THE BEAUTIFUL CUPCAKE
All right folks, for those of you longing for a moist, delicious, LOW CARB, GLUTEN FREE cupcake, here it is! After my daughter was diagnosed with CD, I learned to make these, and my husband actually asked me (BEFORE his diagnosis) to make them rather than regular cupcakes made from wheat. He liked them better! The coconut oil, flour, and milk are essentially to this recipe. You can get coconut oil pretty much anywhere. I get mine from Amazon or Vitacost. The cheapest coconut oil I have found is LouAna at Wal-Mart. Probably not the highest quality, but it does fine in this recipe. Coconut flour I buy in bulk on Amazon. For coconut milk, check the ethnic section of your grocery store! INCIDENTALLY, THESE ARE ALSO DAIRY FREE!
Ingredients:
6 T coconut oil
1/2 cup cocoa powder
4 tablespoons coconut milk (or a little more for added moisture)
6 eggs
1-1/2 cups sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup coconut flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
Directions:
Mix together coconut oil and cocoa powder. You may need to warm the oil on the stove or in the microwave. I just warm them together on the stove top. Allow to cool slightly.
In large mixing bowl, mix together coconut milk, eggs, sugar, salt, and vanilla for about a minute on medium, until well blended. In a separate dry bowl, sift the coconut flour and baking powder together. Add mixture to batter and mix well, until all lumps disappear.
Mix in the coconut oil/cocoa powder mixture.
Grease a dozen muffin cups (yes, you do need to grease the cups that are already non-stick). I put them in my pan and then just give them a light dusting of non-stick spray. Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes. After that, watch them, as they burn easily. Use a cake tester, and as soon as they are done in the middle, pull them out.
Allow to cool, then frost. We use my mom’s buttercream frosting, SO good. It has spoiled us for any of that storebought junk, and we always know it’s GF, too!
Mix together 1 pound of confectioner’s sugar, a teaspoon of vanilla, a few tablespoons of milk (or coconut milk if dairy free), and 1/2 cup butter (or soy margarine or butter-flavored Crisco if dairy-free). Add a little more milk to get the right texture.
I promise, this one won’t disappoint!
Oh, and these freeze beautifully!
Cupcake portion of recipe adapted from Cooking with Coconut Flour: A Delicious Low-Carb, Gluten-Free Alternative to Wheat
Frosting recipe is from my mother. Thanks, Mom!
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This recipe has been submitted to:
- Slightly Indulgent Tuesday
- Mouthwatering Monday
- Foodie Friday
- Friday Potluck
- Allergy Friendly Friday
- Tempt My Tummy Tuesday
- Tuesdays at the Table
- Tuesday’s Tasty Tidbits
- Fat Tuesday
- Fat Camp Friday
- Tea Party Tuesday
- This Chick Cooks
- Melt in Your Mouth Monday
- Muffin Monday
- Allergy-Free Wednesdays
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Sounds really good! Going to try this today, thanks!
Sounds easy! I’m always on the lookout for easy GF recipes to make for my mil who is eating gluten-free.
This recipe makes me REALLY wish I wasn’t allergic to coconut! Thank you so much for sharing it with Tuesdays At The Table.
Thanks for linking your great post to FAT TUESDAY. Hope to see you next week! Be sure to visit RealFoodForager.com on Sunday for
Sunday Snippets – your post from Fat Tuesday may be featured there!
http://realfoodforager.com/2011/10/fat-tuesday-october-11-2011/
If you have grain-free recipes please visit my Grain-Free Linky Carnival in support of my 28 day grain-free challenge! It will be open until November 2.
http://realfoodforager.com/2011/10/grain-free-real-food-linky-carnival/
I am waiting on some coconut flour to come in the mail. Can’t wait to try them.
You won’t be disappointed!
Not trying to “change up” your recipe….but can you use regular oil, milk and a GF flour mix? I don’t have anything Coconut….what makes Coconut work so well? I’ve never used Coconut…
Hi! Actually this recipe will only work with coconut flour. If you change it up with a GF Flour mix there will be wayyyy too much liquid. Coconut flour is actually a fiber, not a starch, so it soaks up the liquid, and works totally different from most other flours. I find it to be very economical because it stretches so far, it has a delicious flavor, and makes baked goods moist without any graininess. I’ve never tried it with different oils, but you certainly could, and regular milk as well. If you do, come back and let us know how it turns out!
Look forward to trying these!
2 questions:
1) is refined coconut oil OK? Or is virgin best? (I know virgin has more distinct coconut flavor)
2) is it best to use coconut milk in carton (1/2 gal such as “So Delicious” or “Silk”) or in can ( such as “Native Forest”?)
Thx!
Hi Deb! I have used both refined and virgin coconut oil, and they both turned out good. I also use the coconut milk from a can, but I would guess you could try the refrigerated also. Hope you like them!
I made these for my son’s first birthday and again for his second. My daughter has requested them tomorrow for her fourth birthday. They are delicious! I use sucanat instead of sugar and whole cow’s milk instead of coconut. Great recipe!