February 11, 2011

Want to make something cute for Valentine's Day? Short on time? I've got the cupcakes for you! (And they come complete with corny names!) To get started you'll need:

Favorite vanilla cupcake recipe or mix

Paper cupcake liners (For fun, I used red.)

Red and pink food color

Red and Pink Sprinkles (Jimmies)

Parchment paper (if making the "Sprinkle Heart" cupcakes)

Icing, homemade or gluten-free canned

Remember "Funfetti"? The sprinkle-studded cake mix that Pillsbury sells? My memories of Funfetti include disappointment. The mix was introduced when I was a kid--and completely susceptible to advertising. I don't remember the exact ad but, like most ads of the late 1980s and early 1990s, I'm sure it promised something bordering on magic.

The ads hooked me and soon I wanted to make a Funfetti cake. I decided that Funfetti was THE BEST CAKE EVER! And surely the most fun to make! I mean, "fun" was included right in the name! . . . keep reading

This is one of those stories that starts out, "A friend of a friend needed...". So if you are just here for the chocolate cupcake recipe, by all means scroll down. If, however, you want to hear how I managed to volunteer to make several dozen cupcakes for a friend of a friend's wedding. Well, this is for you! . . . keep reading

I wasn't sure what to make for my mother's birthday. The problem was solved for me when she said, "I want a chocolate cake." Since I know she loves (loves!) peanut butter, I iced her birthday cake with peanut butter icing. It was a hit! (If you have a peanut allergy, use traditional buttercream on the cake. It will be delicious!) . . . keep reading

How great is "The Pioneer Woman?" She is a power-blogger, cook and amazing photographer. When her book first came out, I converted her recipe for chocolate sheet cake. Well, a member contacted me about converting Ree Drummond's "Aunt Iny's . . . keep reading

Valentine's Day is almost here. Just for fun, I created a JUMBO chocolate muffin that is studded with chocolate chips and dried fruit. With a hint of vanilla and cinnamon, this muffin is perfect for anyone you love. (Did you know that some studies suggest men associate . . . keep reading

For years, I have been meaning to make a caramel cake. Recently, while reading Maya Angelou's cookbook, "Hallelujah! The Welcome Table", I finally decided to head into the kitchen to bake one.

Ms. Angelou's book opens with a recipe for caramel cake. And while the recipe looked delicious, it wasn't exactly what I wanted. Her cake had a buttercream icing and I wanted a cake with a caramel sauce icing. I did notice that her recipe used caramel sauce in the cake batter. Now I liked the sound of that!

I dug out my recipe for caramel sauce and went to work. My caramel sauce is really rich and, for caramel sauce, fairly easy to make. Since the sauce needs to be made and cooled, I found it was easiest to make the sauce the night before you wanted to bake the cake. Hence the name, "Weekend Caramel Cake." You can make . . . keep reading

Like most of the internet, I fell in love with Ree Drummond, aka "The Pioneer Woman," several years ago. Anyway, two years ago she posted a recipe for "The Best Chocolate Sheet Cake. Ever." At the time, I wanted to make the recipe gluten-free. Somehow life intervened and I never got around to doing it. Well, I finally adapted the recipe. It is delicious!

You must try this cake. Not only is it totally moist but it is super easy to make! . . . keep reading

The holidays are coming! I've been working on wonderful new recipes that you can share with your gluten-eating family and friends that will make them swoon. I've decided to kick off my holiday recipes with this Buttermilk Lemon Loaf.

This recipe looks really humble. Butter, eggs, buttermilk and vanilla extract. Nothing exciting, right? Well, as you know, sometimes the best baked goods start with basic ingredients. This cake is no exception. I really don't know where to begin when talking about this cake. I'm totally smitten with it.

Let's first talk about the texture. It is dense and damp, like the best version of a pound cake you've ever had. After your tongue rejoices over the texture, the flavor hits you. Buttery and tangy all at the same time. This cake begs you to take another bite and then another and another.

