I am happy to introduce gluten free vanilla cupcakes with chocolate frosting and continue on my coconut flour recipe roll. I have been making (and testing) this dessert for close to two years and it is one of my personal favorites. I think it might be a hit with you too based on reports from taste testing friends.
Passover really threw me for a loop. It wasn’t the guests we had visit for the holiday. It was the 100 matzo balls for my son’s third grade seder. That, plus charoset and maror for everyone at the event. My house was overtaken by a cooking frenzy last week; I focused on that and nothing else (except my children).
Now everything has calmed down and I am happily back to this blog! I have been thrilled by the amount of chat in the comments over here. I have also received so many lovely emails from people thanking me for these recipes and all I can say is –you’re welcome! It is wonderful to love what you do and ALSO be appreciated for it. That is the proverbial icing on the cupcake.
Vanilla Cupcakes with Chocolate Frosting
Ingredients
- ½ cup coconut flour, sifted
- ½ teaspoon celtic sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- 6 large eggs
- ½ cup grapeseed oil or palm shortening
- ½ cup agave nectar or honey
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, combine coconut flour, salt and baking soda
- In a small bowl, blend together eggs, grapeseed oil, agave and vanilla
- Mix wet ingredients into dry and blend with a mixer or hand blender until smooth
- Pour batter into well oiled muffin pan
- Bake at 350°F for 20 minutes
- Cool completely
- Top with chocolate frosting
Equipment
My friend Patricia claims she and her son have fought each other over these cupcakes. I hope you like them as much as she does.
Claire Yvonne says
Wow… these sound incredibly amazing. I just found your blog by searching “coconut flour, cupcake, recipe”. I want to make these ASAP so I’ve had to change up the recipe a bit… organic olive oil instead of mentioned grapeseed oil, organic raw cane sugar (interested in trying Grade B maple syrup). Then, in the next couple of days I will use your recipe to the T. The photo of your vanilla cupcake is so precious, very dainty! Can’t wait to explore your site.
Thanks,
Claire Yvonne.
ps… never heard of oiling the muffin tins AND using cupcake liners… is there a reason for this?
Taryn says
Well, I used coconut flour from a bulk bin at my local health food store.
The cupcakes turned out wonderful!
I must say, I was quite intimated by the wet mixture. Lo and behold the coconut flour soaked it up like nobody’s business. I found the mixture to be very reminiscent of a pancake batter, I was relieved to see that the cupcakes bake up beautifully none the less!
In the morning I will take a crack at some frosting.
Elana, you are a gluten-free baking goddess!
Charlotte says
I’ve been noticing lately that my coconut flour based products turn green and have a really odd smell. I’m suspecting baking soda is the problem. Does anyone else have this issue?
brigitte says
my batch had the same result! prior to baking these, i had come across another gluten-free recipe blog mentioning the odd smell when baking coconut flour bread, so i wasn’t too alarmed.
i was using trader joe’s brand baking soda, could that be the cause? i had suspected it was large amount of eggs in the recipe, the cupcakes had an almost frittata-like quality to them. i’m wondering if there’s another ingredient to use as a moistener/binder in coconut flour recipes, the egg flavor strikes me as overwhelming, and i’m concerned about the high cholesterol. perhaps egg whites, flax, chia gel, or gelatin?
would love to hear if anyone has had success!
best,
brigitte
Lora says
Hi Elana, I have recently been diagnosed with M.S. and my husband has ulcerative colitis so my cooking and baking is undergoing a transformation. I am so glad to have found your site. So far, we LOVE the raw fudge!!! (Had to start somewhere!!!) Just tried the vanilla cupcakes. Kids are eating them up. They are super ‘wet’ and taste quite ‘eggy’ to me. What size of eggs do you use? Will keep trying your recipes. Thanks for such a great webiste!
Lora.
Holly says
Hmmmm, I am noticing that the vanilla cupcakes use six eggs while the chocolate ones use 3 but mostly it’s the same recipe. I was able to use egg replacer for the chocolate but wondering if it has any hopes of working in a recipe for six eggs??? Only one way to find out…
Chenell says
Has anyone tried baking these at high altitude? I am at about 5,000 feet.
I modified it by adding a little more coconut flour and baking it at a little higher temp for less time. They come out OK… just don’t rise as much as the “regular” cupcakes. They still taste great, even though they are a little flat.
Tienne McKenzie says
I baked these for my daughter’s birthday at 5280 ft and didn’t modify one thing; they came out absolutely perfect!
So I got cocky and tried to make it into a 1/2 sheet pan for her party, and unforutnately, they burned on the outside. But I was determined, so I cut off the edges and baked another layer to make up for the lost bits. Tasted lovely!
Lauren B says
Hi Elana,
I took a break from studying, and just put a batch of these in the oven, made with local NC honey. So excited for breakfast tomorrow… :)
Alicia says
Elana,
What am I doing wrong?? I’ve made so many of your recipes and they have all turned out beautifully, yet I have managed to botch this one twice. I’m using coconut flour from digestive wellness and I store it in the fridge. Could it be the brand of coconut flour? They puff waaaay up in the oven–my daughter loves to watch them rise–then deflate from the top AND bottom immediately when I take them out of the oven. They end up little rubbery muffin tops. Any ideas? I’m also wondering if you have a s’mores substitute for your kids? Thanks so much!
elana says
Hi Alicia, I’m with you in guessing that it just might be the brand of coconut flour you’re using in the recipe as I’ve made these more times than I can count without any problem. Let me know how they turn out if you make them again with the Tropical Traditions coconut flour. I’m happy to help :-)
Marian says
Elana – first I wanted to say how sad I was to hear about your diagnosis – and add my prayers that there will be a cure found for MS. I have several friends with this disease.
Second – the wedding cake turned out beautifully and those who ate it said it was delicious. I did post a couple of pictures on the Flickr group site. The bakery filled it with Bavarian cream and fresh strawberries. Yum! I also shared this site with the lady who made the rest of the cake. I love telling people about your recipes!!
elana says
Thanks as always, Marian and I hope the wedding was wonderful!
elana says
Hi Marian, Thanks for all of your comments. Your DIL is so lucky to have you! I haven’t tried this in a cake form, hope you will let me know how it turns out if you do :-)
Marian says
I doubled the recipe for the cupcakes, making 1/2 into cupcakes and the other into a round cake pan. It worked beautifully in the cake pan – but I had trouble getting it out. I had sprayed the pan and coated it with coconut flour – but it stuck pretty badly. I will cut a circle of parchment if I make it in a cake pan again. But the cake/cupcakes were delicous. Thanks again!!
elana says
Marian, although you are new to this website, I want to let you know how much I appreciate your comments. Just as your DIL is lucky to have such a caring MIL, I feel lucky to have such a communicative and adventurous reader who is willing to experiment on their own and then come back to share the results with all of us! You are a gem. I also admire your never ending stream of ideas for improving results. BTW, I think the parchment could be a great solution. Thanks so much :-)
Marian says
Thank you Elana – you’re very kind. I’ve been so excited to find your website because this is exactly the kinds of food I want to feed my family…and they’re loving the results!
I have bought 3 6″ round cake pans for the top of the wedding cake and will take the finished cakes to the bakery to put on top of the cake. I’ll take a picture and let you know how it all turns out! My latest adventure is into the chia tapioca and we LOVE it! Thanks again!!
elana says
Marian, thanks for another lovely comment. Please keep us updated on the wedding! I am so looking forward to hearing all about it and maybe seeing some pictures of the cake in my flickr group :-)