluten. I also have this fantastic chocolate cake recipe that belonged to my husband's great-grandmother. I have made this cake many times, and everyone has always loved it. I decided to adapt this recipe to work for my party.

This recipe does not work the way most cake recipes do. You heat up some portion on the stove, and mix it together in three stages. Start by preheating the oven to 400, and grease your cupcake cups. Put the dry mix–fine rice flour, corn starch, tapioca starch, xanthan gum, 2-3 tbsp of cocoa powder and sugar–together in a large mixing bowl.

Then you get the hot mix–water, butter and cocoa powder–together and on the stove. You'll want to whisk it regularly until it just about reaches boiling. While it is melting, put together the egg mix–buttermilk, eggs, baking soda and vanilla–in a bowl. Once the hot mix boils, remove it from the heat and whisk it in with the dry mix. Once those two are mostly incorporated, add the egg mix and whisk until completely incorporated.




The batter should be fairly thin, thinner than you might expect for a cake batter. Scoop the batter into your cupcake cups and put it in the oven. They bake quickly, in only about 15 minutes. If you wanted to make a bigger cake, you might need 22-25 minutes or so. Just keep a close eye on the batter, as this recipe can overbake pretty quickly.

And that's it! You can frost it with whatever frosting or icing you choose. I made a simple buttercream with butter, powdered sugar, cocoa powder, vanilla and whipping cream. The result is delightfully simple with a perfect crumb.

Great-Grandma's Chocolate Cupcakes (GF)

Dry Mix:
2/3 cup fine white rice flour
2/3 cup corn starch
2/3 cup tapioca starch
1/2 tsp xanthan gum
2-3 tbsp cocoa powder
2 cups sugar (I used coconut sugar)

Hot Mix:
1 1/4 cup water
1 cup butter
3/8 cup cocoa powder

Egg Mix:
1/2 cup buttermilk
3 eggs
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla

Set oven to 400 degrees F. Put dry mix together into mixing bowl. Bring hot mix to a boil in a small saucepan. Whisk hot mix into dry mix. Add egg mix and whisk until completely incorporated. Bake for 15 minutes.