Gluten Free cupcakes

Helping mummy set the timer

I've got a Hen's lunch today, so last week, I thought I'd bake cupcakes. Modern life being what it is, I knew that it would be inevitable that at least one person would be gluten-intolerant or have coeliac disease.

Having flirted with gluten-intolerance myself for a couple of years, I know firsthand how crappy it can be, especially when it comes to cake. We all love a bit of cake, even if you don't have a particularly sweet tooth, so I decided that this batch of cupcakes would not only be gluten free, but delicious!

Impossible, I hear you say. those ideas are not compatible. Gluten free stuff tastes horrible. And yes, sometimes it does. But with modern baking science improving all the time, there are a lot of great packet mixes around. Basco does quite a nice butter cake*, so I decided to use that. And, as a sweetener, they were on sale at Woolworths this week. Hooray! Now, I have a bit of a stash of GF cake mix.

*note, it's not dairy free or egg free as well (although you can find them at the supermarket too.

Whoops! Turn your head to the side for instant rotating!

Anyway, I also had to make the icing gluten free, so decided to go with marshmallow. After my last attempt(s), I was determined to tame the beast! Plus, it's delicious.

In addition to the GF cakes, I thought I'd try out a packet mix that I got from the Reject Shop for $2. They were too cute to resist!

I wanted to get going on these babies ASAP, so I started after breakfast. Destructor was awake and playing around my legs. As soon as he saw me start to get stuff out of the cupboards, the arms went up. He wanted to see what was happening. So, being the modern woman that I am, I proceeded to hold him in one arm while adding an egg to the mix with the other. And to my surprise, the cake mix went pink! Yay!

Finally, a strawberry cake mix that is already pink!

Now, while I'm good at doing things one handed, mixing cake mix properly is still a skill I'm yet to master. So, to keep Destructor occupied, I gave him a little bowl full of rice bubbles and a spoon. That way, he could 'mix' his own cake, and stay occupied for a little while.

Yum! I can play AND eat!

I stirred the mixture and popped it in the patty pans provided. Into the oven they went. Meanwhile, I got started on the GF mix.

Like my last baking adventure, I did half vanilla, then added cocoa to make the other half chocolate. However, this time, I had a secret weapon - chocolate spice! A friend of mine bought it for me for my birthday and it is AMAZING. It actually makes chocolate taste better. So, in it went.

Meanwhile, the pink cakes were ready, so they went on the rack to cool and in went the GF cakes. Destructor (now bored of the rice bubbles) was raiding the cupboards. He seems to love this particular bottle of tomato sauce.

Nom, nom. Great teether!

The two of us went off to play with some trucks, and then, before we knew it, the GF ones were done. And they looked awesome!

No weird shapes!

A snack and a little TV later, Destructor was ready for bed, so in he went. Now, I had time to do the marshmallow frosting. Well, not so much time as focus. It requires constant stirring and a double boiler, so it's NOT something to do while Destructor is hanging off my legs.

You'll be pleased to know that I didn't have a meltdown. In fact, it came out perfectly! Woo!

I cut the tops out of the vanilla cupcakes and popped in some homemade lemon curd (yes, I found time for that last week!). Then, I topped them with marshmallow (and glitter) to make a lemon meringue cupcake.

GF Vanilla cake, lemon curd, marshmallow frosting

Next, the chocolate ones got topped with marshmallow and sprinkled with drinking chocolate to make a 'hot chocolate' cupcake. I changed the piping tip to give a different effect.

GF Chocolate cake, marshmallow frosting

And finally, the strawberry babycakes. They got just a squirt of marshmallow (kinda my take on strawberries and cream), but lots of gold glitter and a love heart. So cute!

Strawberry cake, marshmallow frosting

And that was it! 24 cupcakes in total (I left a few behind for hubby to enjoy!) and a bit over an hour in time.

Gluten free doesn't have to be boring or tasteless - you just have to think outside the box!