Guest Author - Colleen Forgus
Gluten Free Coconut Cupcakes
The other day we made Coconut Cupcakes in one of my cooking classes and they just looked so delicious. I wanted to make a gluten free version so I wouldn’t feel deprived.
I started with a gluten free Yellow Cake Mix I purchased at Trader Joes called Gluten Free Dreams by Cherrybrook Kitchen. I didn’t follow the instructions on the box because I don’t use margarine and I wanted to add eggs to help with the leavening. I also added some wonderful Vanilla Bean Paste and ½ cup of shredded sweetened coconut to the mix to boost the flavor. They came out great – puffed up nicely and tasted really good.
The cupcakes taste delicious! You could serve them to anyone and they would never know they are gluten free! Of course, you could use a regular yellow cake mix and just follow the recipe on the box to make regular cupcakes – just remember to add the ½ cup of shredded sweetened coconut to the batter.
If you haven’t yet tried Vanilla Bean Paste – I highly recommend it! It has tiny vanilla bean seeds in it and has a wonderful vanilla flavor. Use it in place of any vanilla extract in the same quantity that the recipe requires. It is especially great when you can see the tiny vanilla seeds in something like frosting, whipped cream or ice cream.
This recipe made 12 medium size cupcakes. You could also make about 24 mini cupcakes, 6 jumbo cupcakes or even a layer cake with this recipe.
For the cupcakes
1 box Gluten Free Yellow Cake Mix (Cherrybrook Kitchen brand)
1/3 cup melted butter
2/3 cup water
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
½ cup shredded sweetened coconut
For the frosting
8 ounces cream cheese, room temp
6 Tablespoons butter, room temp
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ teaspoon almond extract
¾ pound powdered sugar
½ cup shredded sweetened coconut for garnish
1. Preheat the oven to 350.
2. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or with a hand held mixer, combine the cake mix with the melted butter, water, eggs, and vanilla bean paste. Mix just until combined. Add the shredded coconut and mix just to incorporate – do not overmix.
3. Line the muffin pan with muffin liners. Fill each cup to the top with the batter. Bake for 15-18 minutes. Allow to cool for 15 minutes.
4. To make the frosting – in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or with a hand held mixer combine the cream cheese and butter and mix until smooth and lump free. Add the vanilla and almond extracts -mix. Gradually add the powdered sugar and mix until smooth.
5. Frost with the cream cheese frosting and then sprinkle with the top of each cupcake with shredded coconut.
------------------------------------------------------------
Visit my website oneredpot.com - for tips on Food Health Lifestyle.
