Happy Birthday to Joe & a Cupcake Recipe, too!

Today is Joe's 17th birthday. It's inconceivable to me that my "baby" is 17 already and taller than all of us. It seems he was born yesterday.

Joe completed our family.

And fit right in with the crazy that is us.

Crazy!

I love his loving heart for animals that has always been evident.








In fact I love pretty much everything about Joe and thank God for him daily. He's the most patient son on the earth, a loving brother, a caring friend and he loves the Lord with all his heart. 

Today he wanted to hang out with his brother and visit some guitar shops - I think they had a pretty good time. Apparently this bass is "awesome".


Birthday meals?  Nachos and pizza because he is, after all, a teenager.  But this teenager chose nachos for breakfast AND lunch and pizza for dinner.  Pizza with a Godzilla movie, that is. Birthday dessert?  These cupcakes!

They are basically Ev's Cupcakes with a bit of a twist.  They're a little denser - almost like a poundcake. I increased the cocoa a bit and lowered the sugar, too. The cupcakes are glazed with white chocolate chips slightly thinned with coconut oil. 


Joe's cupcakes

Preheat oven to 375 degrees

Line cupcake tin with 12 paper liners

Makes 12 large cupcakes

1/2 cup coconut flour
3/4 cup cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
6 eggs - Jumbo sized
1/2 cup melted butter, cooled
2/3 cup organic cane sugar

1/2 teaspoon ground vanilla bean

Combine all ingredients and beat on low until well combined.  Turn mixer to medium and let it go for about two minutes or until the mixture starts to turn lighter and glossy.  I use a Kitchenaid stand mixer and usually let it mix as I line the cupcake tins or prepare my pans.

Scoop batter evenly into the liners – they will be at least ¾ full.  Bake approximately 25 minutes.  Use a toothpick in the center to test for doneness. Don't over bake or they'll get dry.

Cool before glazing.

To make the glaze, melt over very low heat in a thick bottom pan:

1 cup White Chocolate Chips

2 teaspoons Coconut Oil

Stir frequently and remove from heat as soon as chips are almost completely melted. Cool until slightly thickened and spoon about one teaspoon full onto each cupcake.

And I just have to give you a little peek at this darling Eiffel Tower apron my mom gave me as a birthday gift - is it so cute?? You can find it here if you're so inclined.

Enjoy!

Remembering Grandma Dot & Her Prune Cake

My sweet Grandma Dot was one of the best bakers I've ever met and I miss her so.  All of her different cookie bars were chewy heaven on earth and her Forgotten Meringue cookies were addictive.  Her cakes, though, were her specialty.  Her prune cake with mocha icing was The Cake but something I just wouldn't try as a child.  After all, prune cake doesn’t really sound very appealing to most kids and it sure didn't to me. Perhaps if it had been called it something different I would have tried it sooner and I know I would have loved it instantly.

Grandma loved a strong, hot cup of coffee with a piece of her cake.  My  hubby enjoys coffee as strong as Grandma did and she loved nothing more than putting on a pot of coffee and serving him a large piece of cake.  I loved that even after we moved all the way across the country every time he travelled back to California on business he would stop in and see her. There was always cake and coffee waiting for him.  It made me so homesick knowing they were together but it made me really happy, too. I know she loved those visits.

I found a copy of Grandma's recipe that she had typed up in an old recipe card tin a few weeks ago. I was thrilled.  Earlier this week I calculated revising Grandma's recipe with coconut flour, but then I noticed the Pamela’s Classic Vanilla Cake Mix at the market and realized that would probably be most like Grandma’s version.  What helped me decide to go with it were all the variations listed on the side of the package - it looked very easy to adapt and flexible.

I had originally planned to make a two layer cake like Grandma always did but realized I’d given all my cake pans away when I became gluten intolerant couldn't use them anymore.  So more cupcakes it was! 

Grandma Dot’s (Gluten Free) Prune Cupcakes

Preheat Oven to 325 - line 20 cupcake tins with papers

One Package Pamela’s Classic Vanilla Cake Mix

1/2 cup butter, softened or melted

3 eggs

1 cup prunes (cooked and chopped)

2./3 cup prune juice (liquid from cooking)

2 Tablespoons Cocoa

2 teaspoons total spices (see note)

Place all ingredients in the Kitchenaid bowl and beat on medium for two minutes and then filled 20 cupcake liners nearly full.  The heaviness of the prunes keep the cupcakes from rising too much higher.  Bake until just done - mine took 20 minutes - and let cool.

