Baking Sundays: Classic Vanilla Cupcakes (GF)

Gluten-free and perfectly pretty

Sitting opposite my dietitian during our first consultation she uttered the words no cake lover wants to hear -'Your health would benefit from a gluten free diet'. Great. As if it couldn't get any worse, M.E had now stolen away my favourite guilty pleasure. In that moment I was sure my life long relationship/ obsession with cake was over.

Boy was I wrong. Now I'm gonna be honest with you, I wasn't strong enough to be completely gluten free (I wasn't ready to give French baguettes and Dominos pizzas, basically); but I do try my best to eat gluten free about 80-90% of the time. But one thing I have been determined to do is find a gluten free cupcake recipe that works for me, so that I can enjoy my guilty pleasure slightly less guiltily.

I've tried many recipes from around the internet but have settled on a slight adaptation of my tried and tested vanilla cupcake recipe.  If  you're somewhat of an experienced eater in the gluten free field, you'll be aware there nothing ever really really tastes like the real thing. However these little lovelies are about as close as it gets- my ultra picky family demolished them without even questioning whether they were 'normal' or not... which is a good sign, trust me.

When I'm baking I usually work in ounces, basing my recipes around the classic 6:3 ratio (6oz of butter, sugar and flour to 3 eggs) that mumma taught me as a little girl. However, for the sake of not being terribly old-fashioned, you'll see I've converted the ingredients list across to grams- it's just as easy to follow and fits in slightly better with the modern world!

The simple, easy to follow recipe uses the traditional creaming recipe followed by the gradual of addition of eggs and flour until the ingredients are added and fully combined. I'm not a lover of eggs, and sometimes I feel I can taste the egg in a cake a little more than I'd like too- for this reason I only use 2 whole eggs and replace the third egg with a couple of egg whites, which has the added bonus of creating a lighter colour while allowing me to give a little boost to the rising of the cake. 

Following this you'll then add in your milk, vanilla and my trusty secret ingredient- yoghurt. Gluten-free flours suck up the moisture a lot more than normal wheat-flours, so adding a bit of yoghurt helps to replace some of this lost liquid, preventing a crumbly, dry end result.

Now, if your mixture looks a bit like this...

don't panic! Gluten-free batters can look a little different from those we're used to, and this can be one of those rather unfortunate, unattractive differences! Using ingredients all at room temperature will help prevent this, but sometimes these things just cannot be helped! Don't over mix it, and add a touch more flour if you're concerned- but it will be fine! On a similar note, if you decide to give it a taste/ lick the bowl once you're finished (which I do recommend), then don't be put off by that odd, grainy, floury taste- once they're beautifully baked it'll have completely disappeared!

Life's far too short not to lick the bowl

Fluffy, light and with no signature gluten-free graininess, these cupcakes are definitely worthy of being your go-to recipe.

'You wouldn't believe they're gluten-free' Classic Vanilla Cupcakes

Makes 12 Cupcakes

Cakes:
150g Unsalted Butter
150g Caster Sugar
150g Doves Farm Gluten-Free Plain White Flour
2 Whole Eggs
2 Egg Whites 
2 tsp Vanilla Extract
3 tbsp Milk (I used almond, but feel free to use anything you like)
2 tbsp Yoghurt (Again, I used Greek yoghurt, but you can use plain natural yoghurt too)

Vanilla Buttercream Icing:
350g Icing Sugar
175g Butter (room temperature)
60ml Double Cream
2 tsp Vanilla Extract

Preheat your oven to 180°C/ 350°F/ Gas Mark 4 and line a cupcake tray with 12 cases.

In a large bowl cream together the butter and sugar until it reaches a light, fluffy consistency and a paler colour.

In a separate small bowl, lightly whisk your egg whites until they have a frothy texture. Now you can begin to add your eggs and flour to your butter and sugar mix. Beat in the eggs one at a time, with each egg accompanied by a spoonful of your pre-measured flour- this will help prevent curdling. Next, add your whisked egg whites to the mixture and gently fold in. This is followed by adding all the remaining flour in one go, continuing not to beat the mixture, but to fold it (in a figure of eight).

Once your mixture is fully combined, you can add in your liquid ingredients- this is where curdling may occur. Gently beat in the milk, yoghurt and vanilla until fully combined.

Divide your mixture equally between the 12 cases, being careful not to over fill.

Bake your cakes in your preheated oven for 15-20 minutes, or until the tops bounce back and a skewer inserted comes out clean.

Remove from the oven and tray, and place on a wire rack to cool.

For the icing:

Beat the butter in a large bowl until softened and smooth. Now add the icing sugar and continue to beat until light and creamy. From here you can add your cream and vanilla and continue beating until fully combined.

Feel free to add more icing sugar if the icing becomes too thin, or more cream if it is still to thick.

Ice your cooled cupcakes in whatever manner you so desire and feel free to decorate with whatever you have to hand!

Enjoy!

Alice x