Happy Valentine's Day, everyone! As there was a bake sale for the AIDS Foundation at Armani Exchange (where I intern), I decided to bake some healthy, gluten-free, vegan cupcakes for charity! It was a baking adventure this weekend, and I learned a lot not only about the challenges of gluten-free flours (for instance, coconut flour is a lot denser than other gluten-free flours and you have to add more liquids to make up for it, otherwise it'll come out with a crumbly, cookie-like batter, not smooth and light like a muffin/cupcake batter), but also the major challenge of not using eggs. I can pretty much handle dairy-free baking with ease, but man, I experimented with one type of egg replacer which I discovered through PETA's website, and decided that next time I bake vegan, I'm going to try another type because it didn't turn out quite the way I like my cupcakes, which are moist (sorry for those of you who hate that word). I also learned a lesson about chemistry and how it relates to color as I tried to make red-velvet cupcakes using beet juice instead of red dye (which incidentally, I ended up using with the red-hot candies). Mine didn't come out very red because apparently, baking soda is an alkaline which promotes browning when baking. To change the pH and counteract that browning, I'm going to try using lemon juice, an acid, which I've read helps the red maintain its color after baking. See examples here. Either way, I'll post the recipe with the alterations I'm going to try next time for you to have fun experimenting in the kitchen as well! They at least looked pretty in the end as you'll see in the photos.
Red Hot Coconut Cupcakes with Red Hot Coconut Buttercream Frosting
Makes about 4 dozen mini cupcakes or 30 regular cupcakes
2 1/2 c. gluten-free baking flour (I use Bob's Red Mill brand which is a combination of potato starch, tapioca flour, white sorghum flour, garbanzo bean flour and fava bean flour)
1/3+1/4 c. Sweet Leaf stevia/sugar blend--1/3 amount of sugar
6 tsp cocoa powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tbsp flax powder mixed with 3 tbsp boiling water (*Note: For more moisture, I'm going to try using 1/4 c. silken tofu next time--this egg replacer made my cupcakes a little dry)
2 teaspoons vanilla
1/3 tbsp vegan buttery spread (Best Life brand) + 1/3 c. coconut milk instead of oil OR EVOO (olive oil)
½ c. light coconut milk + ½ c. Tofutti sour cream
1 c. coconut water
3 packets of stevia
3 tbsp beet juice (*Note: next time, I'm going to add about 1/8 c. lemon juice)
1/2 c. ground red hot cinnamon candies (I'm going to omit this next time to see if I can just get the red color from the beets)
unsweetened coconut flakes for garnish
sugar-free conversation candy hearts (Smart Hearts makes them sugar-free--I couldn't find any so I just used the regular kind though).
Red Hot Coconut Buttercream Frosting:
Makes about 2 1/2 cups of frosting
4 oz. tofutti cream cheese
1 tbsp tofutti sour cream
¾ c. ground red cinnamon hot candies
2 tsp vanilla 3/4 stick unsalted margarine (Earth Balance is the best brand but I just used Fleishman's)
1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2) Sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cocoa powder, salt and stevia blend in a large mixing bowl.
3) Beat in vanilla and oil substitute (or EVOO), and egg replacer (flax powder/water mixture), and coconut milk-sour cream mixture.
4) Heat up coconut water in the microwave for 2 minutes on high and stir into the batter.
5) Add beat juice and red-hot candies (*Note: you can omit the red hot candies if you want to have a red dye-free cupcake).
6) Line mini cupcake trays (or regular sized trays) with paper liners and fill each about 3/4 the way with batter.
7) Bake in oven for 20-25 minutes, until the tops bounce back when you lightly press on them.
8) Mix up frosting in a bowl and refrigerate until all the cupcakes are made and cooled.
9) Fill a small plastic baggie with the frosting, and cut a small corner off the bottom of one side.
10) Squeeze the filling out from the bag, carefully frosting each cupcake.
11) Sprinkle some coconut flakes on top of the frosting and place one small candy heart in the center. Serve immediately or refrigerate for later.
Tropical Coconut Cupcakes with Orange Sherbet Coconut Rum Buttercream Frosting
Makes about 5 dozen mini cupcakes or about 3 dozen regular cupcakes
2 1/2 c. coconut flour (I'd decrease this amount to 2 cups next time)
2/3 c. Sweet Leaf stevia/sugar blend
2 tbsp flax powder simmered in 6 tbsp boiling water (egg replacer)
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
3 c. coconut water + 1/2 c. light coconut milk
1 c. light coconut milk
1 c. EVOO (olive oil) + 1/2 c. melted vegan buttery spread
2 c. organic pomegranate juice (not concentrated)
3 tbsp beet juice
2 tbsp lime juice
1 packet of Orange-Strawberry Crystal Light (optional--I'll probably omit this next time)
3 packets of stevia
unsweetened coconut for garnish
sugar-free conversation candy hearts
Orange Sherbet Coconut Rum Buttercream Frosting:
Makes about 2 1/2-3 cups of frosting
1 stick unsalted margarine
1/2 c. light coconut milk + 1/2 c. Tofutti sour cream
4 oz. Toffuti cream cheese
1 tbsp vanilla
3 tsp beet juice
1 packet Orange-Strawberry Crystal Light
6 tsp Malibu coconut rum
1) Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2) Sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cocoa powder, salt and stevia blend in a large mixing bowl.3) Beat in vanilla and oil substitute (or EVOO), and egg replacer (flax powder/water mixture) EVOO mixture and coconut milk.
4) Heat up coconut water in the microwave for 2 minutes on high and stir into the batter.
5) Add beet juice, pomegranate juice, lime juice, stevia packets and Crystal Light packet.
6) Line mini-muffin tin with paper liners and fill with heaping spoonfuls of batter (they won't rise as much without the baking soda, which I'm going to add next time to see the difference in texture--these came out with a macaroon-like texture, which wasn't bad but didn't really remind me of a cupcake).
7) Bake in oven for about 40-45 minutes, until the tops are browned a bit and not too soft to the touch.
8) Mix together frosting ingredients and refrigerate until ready to use.
9) Once all cupcakes are baked and cooled, fill a small baggie with the frosting and cut a small corner off.
10) Carefully frost each cupcake, topping it with some unsweetened coconut and a candy heart.
11) Serve immediately or refrigerate to keep the frosting from melting.
Enjoy and Bon Appetit!
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