Recipe: Gluten-free Vanilla Mini-cupcakes

Continuing my adventures in gluten-free baking, here is an adaptation of my great-grandmother’s vanilla cupcake recipe made with white rice flour and almond flour.  The challenge is getting the ratio of white rice flour to almond flour just right for your taste buds.  Almond flour makes the cupcakes lighter in texture, but too much can make them a little too moist in the middle.  This can be balanced out with white rice flour which will make the cake a little more dry and dense.  The flour measurements below are the result of a lot of experimentation and were chosen to strike a balance between the heaviness of the white rice flour and the lighter texture of the almond flour.  However, if on your first try the cupcakes are not moist enough for your taste simply adjust the white rice flour and almond flour measurements to 1 cup each the next time around.  I hope you enjoy!

Ingredients:

1 cup white sugar

¼ cup softened butter or margarine

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

1 ¼ cups white rice flour

¾ cup almond flour

¼ tsp salt

2 tsp baking powder

1 cup milk

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350? F.

2. In a large bowl, cream sugar and butter (or margarine).  Add eggs and vanilla.  Mix well.

3. In a medium bowl mix flours, salt and baking powder.  Add to creamed mixture in large bowl.  Add milk and stir until batter is smooth.

4. Spoon batter into mini-cupcake papers in mini-cupcake pan.  Bake for approx. 16 minutes, or until golden brown on top.

5. Let your cupcakes cool for a couple of minutes, and then enjoy!  Consume within 2 – 3 days of baking or freeze for enjoying later.

* Recipe makes approx. 36 mini-cupcakes

NOTE: to make large cupcakes from the same recipe increase oven temperature to 375? F and bake for approx. 20 minutes.  Recipe yields approx. 16 large cupcakes.

Bon Appetite!!!