Gluten-Free Chocolate Cupcakes with Coffee Icing

Gluten-free chocolate cupcakes.

Gluten-free cupcakes are hot. Or should I say, HAWT. Tack on vegan status, too, and you've got a trend worthy of the most BoHo WeHo GoGo. So I'm reprising this chocolate cupcake recipe to tempt you into baking this weekend. These little beauties remind me of Devil's Food Cake. Dark, moist and chocolatey. So go grab your inner Domestic Goddess by the hand and stir up some trouble.

But before we get to (what happens to be my favorite) chocolate cupcake recipe from the archives, I want to share something. Maybe it's the waxing moon, that cyclic siren pulling us toward wholeness, to embracing our shadow, urging us to let go, shed the outworn for the sake of authenticity. Or maybe it's the fresh start of a new school year, possessing me with cravings for newly sharpened pencils and thick stacks of paper, clean as a cloud. Fall always wakes me up. It conjures images of new beginnings.

And yes, there will be baby pictures.

I came across these Polaroids during our recent move. I won't tell you how many years have passed since these images were taken. How many moons have waxed and waned. Let's just say my sons and I are warm weather babies, born into heat and greenery, the open window sounds of summer, our lullabies.

Looking back across the seasons feels dreamlike. I float through it. And all too soon realize I cannot grasp anything. I cannot hold on to the past. My hands are empty. And that's okay. Though a piece of me aches for that once clear definition my mothering carved out for me. My days are fluid now. And soft. And I've been thinking.

After a certain age you get, well. Tired.

Tired of squeezing your self into one-size-fits-normal. Tired of accommodating expectations. Weary of scanning your body through a Madison Avenue filter. Exhausted pretending you even care about American Idol, manicures, or football (when it's obvious, you don't). I am irritated by this ancient automatic reflex to fit in, find the perfect hair color, be nice. That nice woman. The one the neighbors like.

It sneaks in slowly on tiny paws, this anarchy.

This wildness.

It starts in dreams and keeps you awake at night with its low throated hum. You can feel it growing, toothy and buzzing inside you, like some fractal shattering cracked spiral candy. Like flinging honey and bee stings into thunder. Inescapable. A rush. A roaring undertow- this need for life. A life lived true.

xox

Frost these chocolate cupcakes with your favorite icing. Mine is coffee.

Chocolate Cupcakes with Coffee Icing- a Dairy-Free Vegan Recipe

Gluten-free chocolate cupcake heaven. Yep. And if you don't care for the taste of coffee, use rice milk or coconut milk in the batter in place of the coffee and make a vanilla, coconut, or chocolate flavored icing.

Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Line a 12-cup cupcake pan with parchment or paper liners.

Ingredients:

3/4 rounded cup sorghum flour

3/4 rounded cup potato starch, cornstarch or tapioca starch

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 cup organic cane sugar

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon xanthan gum

1 cup warm coffee (not too hot or it will make the potato starch gluey)

1 tablespoon Ener-G Egg Replacer beaten with 1/4 cup warm water

3 tablespoons light olive oil

2 teaspoons bourbon vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon light tasting rice vinegar

Instructions:

Whisk together the flours and dry ingredients.

Add in the coffee, egg replacer, oil, vanilla and vinegar. Beat the batter for a full two to three minutes until all the ingredients are incorporated and the batter is smooth.

Using an ice cream scoop, plop the batter into the cups and smooth the tops.

Bake in the center of a preheated oven till done- about 20 minutes or so.

Cool the cupcakes on a wire rack (don't let them sit in the baking pan too long or they'll get soggy).

Frost when completely cooled. See recipe for coffee flavored icing below.

Karina's Notes on gluten-free vegan batter:

Gluten-free vegan batters are a tad different than wheat and white flour batters. They are stiffer at first, then stretch and get sticky as the xanthan gum and egg replacer do their thing.

If the batter "climbs" the beaters, slow down the speed and slightly lift the beaters to encourage the batter to move back down into the bowl. Move your beater around the bowl in figure eights, at a slight angle. Practice your technique- soon you'll be winging around gluten-free vegan baking like a pro.

Vegan Coffee Icing Recipe

Ingredients:

2 cups confectioner's (powdered) sugar

2-3 tablespoons Spectrum Organic Shortening or vegan margarine

2-4 ounces cold coffee, as needed

1 teaspoon bourbon vanilla

Instructions:

Starting with the least amount of liquid, beat the sugar to incorporate the shortening, coffee and vanilla. if you need more liquid, add a small amount at a time. beat for two minutes or so until smooth.

If you need to stiffen the frosting, add a little more confectioner's sugar.

Chill the frosting before using it. I chill it, covered, for roughly an hour.

Frost the cupcakes. Cover in an air-tight container until serving. best eaten the first day. If making ahead of time, chill frosted cakes briefly in the freezer before wrapping individually and freezing.

Cook time: 1 hour, total

Yield: Serves 12

Enjoy sugary treats in moderation. Gluten-Free Goddess advises consuming no more than 2 tablespoons of sugar a day.