raspberry & rosewater cupcakes
These gluten-free cupcakes are truly indulgent and heavenly! The ground almonds make them deliciously light and moist, and they're covered with a thick, silky rosewater-flavoured frosting.
The mixture is incredibly simple – just a combination of rice flour and ground almonds, along with the dairy-free margarine, sugar, eggs, gluten-free baking powder and xanthan gum. I think you have to be careful when you use ground almonds in baking – that you don't use too much because I find they dominate and leave a slightly sticky taste at the back of your mouth otherwise. Here I've balanced the ground almonds with the same amount of rice flour and then I've added raspberries to the mixture – and these add moistness and texture, as well as a lovely berry taste. And then I've made a rosewater frosting with soya cream cheese. This is the image used on the cover of my new book,
Simply Gluten-Free & Dairy-Free – and I think these cupcakes sum up the book – incredibly simple to make and truly delicious.
gluten-free, dairy-free, yeast-free, citrus-free
Preparation time 15 minutes Cooking time 25 minutes Makes 12
5½ ounces dairy-free margarine, softened
½ cup plus 2 tablespoons fruit sugar or granulated sugar
3 large eggs
heaped ¹⁄₃ cup rice flour
1 teaspoon gluten-free baking powder
scant ½ teaspoon xanthan gum
¾ cup very finely ground blanched almonds
scant 1 cup raspberries, lightly mashed, plus 12 to decorate
Rosewater Frosting:
2 tablespoons dairy-free margarine
5 tablespoons soy cream cheese
1 teaspoon rosewater
½ cup fruit sugar or granulated sugar
1 Preheat the oven to 350°F and arrange 12 paper cupcake cases in a muffin pan. To make the frosting, put the dairy-free margarine, soy cream cheese and rosewater in a mixing bowl and beat, using a whisk or hand-held electric mixer, until smooth. Add the sugar, a little at a time, and beat until light and fluffy. Cover and chill in the fridge 30 minutes.
2 Using an electric mixer, beat the dairy-free margarine and sugar together in a large mixing bowl until light and fluffy. Gradually beat in the eggs, one at a time, until well mixed.
3 Sift the rice flour, gluten-free baking powder and xanthan gum into the mixture. Quickly fold in the ground almonds, using a spoon, then gently fold in the raspberries. Mix well, but take care not to overmix. Divide the mixture evenly between the cupcake cases.
4 Bake 18 to 20 minutes, until golden brown and well risen and a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean. Remove the muffin pan from the oven and turn the cupcake out of the pan, then transfer to a wire rack and leave to cool completely.
5 Spread a little of the frosting over each cupcake, top with a raspberry and serve.
related ingredients: baking powder,
flaxseed oil,
fruit sugar,
olive oil margarine,
rice flour,
xanthum gum
