Thursday, November 3, 2011

Yellow Cupcakes with Vanilla or Chocolate Buttercream Frosting (grain-free : GAPS-legal : gluten-free)

Looking for a recipe for a special birthday or party? Try these yellow cupcakes!  They are moist, decadent, and no one even needs to know that they are grain-free.  The buttercream frosting is so delicious and buttery, much better than any store-bought frosting.  These cupcakes are not overly-sweet, so be sure to add plenty of frosting. 

Yellow Cupcakes with Buttercream Frosting
Makes 12 cupcakes
  1. Melt butter in a small saucepan over low heat. Turn off heat and allow to cool slightly.
  2. Meanwhile, combine the eggs, salt, vanilla extract, and almond extract in a large bowl.  If using an immersion blender, pulse a few times to combine. Otherwise, mix to combine with a whisk or mixer.
  3. Add the honey to the butter and stir slightly.  Pour this mixture into the wet ingredients and blend well with immersion blender or mixer.
  4. Measure out the coconut flour.  Since coconut flour clumps, it will need to be sifted if you are not using an immersion blender*
  5. Pour the coconut flour into the bowl with the wet ingredients.  Use an immersion blender or mixer to thoroughly combine all ingredients, making sure there are no lumps.  (Since coconut flour does not contain gluten, there is no worry of over-mixing it).
  6. Line a muffin tin with paper cups.  Scoop the batter into the paper cups.  I like to use a 3-Tb scoop for this, but you could just use a large spoon.
  7. Bake cupcakes in 325 degree oven for about 20-30 minutes, until cupcakes are set and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. 
  8. Remove from oven and cool completely before frosting.  
  9. Frost with vanilla or chocolate buttercream frosting (recipe follows).
*Time-saving tip: If you use an immersion blender to combine the ingredients, you can skip the step of sifting the coconut flour.  This also gives you less dirty dishes!

Vanilla or Chocolate Buttercream Frosting

  1. Break eggs into the bowl of a stand mixer.  Add the vanilla extract and salt. Using the whisk attachment, mix on low-medium speed for a few minutes, until the eggs are light and fluffy.
  2. In the meantime, put the honey in a small saucepan over low heat.  Bring to a boil. 
  3. With the stand mixer running, pour the hot honey into the eggs a little at a time. Turn up the speed to medium-high and whip for 5-7 minutes, until it is thick, light, and cool.
  4. While the eggs and honey are being mixed, put the butter into another bowl and cream with a hand mixer until it is light and fluffy.  
  5. Beat the honey mixture into the butter until well-mixed.  About halfway through mixing, the frosting may appear to curdle; just keep beating it and it will smooth out.
  6. With the mixer running, add the optional cocoa powder one tablespoon at a time.  Mix thoroughly.
  7. Using a spatula or butter knife, spread the frosting over the cupcakes.
  8. Store leftover icing in the fridge, or freeze it! (If you freeze it, let it thaw for a day in the fridge and then re-whip it before you use it.)
**I think this recipe is probably pretty particular about how it needs to be put together.  If you try this another way, let me know how it turns out!

This post is part of Pennywise Platter, Real Food Wednesday, Fat Tuesday, Monday Mania, Fight Back Friday and Pennywise Platter!

52 comments:

Laura said...

These look so good :)

Amanda T. said...

You post some of the BEST GAPS recipes. My family seriously eats better because of the work you do! And you make my life easier. So, thank you!

Sarah Smith said...

Wow, thank you Amanda!

Meagan said...

I never thought about using honey in place of sugar in a buttercream. Thanks for the idea!

Anonymous said...

This looks so good! I am a new follower from http://raisingdieter.blogspot.com.html

Anonymous said...

alright, just made this Buttercream frosting to put on top of my grain-free pumpkin muffins and I omitted the egg and did not melt my honey and they turned out great. My honey is the raw unfiltered spreadable kind, so not sure how that made a difference or if regular clear honey would perform the same. Just wanted you to know you dont need the eggs or melted honey....

Sarah Smith said...

Thanks for letting me know about the frosting!

Jo said...

My son (10) made these the other night and they were yummy! They didn't last long.

Sarah Smith said...

Great, Jo! Wow, that will be nice when my kids are old enough to make cupcakes!

Juliet said...