Now it's time to make the icing.  If you should happen to see this outside your kitchen window you might want to go outside and check things out. Climbing Tree with a sharp saw. Sigh. 

Grandma’s Mocha Icing

½ cup Butter, softened

3 cups  Powdered Sugar

1 Tablespoon Cocoa

4 teaspoons Strong, Hot Coffee 

Place all ingredients in the Kitchenaid bowl and beat on low until just incorporated and then at medium high for about two minutes.

I absolutely loved the familiar smell of the cake baking.  The mocha frosting is so fast and easy.  I think this will be a new tradition every April 29th.

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.

Ev's Gluten Free Coconut Flour Chocolate Cupcakes with White Chocolate Buttercream Icing

Today we celebrated Ev’s third birthday with a lunch time fiesta on the deck. We love having the Feks over for fiestas and it had been too, too long.   A Mexican buffet - or fiesta as we like to call it - is such an easy way to entertain a crowd.  It seems that getting everyone in the same place at the same time gets more and more difficult so I was so thankful to have all of us here – including Marc and Ev’s very favorite person, Marie. =D 

The meal – carnitas tacos, spinach, pepper and onion enchilada casserole, a pot pinto beans, quesadillas, salad, guacamole, salsa and a bowl of chopped cilantro with jalapeños - was filling.  Somehow we saved just enough room for cupcakes.

This cupcake is an adaptation of Elana’s chocolate cupcake from Elana’s Pantry.  I stumbled upon Elana’s stunning website quite some time ago and was thrilled to find it. If you are feeling the least bit deprived by your new gluten free lifestyle; read through her site and get a hold of her cookbook.  She creates truly beautiful and healthy gluten free recipes.  Elana bakes with almond flour and coconut flour – both of which I love – and her recipes are simple and scrumptious.  


Coconut flour is wonderful to bake with.  You use a very small amount compared to traditional flours because it expands so much.  It's full of protein and fiber and gives a wonderful subtle coconut flavor to everything you bake.  I even put a scoop of coconut flour into fresh coconut kefir and fruit smoothies for a nutritional boost and a great texture.  I use Tropical Traditions coconut flour and store it in the freezer.

For Ev’s birthday I wanted a slightly more decadent treat and bigger cupcakes - celebration size!  I chose to use butter for added richness. I also used cane sugar rather than the agave that Elana prefers, increased the cocoa and added a touch of vanilla.  The icing is also decadent – an entire bag of Ghirardelli all natural white chocolate chips is the main ingredient.

Coconut Flour Chocolate Cupcakes with White Chocolate Buttercream Icing

Preheat oven to 375 degrees

Line cupcake tin with 12 paper liners

Makes 12 large cupcakes

1/2 cup coconut flour
2/3 cup cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
6 eggs
1/2 cup melted butter, cooled
1 cup organic cane sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

Combine all ingredients and beat on low until well combined.  Turn mixer to medium and let it go for about two minutes or until the mixture starts to turn lighter and glossy.  I use a Kitchenaid stand mixer and usually let it mix as I line the cupcake tins or prepare my pans.

Scoop batter evenly into the liners – they will be at least ¾ full.  Bake approximately 25 minutes.  Use a toothpick in the center to test for doneness. Cool and ice with:

White Chocolate Buttercream Icing

1 11 ounce package of Ghirardelli White Chocolate Chips

¼ cup So Delicious Vanilla Coconut Milk

1 cup butter

2 cups powdered sugar

In heavy saucepan place white chocolate chips, coconut milk and butter and melt over very low heat stirring so the white chocolate chips do not scorch.  Remove from heat and mix in powdered sugar.  As mixture cools it will thicken to an icing texture. Stir every five minutes or so – mine was ready to spread in about twenty minutes.

The recipe made enough to generously ice one dozen cupcakes with approximately 1 cup of icing left over.  That will make gluten free graham crackers a special treat this week.

One cupcake will give you more than enough energy for a rousing game of "beachy ball".

Our littlest guest.  Too small for cupcakes this time but plenty sweet on her own. 

Have a lovely week.