The recipe makes two loaves. So you can pop one into the freezer for those times when holiday guests just happen to show up. . . . keep reading

Occasionally a recipe wildly exceeds my expectations. This Lemon Chiffon cake is one of those recipes. Chiffon cakes, if you've never tried one, are a cousin to angel food cakes. (Unlike Angel food cakes, Chiffon cakes use egg yolks along with whipped egg whites.) A good chiffon cake should moist and ethereally tender.

This recipe, if I do say so myself, is all of those things and more. It produces a cake that is fair better than any gluten-filled chiffon cake I've ever eaten. The cake is so wonderfully tender and flavorful! My husband said, "It is as light as a cloud." To which I replied, "I don't think clouds are this light. It is lighter than a cloud."

When one starts comparing a recipe to clouds, you know they are in love. . . . keep reading

As I've mentioned before, my baking is inspired by many different things. This recipe was inspired by my desire to create a small batch recipe for cupcakes. I realize that cupcake recipes that yield 24 cupcakes might be too large for some members.

And I didn't want to stop there. Sure a small batch is fine but, remember, I wrote the book on Easy Gluten-Free Baking (bad pun. sorry!). So not only did I want the recipe to be small; I wanted it to be easy. And it doesn't get much easier than this recipe. "How easy is it Elizabeth?" I hear you asking. This recipe is so easy that it doesn't even require an eclectic mixer. That's right! You can dump all the ingredients into a bowl and mix them together with a wooden spoon.

Now I don't want you to think these cupcakes are only for folks, like me, who don't have big families. These cupcakes are for everyone who loves cupcakes. They are delicate with a fantastic vanilla flavor.

And if you have a big family, you can always double the recipe!

By the way, my husband loves these cupcakes iced with chocolate icing. What icing do you like on vanilla cupcakes? Let's talk about it in the discussion forum. . . . keep reading

It might seem odd that I am posting a recipe for Brown Sugar Maple Cupcake Bites in March. Many people associate the flavor of maple with fall. Not me. Maple is one of those flavors that I love all year long. In fact, I find myself thinking about maple in the spring more than any other season.

As I drive around my community, I see lots of Sugar Maple Trees with plastic tubes and buckets attached to their bases. Why? People are collecting sap! It is a wonderful sign of spring. While I have never collected sap myself, my husband and I had a chance to see sap running the other day. During a walk, we heard "drip, drip, drip." Now it hadn't rained for days. As the sound grew louder we both spied a tree dripping sap from a broken limb. (Sadly we had a terrible ice storm this year that destroyed lots of beautiful trees.)

After that walk, the thought of maple was fresh in my mind. It is amazing to me how clear sap becomes wonderfully sticky, fragrant syrup. I decided that I wanted to create a recipe to honor this time of the year.

I headed into the kitchen and made delightful brown sugar cupcake bites with a maple brown sugar glaze. The cake is so tender; it almost melts in your mouth. I'll admit these cupcakes don't pack a huge maple punch. More like a whisper of maple. I guess this is like the fresh sap that runs in March , not yet full bodied but just enough to delightfully carry you along. . . . keep reading

I thought it was time that gluten-free eaters got in on the fun! So, for the next week, I am celebrating "Cupcake Days" at GlutenFreeBaking.com. I'll be bringing you new, easy and delicious gluten-free cupcakes.

I'm kicking off "Cupcake Days" with a light spring-themed cupcake: Lemon Cupcakes with Lime Icing. The cupcakes are really easy to make. Simply whisk together the dry ingredients, add the wet ingredients and, boom, you've got a cupcake!

The icing is a nice change of pace from plain vanilla buttercream. I've used lime flavoring (you can use lime juice if you have it on hand) to create a "sweet tart" icing. Just for fun, I added a few drops of green food coloring. Of course, you don't have to do this! Either way, these cupcakes will look and taste delicious!

. . . keep reading