Yummy Gluten Free Red Velvet Cupcakes

This cupcake was decorated by my four year old grandson Coady.  As you can see, he loves chocolate chips and candy dinosaurs, but the cupcake and icing were made from the recipe I have included.  They are my version of a red velvet cupcake - they are wheat free, gluten free, egg free, soy free and bovine dairy free.  I am allergic to any kind of cow dairy, but goat and sheep are okay, which is great because I love goat cheese!  Anyway, I digress.  These cupcakes have a reddish tinge like red velvet cupcakes, but not from food colouring - from beets!  They are not only delicious but they are good for you, and they have the seal of approval from my grandkids!  They are so moist and delicious it is hard to believe they are free from some of the top allergens.  The icing is pink because it is made with raspberries.  I searched for a cupcake recipe that not only my grandsons could eat, but that I could eat too so we could decorate them together.  I found a recipe for velvety beet cupcakes at Chatelaine, and adapted it.  I hope you enjoy them too!

 

Gluten free Red Velvet Cupcakes with Raspberry Icing

¼ cup                    frozen raspberries

1 ¼ cups               all purpose gluten free flour
¼ cup                    unsweetened dark cocoa powder
¾ tsp                     baking powder
¼ tsp                     baking soda
½ tsp                     salt
½ tsp                     xanthum gum (if not already added to flour)
½ 398 ml can       beets, rinsed, drained, patted dry
¾ cup                    organic granulated sugar or cane sugar
¼ cup                    oil (safflower, vegetable oil, even virgin olive oil will work)
1                            egg replacer (I use flax gel – see note below)
1 tsp                      vanilla
½ cup                    coconut milk
½ 250g                  soft goat cheese, cubed
½ cup                    icing sugar

 Measure out raspberries and leave on counter.  Preheat oven to 350F.  Line a 12-cup muffin pan with paper cups.  Stir flour with cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, xanthum gum and salt in a large bowl.  Puree beets in a blender.  Beat sugar with oil in a medium bowl, using electric mixer, until combined (2 min).  Beat in egg, then beets and vanilla.  Gradually beat in one-third of flour mixture just until blended, then half of coconut milk.  Repeat additions, ending with flour mixture.  Spoon batter into muffin cups, filling each ¾ full.

Bake in centre of oven until a cake tester inserted in cupcakes comes out clean – 20 to 25 minutes.  Cool in pan on a rack for 15 minutes, then remove cakes to a rack to cool completely before icing.

Push raspberries through a sieve into a bowl, using the bottom of a ladle.  Discard seeds.  Stir in cream cheese and icing sugar.  Spread over cooled cupcakes.
Makes 12.

Note:  To replace one egg:  mix 1 tbsp flax meal with 3 tbsp warm water.  Let sit for 5-10 minutes before using in recipe.

I use all organic and gluten free ingredients but if you don't have celiac or specific allergies, you can adapt this very easily.