Milk Chocolate Cupcakes with Chocolate Agave Frosting (Vegan & Gluten-Free)

Welcome to day three of our Gluten-Free Progressive Dinner Party! Today's theme is chocolate! I am sharing a favorite allergy-free cupcake recipe amongst the younger crowd. This chocolate cupcake is light, moist, easy to make, and has a mild chocolate flavor. The great thing about this recipe is the fact that all children love it, gluten-free or not. I also have another fun giveaway for you, read on to find out....

My 5-year old nephew was just in town visiting. I made these cupcakes for a bake sale at my children's school this past weekend. Of course I had to save a few of them! My nephew, who isn't gluten-free, loved them and asked me to send the recipe to his mom (along with a number of other recipes I made)!

Like my Soft Molasses Cookie recipe, I use either Sucanat or Coconut Sugar for the sweetener in these cupcakes. I have tested it with organic cane sugar and the overall flavor lacked the depth that only a dark, rich sugar can give. Sucanat or Coconut Sugar work beautifully. If you haven't yet entered the giveaway for the 2-pound bag of Coconut Sugar, you still have time, go to my last post to enter.

If you are interested in baking gluten-free cakes or cupcakes from a mix then I have just the thing! Authentic Foods has offered 6 Vanilla Bean Cake Mixes for a giveaway here. I love using their superfine flours in baking. You'll see a number of recipes on this blog using their flours and arrowroot powder. To be entered in the giveaway just leave a comment. To be entered twice you can share this on twitter or facebook, just be sure to come back and leave a second comment! The giveawy will remain open until 9pm PST on December 11th. I will choose 6 names using Random Number Generator so please check back to see if you won and then email me with your contact info!

Milk Chocolate Cupcakes

These cupcakes are perfect for a child’s birthday party or a special occasion. They have a simple, mild chocolate flavor and great texture that all children will love, gluten-free or not. I prefer the neutral flavor of grapeseed oil in these cupcakes. Coconut oil works too but will give the cupcakes a slight coconut flavor. Frost with the Chocolate Agave frosting recipe below. You can easily cut the recipe in half to make 9 cupcakes if you don't need all 18. If you are curious about some of the products we use then please visit the Links To Products We Use post for more information and of course the links.

Yield: 18 cupcakes

2 cups sorghum flour
½ cup tapioca flour
½ cup cocoa powder
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon xanthan gum
½ teaspoon sea salt
⅔ cup melted virgin coconut oil or grapeseed oil
1 ⅓ cups Sucanat or coconut sugar
2 cups non-dairy milk (rice milk or almond milk)
4 teaspoons vanilla
1 teaspoon almond flavoring

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line muffin tins with 18 paper muffin cups (I use stone muffin pans).

In a medium-sized bowl whisk together the flours, cocoa powder, baking powder, xanthan gum, baking soda, and sea salt.

In a separate bowl whisk together the oil, sugar, milk, vanilla, and almond flavoring.

Add the wet ingredients to the dry and whisk together until the batter thickens and is very smooth. Batter will be thin at first, don’t worry.

Fill prepared muffin cups about ¾ full. Bake for about 25 minutes. Cool completely on a wire rack before frosting. Source: www.NourishingMeals.com.

Chocolate Agave Frosting

This frosting has the perfect amount of sweetness with a mild chocolate flavor. It is luscious and fluffy, just perfect for frosting your favorite layered cake or cupcakes! For frosting a dozen cupcakes, make a ½ batch of this recipe.

2 cups organic palm shortening
¾ cup cocoa powder
¼ cup arrowroot powder
1 cup agave nectar
4 teaspoons vanilla
1 teaspoon almond flavoring (optional)
.
Place all ingredients into a mixing bowl and beat with an electric until light and fluffy. Spread onto cooled cupcakes. Source: www.NourishingMeals.com.

Notes: Cupcakes can be frozen before adding the frosting.

You might also like my recipe for Vanilla Frosting (vegan, soy-free, sugar-free). It can be colored with a small amount of beet juice to create a lovely pink-colored frosting.

For more holiday dessert recipes, please visit all of the blogs participating in the Gluten-Free Progressive Dinner Party! Each day this week you’ll find new gluten free desserts being “served” by other bloggers. Follow the schedule as you would a map through a neighborhood. Stop by, leave a comment, pass on the information to your friends, and have a wonderful time!

Monday December 7th: Baked Desserts ~ Alison at Sure Foods Living and here at The Whole Life Nutrition Kitchen!

Tuesday December 8th: Frozen or Chilled Desserts ~ Shirley at gfe gluten free easily and Diane at The W.H.O.L.E. Gang!

Wednesday December 9th: Chocolate Desserts ~ Karen at Cook4Seasons and here at The Whole Life Nutrition Kitchen!

Thursday December 10th: No-Bake Desserts ~ Diane at The W.H.O.L.E. Gang!

Friday December 11th Favorite Desserts ~ Melissa at Gluten Free For Good and Jean at Gluten-Free Organics!

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