I just put a batch of these in the oven. The batter tasted too sweet to me (I can't believe I just typed that haha; I'm a former sugar junky), so I might cut the honey down and add an egg or something next time around.

I'm excited about these! I've been on GAPS for 3 months now and have been avoiding the bread part due to lack of interest and a failed recipe. Thank you so much for this recipe and bringing some variety into my diet :)

Anonymous said...

You made my daughter's birthday happy. Thank you for all the work you've done on this site. Your recipes are so delicious.

Sarah Smith said...

Oh, that is great! Thanks for letting me know!

Anonymous said...

I made these this weekend as our 1st baked goods and father's day treat. Soooooo yummy! Thanks so much.
Also, wanted to ask. Could i freeze the cupcakes and icing? Seems like something that would work out great when there are last minute b-day parties at school. (sometimes the teacher tells me the day before...and I don't have time to get to the store to buy all the ingrediants...or have the time to make them).
Thanks so much!

Sarah Smith said...

Great! Yes, these should freeze fine. If was going to serve them to people outside the family, I'd probably freeze them un-frosted, and then apply the frosting freshly before taking them to the event. I have frozen them with frosting on, and they taste fine, but don't look quite as pretty.

Sara Johnson said...

Hi, I'm looking to make my son's birthday cake. Can I use this recipe in two round 8 inch cake pans?
Thanks!

Sarah Smith said...

I don't think the quantity is quite right for making a two-layer cake, as I think there would be not quite enough batter. You could try it, but they layers would probably be pretty skinny. The amounts would probably be about right if you added 50% more ingredients. If it helps, I also have this recipe for a 2-layer cake:
http://nourishedandnurtured.blogspot.com/2012/03/strawberry-chocolate-layer-cake-gaps.html

Zack and Sarah said...

Do you think I could uses maple syrup in the frosting instead of the honey?

Sarah Smith said...

Yes! I'd try a bit less with syrup than honey.

Monique said...

salted or unsalted butter?

Sarah Smith said...

Salted.

Anonymous said...

Oh, my gosh. These are the best cupcakes I have ever had! Thank you for posting this recipe and making my family a little happier at Valentine's Day:)

Eileen said...

Our family of 8 has been on GAPS for about 18 months now. Some friends told me about these recipes. We use them a lot Thank you for sharing them!

I hope you will click on the link (click on my name) and take a peek at the beautifully decorated birthday cakes my daughter made with these recipes. She cut some sheet cakes in to heart shapes, and made vanilla and chocolate icing, and made a pink icing by boiling down some hibiscus tea...

Sarah Smith said...

Wow Eileen, they are gorgeous!!!

kajoy said...

Made this frosting today and added strawberry powder(freeze dried strawberries ground to powder) to make a pink strawberry flavored frosting. Yum is all I can say! Used it on top of a grain free chocolate cupcake recipe and it was delicious...Thank you! :)

Jacqueline@ Deeprootsathome.com said...

I am really encouraged to see a healthy butter cream icing recipe!! I am going to be bold and ask you to share this recipe ( and others, too, in weeks ahead) on the 'EOA' Wednesday link-up at Deep Roots At Home. THIS is just what I have in mind as far as truly healthy food!! I will be back to you great site :)

Sarah Smith said...

Hi Jacqueline,
I'm glad you like the recipe. Unfortunately, I don't have time anymore to enter my links on bog carnivals with any regularity. I did used to quite a bit, but as my blog has grown I've stopped as so much time is already spent answering comments and emails I get from people. Thanks anyway though!

Jo said...

Hi, do you think you could freeze these unfrosted? Have eggs I need to use up.

Thanks.

Sarah Smith said...

I've never tried freezing them, but I bet it would work just fine!

Sapna said...

I plan on putting these into a flower mold cupcake pan? Should I grease the pan? Any other tips appreciated also? I'm doing a GF and SF birthday party for my daughter! Thank you for this recipe, this will be my new "go to".

Sarah Smith said...

Yes, make sure to grease the pan just in case. Enjoy!

Anonymous said...

I tried the frosting and it separated. :( I think it may be because I used my kitchen aid stand mixer, and there is not enough product in the bowl to properly mix it. Any tips?

Sarah Smith said...

This post has tips for trying to save a broken buttercream frosting:
http://www.thekitchn.com/recipe-rescue-how-to-save-a-br-69323

Anonymous said...

