Vanilla Cupcakes with Creamy Chocolate Buttercream Icing

Last night we were invited to the Hamm’s for dinner.  We had the best time seeing their new place and spending time togther.  They spoiled us rotten with a huge spread of gluten free Chinese food from Pei Wei - so yummy.  We were stuffed to the brim but still made room for cupcakes.   

Here’s a recipe for the vanilla cupcakes and creamy chocolate buttercream icing.

These are the opposite of Ev’s birthday cupcakes and just as easy to make.  The cupcakes are a slight adaptation of Elana's vanilla cupcake and even though I love the chocolate version, these remain my favorite. Elana has a new cupcake cookbook coming out soon and I'm looking forward to adding it to my collection. She has several different and delicious looking variations on her site - check them out!   These cupcakes do use more sugar than I usually like to bake with but all the protein from the eggs and coconut flour seem to balance the sweet out.  We don’t get sugar highs and lows with this combination but they are still a once in a while treat.

Vanilla Cupcakes with Creamy Chocolate Buttercream Icing

For the cupcakes:

Heat oven to 350 degrees

Prepare 2 cupcake pans with 24 paper liners 

1 cup Coconut Flour

½ teaspoon Sea Salt

1 Teaspoon Baking Powder

12 Eggs

1 cup Butter (or grapeseed oil if cs)

1 cup Sugar

1 Tablespoon Vanilla

Combine all ingredients in bowl of Kitchenaid mixer on low speed to combine.  Increase speed to medium high for two minutes.  Pour nearly to the brim into prepared pans and bake at 350 degrees for a approximately 20 minutes.

Creamy Chocolate Buttercream Icing

While your cupcakes are baking start your icing.  In saucepan over very low heat melt:

1 cup Butter

1 11 ounce package Ghirardelli Dark Chocolate chips

In Kitchenaid mixer bowl measure:

2 cups powdered sugar

½ cup So Delicious Vanilla Coconut Milk

When the chocolate butter mixture is just melted pour it over sugar mixture and mix on low speed to combine.  I let it sit and cool while the cupcakes baked and cooled.  The mixture was very dark and glossy. At this point I turned the mixer on to medium speed and let the icing blend until it became fluffy and lighter in color as in the photo.  Three minutes was all it took for me. Once it holds a peak you are ready to ice.

The icings have basically the same ingredients but since this one has been beaten the volume increases and will generously ice the 24 cupcakes with extra icing for gf graham crackers during the week.