Gluten-Free Perfectly Chocolate Cupcakes

Hi Bakers,

This is my favorite chocolate cake in cupcake form. It has the best flavor I've ever tasted and most years I make it for my birthday. The cupcake is sweet and darkly chocolate without any other flavor distractions. The whipped cream and dense fudge frosting all work with the cupcakes to make it the best possible dessert.  I hope you decide to try and share these cupcakes with everyone you love -Carolyn

Gluten-Free Perfectly Chocolate Cupcakes

Recipe modified from The Perfect Chocolate Cake by McCall’s Cooking School

Makes 12 large cupcakes

Cocoa

½ cup Unsweetened Cocoa Powder

¾ cup +2 tablespoons boiling water

Dry

1¼ cups Cup4Cup Multipurpose Flour (preferred) or King Arthur GF Flour blend

⅛ cup blanched almond flour (2 tablespoons)

½ teaspoon Koda Farms Sweet Rice Flour

1 teaspoons baking soda

¼ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon baking powder

Wet

½ cup butter, softened

1¼ cups granulated sugar

2 large eggs

¾ teaspoons vanilla extract

⅛ cup unsweetened applesauce (2 tablespoons)

Cream filling

½ cup heavy whipping cream

2 tablespoons powdered sugar

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Frosting

3 oz semisweet chocolate chips (~½ cup)

¼ cup light cream or milk

½ cup butter

1¼ cups powdered sugar

Mix cocoa with boiling water in a medium-sized bowl and whisk until mixed.

Set aside in the fridge to cool completely.

Preheat the oven to 350F and place the rack in the middle position of the oven. Line the cupcake pan with paper liners.

Mix flours, baking soda, salt, and baking powder in a medium-sized bowl with a whisk. Set aside.

In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until combined. Add eggs, applesauce, and vanilla, and beat at high speed until light and fluffy. Scrape the bowl as needed. Mix in the dry ingredients in fourths alternating with the cocoa mixture. You want to start and end with the flour mixture. The batter will be thick. Scoop batter into cupcake pan ¾ full and smooth the top.

Bake for about 15-17 minutes or until the cupcakes spring back in the center when touched with a finger. Cool on a rack.

Once the cupcakes are completely cool, cut a cone-shaped piece out of the top of each cupcake. Put cupcakes in the refrigerator to make sure they are cold before you fill them with whipped cream.

In a medium-sized bowl, whip heavy cream with powdered sugar and vanilla until stiff. Spoon or pipe whipped cream into the top of the cupcakes and set cupcakes in the freezer while you make the frosting.

Frosting

Melt butter in a microwave-safe bowl. Add chocolate chips and whisk until melted. Add powdered sugar and mix thoroughly. Add cream and beat over a bowl of ice until spreadable consistency. Frost cupcakes and store them in the refrigerator. The frosting will get hard and fudge-like when cold. Enjoy these phenomenal cupcakes!

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