Tuesday, July 5, 2011

Strawberry cupcakes!

Inspired by the Fourth of July and strawberry season, I decided to work with a recipe that has been successful for me in the past - but was designed for oranges.


More than a year ago, I discovered the Gluten-Free Goddess' blog and fell in love with her Orange Creme Cupcakes. I've made her recipe many times and they are always fabulous! I frost and freeze them and get out what I need to serve. I've also made them for a wedding reception. Today, I've used her recipe and adapted it for these strawberry cupcakes... YUM!


Strawberry cupcakes

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. This recipe makes 16 cupcakes. I use 2 muffin tins and put paper liners in 8 spots in each tin.

In a mixing bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients:

3/4 cup sorghum flour
3/4 cup potato starch
3/4 cup organic cane sugar
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons xanthan gum

Add in:
2 Tablespoons sunflower oil
1 Tablespoon raw (local) honey
*1 cup crushed, fresh organic strawberries (you need to have a 1 cup liquid measure of strawberry juice when done crushing them)
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons organic vanilla

Beat on medium speed until the batter is smooth. Spoon the batter evenly between the 16 paper liners. Bake in your preheated oven for 20-25 minutes (mine took about 22 minutes last night) until golden and firm (should be slightly tender still). Try not to open the door to peek (use your oven light to look at them if you've got to see how they're doing) until the very end of the baking time. These cupcakes rise high and then settle down. Remove from oven, let cool 5 minutes and then remove from muffin tins and cool completely on wire rack. (I actually take mine from the muffin tin as soon as they come out of the oven.) When cooled completely, frost and enjoy!

Strawberry creme frosting:

In a mixing bowl beat:
1/4 cup Spectrum organic shortening
1 teaspoon organic vanilla
2 Tablespoon crushed, fresh organic strawberries (Again - you must get the measure listed).
2 cups powdered sugar
Hemp milk

Put all ingredients - except the hemp milk - into a bowl and beat on medium to medium-high until frosting is well mixed (will probably appear somewhat chunky and not smooth). Add just a little hemp milk (may not even be a teaspoon) and beat again. You want a frosting that is just workable (through a piping bag) and not runny... I love my Wilton cupcake tip and in just a few minutes, the cupcakes are done and ready to eat OR freeze until you need them!

Personal note: Karina's recipe has never let me down, but now that I know I can substitute other fruits in for the oranges - I'll begin tweaking the recipe more, as I'd like the cupcakes to not be all sorghum and potato starch... The frosting recipe will not frost 16 cupcakes - a stretch to get 14 done. Also, it's pretty sweet and I'll probably play with adding a little more shortening to balance it out.

You're going to have to get your hands dirty to make this recipe. Wash hands - strawberries should be rinsed and hulled. Place in a glass liquid measuring cup (2 cup size would be good so you have space to squish) and squish by hand. Squish the strawberries as much as possible to get maximum juice. You don't want large chunks of strawberry either. And remember, you'll need 2 Tablespoons of strawberry juice for the frosting...

Strawberry cupcakes. ENJOY!


1 comment:

  1. Oh Joanie they look fabulous! One of the many things I miss about not having Steph around is her amazing cupcake making talent!!

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for stopping by and sharing your thoughts! Abundant blessings on your day... Joanie