Vegan Gluten Free Cupcakes

August 2011 Recipe Swap - Vegan Gluten Free Cupcakes.

I haven't had much time to bake or experiment lately with work, children & a, new course I just started off. When Christianna sent the reminder out about the recipe swap early this week, it sent me scrambling around for any recent examples of gluten free baking.... These cup cakes were made for a friend to take along to her office as she has a colleague with gluten issues unfortunately, I never manged to take any good pictures either... Yay for camera phones!!

Here's the original recipe -

Please check the rest of the talented swappers,  Dennis, Toni, Shumaila, Alex, Lora, Lindsay, Mari, Crissy and Lauren, Pola, Jamie, Claire, Shari, Joy, Monique, Linda, Rachel, Alli, Katy, Emily, Krissy and Jaclyn.

Back to the cupcakes now,

Ingredients

1.5 cups Gluten free Flour Mix + 1.5 teaspoons Baking Soda, sifted at least thrice.
1 cup Raw Sugar
1/3 cup Cocoa Powder, gluten free
(Omit this if making white cuppies. I made half a batch of each.)
1/3 cup Canola Oil
1 teaspoon Vanilla Bean Paste
1 teaspoon Apple Cider Vinegar
1 cup Water

To Make

1. Preheat oven to 175 degrees C.

2. Line a 12 cup cake pan with paper liners.

3. Sift together all the dry ingredients.

4. Mix in the oil, vanilla, vinegar, and water.

5. Whisk together until smooth.

6. Pour into liners filling up to 3/4 mark.

7. Bake for 22 - 25 minutes & check centre is done.

8. Remove from oven and allow to cool for at least 5 - 6 hours before icing.

Vegan Gluten Free Fondant

We need,

910 grams of powdered  White Vegan Sugar (sifted well)
1 Tablespoon Agar Powder
1/2 cup of Glucose Syrup
1/2 teaspoon Natural Vanilla Extract
1 Tablespoon Glycerin
1/4 cup Warm Water

What to do with this:

1. Sift the powdered sugar very well to prevent lumps of hard sugar bits in the fondant.

2. In a heat-safe small bowl, sprinkle the agar powder over the 1/4 cup of warm water to soften & expand for 3- 4 minutes.

3. Either use a double boiler or, put the smaller bowl in a big pot of about a half-inch of water to simmer. Place small bowl with agar over the simmering pot of water to melt over.

4. Turn off the heat and mix the rest of the liquid ingredients & stir till well blended.

5. I used my KitchenAid stand mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment. Add the liquid mix & the warm, melted agar flakes along with approximately 1/2 the sugar.

6. Mix the rest of the sugar slowly a couple of tablespoons or so at a time.

7. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. In a couple of minutes the  mixture gets quite stiff &  is not very sticky.

8. Dust a flat surface with sugar & rub some on your hands too.

9. Knead the fondant with the base of your palm till soft & lump free.

10. Double wrap the fondant with cling film & put into an airtight box. Let this sit for 4 - 6 hours at least before tinting with colour and using.