Gluten Free/Vegan Chocolate Cupcakes

So here they are folks! The cupcakes I was dying to make after watching Cupcake Wars~

I knew they had to be good because as I was laying on the couch (belly happily full of these dense,chocolatey orbs of deliciousness) watching "The English Patient" - I hear my daughter in the kitchen saying, "Oh! My. God! Oh my God! Mmmmm" .  I, of course, had to proclaim their vegan/gluten free-ness to her disbelief.

I followed the same recipe as the Cupcake Wars (link in previous post) but had no orange zest. (Kids ate the one orange). Definitely would have been even more scrumptious but alas, just as good...I am considering buying some Orange oil for cooking...This one looks yummy ~

Boyajian Pure Orange Oil for baking

I substituted brown sugar for regular sugar because when making things GF you need to add more moisture. Also, bourbon vanilla is the best for GF baked goods. The buttercream frosting melted right into the cupcake, thus not delivering the Hostess cupcake affect we were hoping for. Maybe if I waited (so hard!) til it cooled some more....Oh well, next time! Enjoy!

Chocolate Cupcakes with Chocolate Ganache

1 cup sorghum flour

1/2 cup tapioca flour

1/2 cup cocoa powder

1 cup brown sugar

1 teas baking powder

1/2 teas baking soda

1/4 teas sea salt

3/4 cup orange juice

1/2 cup grapeseed oil

1 Tbsp bourbon vanilla

Mix dry ingredients together . Separately mix wet ingredients. Combine. Mix on Med speed for a minute. Fill muffin cups. This recipe makes 9 cupcakes~

350 degree oven for 20 minutes. Put toothpick in to make sure cooked through. Let cool. Be patient!

Chocolate Ganache~

1/2 cup Ghiradelli semi-sweet chocolate chips, melt in saucepan, med heat

1-2 Tbsp almond milk

1 teas coconut oil

whisk until smooth. Spoon over cooled cupcakes:)

Inspired by Vegan Cupcake Wars on Food Network

Last night on Food Network, vegan bakers competed. What a bunch of creative bakers! The combination of flavors were mind blowing. Edible flowers and fruits adorning vegan cupcakes! Dreamy...Needless to say I was totally inspired to come up with a cupcake today. Still researching because I want it to be gluten free too...Pictures and recipe to come!

In the meantime check these out:

Creme Filled Chocolate Orange Cupcakes

Cupcake Wars Winner Interview

Rustic Polenta Pancakes

Polenta Pancakes (vegan and gluten free!)

1/2 cup cornmeal
3/4 cup brown rice flour
1/4 tapioca flour
pinch of salt
1 teas xanthan gum
1 teas baking powder
1 teas baking soda
1 teas cinnamon (optional)  Mix all dry ingredients together.

In a separate bowl mix:
2 "eggs" ( 2T flax meal + 6 Tbsp Hot water, whisk -or- Energ-Y egg replacer)
1 cup almond milk with 1 teas cider vinegar (mimicks Buttermilk)

Blend wet ingredients with dry. Cook on a griddle med-low heat with grapeseed oil.
Wait until edges look brown before flipping.

Serve with blueberry and strawberry compote, pear and vanilla bean compote , maple syrup, honey or your favorite preserves

To make compote: Just heat fruit in saucepan with 1-2 Tbsp sugar until bubbly and thickened~

Tuscan Bean and Kale Soup

Another soup! Yes, I'm on a soup kick here. It's that time of year I suppose; cold, wet, dank. So what could be better than a nice, easy soup you can whip together in a flash? Enjoy with crusty bread if you are so inclined~

Tuscan White Bean and Kale Soup with Sage

2 cans of white beans (navy or canellini)
6 cups water with a vegetable bullion or vegetable broth
2 bay leaves
4 sage leaves chopped (or rosemary)
2 large garlic cloves or 2 scoops of that already chopped kind
2 Tbsp grapeseed oil (or your choice of oil)
1 onion diced and sauteed in the above mentioned oil
1 T. nutritional yeast (this gives it a little body without using dairy)
1 teas salt and pepper
a bunch of kale, chopped in bite size pieces

Saute the onion in the oil, then add the drained beans. Add water and the spices except nutritional yeast and salt and pepper. Simmer 2 hours if you can so the flavors can mingle~ (I couldn't wait so it's not a big deal if you don't simmer more than a half hour!) Scoop out about a cup of the beans and broth. Blast it in the blender and put back in the pot. This will thicken it up a little. Then add your kale. Simmer again until the kale is wilted a little. Salt and pepper to taste. Tastes even better the next day of course:)

Still cleansifying?

