Fall Football Series: Gluten Free Vanilla Cupcakes with Buttercream Frosting

Baking is my favorite. I absolutely LOVE to bake. It is a huge stress reliever for me. It also is something fun to do with Gabe. He enjoys dumping all of the ingredients into the mixer and counting how many things we need to put into the recipe! He also loves to peek through the oven door to make sure everything is going okay. I also adore decorating cupcakes and cakes. It's become a passion of mine. Cupcakes (and buttercream frosting) are totally my weakness. I wanted to make a healthier version of the cupcake so when we treated ourselves we could really love up on that buttercream. (I was not about to sacrifice that frosting.) So to round out this Fall Football Series, I have our dessert: Gluten Free Vanilla Cupcakes with Buttercream Frosting

Cupcake Ingredients

• 1 Cup Almond Flour 
• 1/2 Cup Coconut Flour 
• 2 tsp Baking Powder (gluten free) 
• 1/4 tsp Sea Salt 
• 1/2 Cup Unsalted Butter 
• 3/4 Cup Coconut Sugar
• 4 Large Eggs 
• 1/4 Cup Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Milk
• 1 tsp Pure Vanilla Extract

Frosting Ingredients 

• 1 Cup (2 sticks) of Unsalted Butter
• Powdered Sugar (see instructions for amounts) 
• Splash of Almond Milk 
• 1 tsp Pure Vanilla Extract
• 1 tsp Pure Almond Extract 

I'm going to take you step-by-step exactly how I make these cupcakes. Let's jump right in!

Instructions (Cupcakes)

• Preheat oven to 350°F
• Place cupcake liners into you baking pan. Set aside. 
• Combine almond flour, coconut flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl; mix well. set aside. 
• Cream together 1/2 cup unsalted butter and coconut sugar in a mixing bowl; beat on medium speed for approximately 1 minute. 
• Add eggs one at a time; beat until well blended 
• Add 1/4 cup almond milk and extract; beat until blended
  The mixture will look watery--do not worry! 
• Add almond flour mixture to butter mixture slowly; beat until creamy; scraping the sides of the mixing bowl as needed.
• Spoon batter into prepared cupcake pan; filling liners about 3/4 full.  
• The batter is a bit sticky. Spoon it into the cupcake liners and gently smooth the tops as best as you can 
• Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. 
• After 5 minutes transfer to cool on a baking rack. 

The tops of the cupcakes come out a bit bumpy, but, that's okay because, well... FROSTING! Which is my favorite part. It's definitely a treat, so I make sure to enjoy every second of it.

Instructions (Frosting)

• Cream Butter in mixer until very smooth. 
• Add Powdered Sugar 1/2 cup at a time, blending each 1/2 cup into the creamed butter until smooth. 
• After about 1 1/2 cups of powdered sugar, add in almond and vanilla extract, mix in. 

• Continue adding powdered sugar (We normally do 3-3 1/2 cups) to taste. 
• Add in a splash of almond milk (about 1 Tbsp) and blend. 
• Now you're ready to frost! I love using piping bags and piping tips, but you can spread it on with a knife too. Enjoy!!
  
  
  
  
  If you enjoy these cupcakes, please let me know! I love hearing from those who are reading the blog!