Great frosting the egg makes it not so horribly sweet I love it the whole egg is what makes it so good good thinking

Nicole said...

I used this frosting recipe for my baby's first birthday last year. It turned very firm and didn't allow her to sink her hands into it and mash it all over her face. If you want that experience, a friend of mine later recommended adding some heavy whipping cream to give it some fluff. I plan to try that this year. Do you think some strawberry puree could be added to give some pink color? Or will it ruin the texture or cause separation issues? Thanks.

Sarah Smith said...

I don't think strawberry puree would be a good plan in frosting. If you want a pink color, I would try perhaps boiling some beet and then concentrating the liquid down to add just a teensy bit to the frosting. Actually, you probably do the same with strawberry puree, just try to get it very concentrated so you only need to add a tiny bit for color. If you put in too much liquid, I think the frosting would not set up properly.

Lanae said...

Do you think these would turn out well if I omitted the almond extract? I was going to make them for my son's birthday but one of the guests has a nut allergy.

Sarah Smith said...

Yes, you could leave out the almond extract!

Lanae said...

should I replace it with more vanilla, or just cut it out altogether?

Sarah Smith said...

You could leave it out altogether, or replace it with another flavor you would like such as orange extract or maple extract.

Lanae said...

Thank you

Anonymous said...

Does this icing stand up good to room temperature? I'm getting married and am desperately hunting for a scd paleo icing

Sarah Smith said...

This frosting is fairly soft at room temperature, so I don't think it would work particularly well on a layered, large cake.

Anonymous said...

Could I substitute almond flour for the coconut flour?

Sarah Smith said...

Sorry, this recipe won't translate easily to substituting almond flour, as coconut flour is so very different (and requires many more eggs) than almond flour. I bet there is an almond flour recipe for cupcakes on Elana's Pantry, so you may want to try there.

Lisa said...

Can I make these in advance? I'm thinking of making a 13X9 inch cake with this recipe and keeping it in the refrigerator until Sunday. Any tips or ideas for this? Thank you!

Sarah Smith said...

Lisa, it should work fine to make the cake in advance. I'd wait to make the frosting and frost the cake until the day it will be served.

Lisa said...

Thanks, Sarah. I'm thinking I should double the recipe for the 13 X 9 pan. Any experience with that? thoughts? Thank you.

Sarah Smith said...

Hi Lisa,
I've never tried making this into a layer cake or 13X9. But I did find this conversion that says a 2-layer cake batter will also make one 13X9. So you might try comparing the amounts in this recipe to my 2-layer cake recipe here to see whether doubling it sounds about right:
http://nourishedandnurtured.blogspot.com/2012/03/strawberry-chocolate-layer-cake-gaps.html
I'm guessing it would probably be fine to double it, but of course you will need to adjust the baking time, and it is possible there might be a little too much batter that way. Good luck, and let me know how it turns out!

Unknown said...

I was wondering what the purpose of the eggs were in the frosting and if the eggs get cooked when you add the boiling honey to the mixture? I am on the GAPS diet and have read all about the safety of raw eggs but still feel a bit nervous about it and am wanting to serve these for a young child's birthday party. Also what storage is recommended for the cupcakes and frosting? Is it alright to keep them outside for an afternoon picnic party? Thanks so much I feel like GAPS is so easy with so many people like you sharing wonderful recipes. I feel like I am eating better tasting food than what I was when I was on the "traditional American diet." Just cooking for nongap eating people always makes me nervous.

Sarah Smith said...

Hello Jessica,
One of the other commenters wrote the following:

"I omitted the egg and did not melt my honey and they turned out great. My honey is the raw unfiltered spreadable kind, so not sure how that made a difference or if regular clear honey would perform the same. Just wanted you to know you dont need the eggs or melted honey...."

Since that time, I have also omitted the eggs and not melted the honey, and it has turned out fine!

The only potential issue with keeping them outside for a birthday party is that this frosting is very soft and melts if it gets too warm...

Unknown said...

Thank you for responding so quickly! I did read that comment and actually have made a similar frosting without eggs just trial and error on my own. I just was wondering if the eggs helped it stay firm or made it fluffier... If they improve the taste or consistency I was going to try including them.

Sarah Smith said...

No, the eggs don't improve the consistency. I always leave them out now.