Hello out there!
Since the Joos cleanse I have still been gluten, dairy and meat free. How about you? I'll continue to post yummy recipes that I have made , keeping with the clean food theme. Maybe I'll even post a picture or two. Enjoy~

Curried Butternut Squash Soup (vegan)

1 Butternut Squash, sliced and roasted (400 degree oven for 30 minutes)
1/2 onion diced, sauteed
1 apple, grated, sauteed
2 cups vegetable stock
1 can coconut milk
3 teas . curry
1 tbsp. olive oil
1/4 cup brown sugar (or less, optional)
1 cup soy , rice or almond milk

Saute onions and apples. Roast squash. Put squash in blender with coconut milk. Blend. Add sauteed onions and apples and spices. Blend. Heat in saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in vegetable stock and soy milk. Blend again if need be. Heat and enjoy!

Day 4 ~ Craving Sweets and Bread!!

My computer froze just as I was going to post this last night...Now to see if I can remember what I said....

Day 4 of the Joos Cleanse and I'm craving sweets and bread big time.  I've already decided that I will keep with the gluten free, vegan lifestyle after the cleanse. Why? Well, because I feel awesome! I wasn't a big meat eater anyway so it's not such a big deal. Cheese, on the other hand will be hard:( . Brie and grapes, oh my goodness. And a good red wine. So good. Anyway! Enough of me dreaming of brie....

I found some great websites dedicated to gluten free (GF) cooking (see links below). From experience I recommend that you gather all your ingredients beforehand. Some recipes call for weird things not available in regular grocery stores, like xanthan gum or agar flakes ~ Also, remember that when cooking GF you can't just replace a GF flour and think that it will turn out the right consistency. I made this mistake several times in the past. For instance, I made Chocolate Mint Crinkle cookies (similar to the ones from Panera) with coconut flour (that stuff ain't cheap either!) and it was so dry and crumbly! Turns out, coconut flour is great for baked goods but is very, very, absorbent. It is best to combine it with other GF flours. Who'da thought...


The Gluten Free Goddess blog has a great page of substitutions for eggs and sugar etc. It's amazing what you can replace and still have your food taste great or even better than the stuff with eggs and white sugar~ Me, being the professed chocolate chip cookie addict has yet to find a winning GF, vegan recipe so if you find one ~ Please let me know!


Last night's dinner consisted of Black Bean Chili and a gluten free cornbread that (happily) turned out delicious! After a day of Joos, I really, really wanted some comfort food and this definitely hit the spot.

Here's my recipe for Black Bean Chili (super easy).....use organic ingredients whenever possible

1 can organic Black Beans
1 large can of diced tomato
1 diced green pepper
1 diced onion (small)
1 can diced chilis or chili/tomato (optional)
Chili seasoning (cumin etc)
Sea Salt
Masa flour for thickening (yes! it's GF)
Fake meat (morningstar or TVP) optional (Look at ingredients if concerned about gluten)

Saute diced pepper and onion in grapeseed oil. Add tomato, beans and chilis. Simmer. Add TVP , Simmer. Add spices to taste. Cook at least an hour.

While that's cooking make the Cornbread:
 I wasn't sure if this would come out right but it did. A little like polenta, but super yummy with the chili on top. Total comfort food, too:)

Gluten Free Cornbread (I omitted the sugar and used crushed pineapple instead)


1/4 cup vegetable shortening (Spectrum Organics) or Coconut Oil
*If you like a sweet cornbread add 3 T sugar (Florida Crystals is vegan)
2 Eggs or Ener-G Egg Replacer
1/2 cup milk, soy, rice milk (your choice)
1 cup crushed pineapple or 1/2 cup sour cream, 1/4 cup chilis or 1/2 cup applesauce
 
1/2 cup rice flour
1/2 cup tapioca flour (sometimes called tapioca starch)
2/3 corn flour (make sure it's gluten free, sometimes it's not)
2 teas baking powder
1/2 teas sea salt

Preheat oven 425 degrees. Combine oil with sugar, "eggs" , milk and then add pineapple or what-have-you .
Add flours , baking powder and salt. Should be consistency of cake batter. If too thick, add a little more applesauce or milk.


Grease an 8" pan. Pour batter in. Cook for 20 minutes. Let sit after you take it out of the oven for 15 minutes. The thing with gluten free bread is that it becomes dryer as it cools so be patient!


Enjoy!


Gluten Free Goddess ~ So many recipes!!
Brownies!!! Gluten Free (Totally making these with grain sweetened chocolate chips this weekend!)
Substitutes for Sugar, Eggs, Butter
Baby Cakes Cookbook The cookbook for the New York City vegan, gluten free bakery (Which by the way, you can download for FREE through your local library onto Kindle!!)