Bake these sunny, refreshing, sweet little gems for your next get-together, picnic or party. These vegan and gluten-free cupcakes will make your next gathering a hit.
Cake:
3/4 cu. sorghum flour (or brown rice flour if you must)
3/4 cu. potato starch (not potato flour!)
3/4 cu. organic cane sugar
1/4 tsp. sea salt
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. xanthan gum
2 tsp. fresh orange zest
2 tbl. light olive oil or vegetable oil
1 tbl. raw organic agave or honey
1 cu. fresh squeezed orange juice at room temperature (fresh juice gives the batter a fresh, bright taste)
1 tbl. Ener-G Egg Replacer whisked with 1/4 cu. warm water
2 tsp. bourbon vanilla
Icing:
2 cu. organic powdered sugar
1/4 cu. Spectrum Organic Shortening (or organic semi-solid coconut oil)
1 tsp. bourbon vanilla
2-3 tbl.fresh orange juice- as needed (start with less)
Preheat oven to 350ºF. Line a 12-cupcake pan with paper liners.
In a mixing bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients- flours through xanthan gum. Add in the orange zest, oil, agave, orange juice, Egg Replacer and vanilla.
Cake:
Beat on medium speed for 2 minutes minutes until the batter is smooth and fluffy. Make a 'figure eight' motion if the batter climbs the beaters.
Let the batter sit a minute before spooning it into cupcake liners.
Spoon the batter evenly into 12 lined cupcake cups.
Bake in the center of a preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes until golden and firm (they should be slightly tender but too soft). Try not to open the door to peek until the very end of baking time- you don't want to jar the cupcakes and make them deflate. These cupcakes rose quite high, then slowly settled down to a slightly rounded shape at about 20 to 25 minutes.
Remove and cool on a wire rack.
When the cupcakes are completely cooled, frost with vegan Orange Creme Frosting .
Icing:
In a mixing bowl, combine the powdered sugar with the shortening and vanilla. Begin beating. Add in the orange juice a tbl. at a time, beating well after each addition. Don't add too much juice too soon. Go slowly.
Beat on medium high until the frosting is smooth and creamy. If it is too thin, add more sugar; too stiff, add a spoonful of orange juice. You want a medium bodied icing.
Spoon the frosting into a zip-closing plastic sandwich baggie, press out the air and seal tight. Cut a very small hole in one of the bottom corners-- not too big. To frost, place the cut tip over the cupcake, near an outer edge, and squeeze the bag of frosting, gripping it tightly and moving in a circular motion, spiraling in toward the center, until the swirl of icing covers the cupcake.
Top with a few pieces of orange zest or try a sprinkle of flaked coconut, finely chopped pecans or walnuts.
Place in a freezable container to chill or freeze. Once frozen, you can wrap each cupcake individually for single treats, if you like. Remove wrapping before thawing. To keep the icing intact.
Yield: Serves 12