Babycakes' Hostess Cupcakes

It's been three days, and I'm still in shock that my little brother has graduated from high school. I honestly didn't think he would! He is a connoisseur for being late, not caring about his grades, and acting like a goon. But he did it, and I'm so happy!  

After Joey's graduation, we went to a lovely little inn with awesome food. The chef made me a gluten-free and vegan entree as well as a little baby cake! Everything seemed wonderful and it was really nice to see all of my family. 

My cake :]

Afterwards, Joey's closest friend Patrick had a party. Our family is very close with theirs, and Patrick's mother asked me to make cupcakes! I was so happy! Of COURSE I would, although I really don't enjoy cupcakes, I do love to bake and that is all that matters! Bill and Iggy were my taste-testers, and we went through so much before I could even bake. Bill was afraid that I should not do gluten-free and vegan cupcakes since I hardly ever bake cupcakes and wouldn't know how they would turn out, but I did it anyway. I didn't try to make my own recipe, though, I adapted my recipe from the people who know their shit, The Babycakes Girls! Patrick loves chocolate, so I made Babycakes' Hostess Cupcakes with my own icing. I made the icing green and yellow for our school colors!

Hostess Babycakes

makes 24

• 1 cup brown rice flour
• 1 cup garbanzo-fava bean flour
• 1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2 cup potato starch
• 1/4 cup arrowroot
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoon xanthan gum
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 cup coconut oil
• 1 1/2 cups agave nectar
• 1 cup applesauce
• 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup hot water
• Vanilla Icing Recipe

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Line 2 standard 12-cup muffin tins. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flours, cocoa powder, potato starch, arrowroot, baking powder, baking soda, xanthan gum, and salt. Add the oil, agave nectar, applesauce, and vanilla to the dry ingredients. Stir until you have a thick batter. Pour in the hot water and continue mixing until the batter is smooth.

Pour 1/3 cup batter into each prepared cup, almost filling it. Bake the cupcakes on the center rack for 24 minutes, rotating the tins 180 degrees after 14 minutes. The finished cupcakes will bounce back when pressure is applied gently to the center, and a toothpick inserted in the center will come out clean.

Let the cupcakes stand in the tins for 20 minutes, then transfer them to a wire rack and cool completely. 

Vanilla Buttercream Frosting

yields 4 cups

• 1 cup soft vegan margarine
• 1 lb powdered sugar
• 2 tsp gf vanilla extract
• 3 Tbsp of almond milk

Cream all together until creamy (lolz). For natural food coloring, use chlorophyll liquid for green (at your local health food store) and turmeric powder for the yellow hue (found in any spice aisle!)

Bon appetit!