Patriotic Vanilla Filled Cupcakes - Gluten and Dairy Free!

I've been trying to think of a good gluten free recipe to post here because I've only posted vegan recipes thus far. It seems only fair to share the love since I sell both vegan and gluten free items in my Etsy store. For me, gluten free is much harder, maybe because I don't have a problem with wheat. I haven't had to work around it, except for Etsy and the occasional custom order. Dairy, however, I've worked around since I can remember, and family events always have lots of milk-free dishes. So I wanted my first gluten free foray into the blogosphere to be a good one. I think I succeeded.


These cupcakes are not vegan, just dairy free (check the notes for how to make them corn free and soy free), but please, if you experiment, let me know! I wanted to conquer the gluten before I also eliminated the egg whites. My next step would be to try using Ener-G egg replacer. What would you try?

I saw these cupcakes earlier this week, and I wanted to do something equally fun, but even awesomer. So after a little consultation with Official Taster, I decided on white cupcakes filled and topped with buttercream: red or blue filling, white frosting, and red and blue sugar sprinkled on top. Voila! Cupcakes perfect for Memorial Day or the Fourth of July.

This is a several (easy) step process. I pulled inspiration from both 1,000 Gluten Free Recipes and The Joy of Vegan Baking. First, you need to mix up this sorghum blend. This recipe makes 4 cups, so you can half it for these cupcakes if you'd like. Or make the full amount and save it for your next batch!

Sorghum Blend
1 1/2 C sorghum flour
1 1/2 C potato starch or cornstarch
1 C tapioca flour

Combine all ingredients until well blended. Store, tightly covered, in a dry, dark place.

Gluten Free and Dairy Free White Cupcakes
2/3 C non dairy milk
2 tsp lemon juice or vinegar
cooking spray
1/2 C (1 stick) vegan butter, like Earth Balance, at room temperature
3/4 C sugar
3 large egg whites at room temperature
1 1/2 C sorghum blend (recipe below)
1 tsp xanthan gum
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla

1. Combine the milk and lemon juice in a non reactive bowl and set aside.
2. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Generously spray a 12 cup non-stick muffin tin with cooking spray or line with paper liners and spray the inside of the liners.
3. In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar until smooth. Add the egg white a little bit at a time, beating well after each addition.
4. In a small bowl, sift the sorghum blend, xanthan gum, salt, baking powder, and baking soda together. Add vanilla to the milk and whisk together.
5. Beat the sorghum blend into the egg mixture, alternating with the milk mix. Begin and end with the sorghum mixture.
6. Spoon the batter into the muffin tins. Bake 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean. Cool the cupcakes in the pan for about 5 minutes, and then remove from pan and cool completely on a wire rack

Buttercream Frosting
1/2 C (1 stick) vegan butter at room temperature
2 C confectioners' sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
non dairy milk
food coloring

Cream the butter and then add sugar and vanilla. Beat until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes. If frosting is too stiff, add milk 1 tsp at a time and beat until well combined.

Assemble the Awesome
1. Use a knife, chopstick, spoon handle, etc. to pierce the top of each cupcake. Wiggle the knife around in a circular motion inside the cupcake to create a cavity to fill with frosting.
2. Separate a few spoonfuls (you need less than you think you do) of the frosting into two small bowls. Add blue food coloring to one and red to the other; mix well. Using a pastry bag and tip or a ziplock bag with a corner cut off, pipe blue frosting into the center of 6 cupcakes. Repeat with the red frosting.
3. Use the white frosting to top the cupcakes and sprinkle colored sugar or sprinkles on top.

Notes:
I recommend separating the eggs while they are cold and then letting the whites come to room temperature.

Both methods of preparing the muffin pans work equally well (I tried both). It just depends which look you prefer- with papers or without.

I sprinkled the sugar on over the sink so I didn't have (more of) a mess to clean up.

To make the cupcakes soy and corn free: substitute 1/3 Cup canola oil or an equal amount of real butter for the vegan butter; be sure to use potato starch in the sorghum blend; use almond milk instead of soy milk

Play with frosting colors to create the perfect color combination!