Vanilla Cupcakes (the Babycakes way)

 Hey everybody!  So this past weekend was a friend's birthday and we all went to a local place in Nyack, NY called Casa Del Sol, it's a great restaurant.  It's becoming a favorite of mine, but I think my first favorite is Temptations Cafe in Nyack, NY.  Anyway, it was Michele's birthday and I was going to bake her an apple upside down cake, because I have all these apples, but I didn't give myself enough time to do all the prep work.  So I decided to make her cupcakes instead.  While I was on a gluten-free-vegan diet (it was extremely short lived...lol!) I bought this baking book called Babycakes: Vegan, (Mostly) Gluten-Free, and (Mostly) Sugar-Free Recipes from New York's Most Talked-About Bakery by Erin McKenna.  Babycakes is an actual bakery in NYC which first opened in 2005 in the Lower East Side.  The author is the chef and owner of the bakery and has received the Best Cupcake award in 2006 from New York magazine.  The cookbook is full of gluten-free vegan cookies, muffins, scones, cakes, and cupcakes.  I've only made cookies and cupcakes from the book so far.  I've made the double chocolate chip cookies, chocolate chip cookies, and the red velvet cupcakes with the vanilla frosting.

I've made the red velvet cupcakes this past winter for my friends, and Michele was  impressed (mostly because they didn't have any sugar and they were vegan while still having a good taste), and I think her boyfriend even more impressed (he being a vegetarian and all).  So I decided to make her cupcakes for her birthday, but decided to try out the vanilla ones instead.

One thing the author says in the recipe book is to measure EVERYTHING out in dry cups, no pyrex liquid ones, just dry cups.  You'll get a more accurate amount and better taste to your cupcakes.  

Here's what you'll need (you might have to go to a specialty health food store for a lot of the ingredients):

2 Cups Garbanzo-Fava Bean Flour
1 Cup Potato Starch
1/2 Cup Arrowroot*
1 Tbsp. plus 1 1/2 Teaspoons Baking Powder
1/2 Tsp. Baking Soda
1 Tsp. Xanthan Gum
2 Tsp. Salt
2/3 Cup Coconut Oil
1 1/3 Cups Agave Nectar (light, not dark)
3/4 Cup Unsweetened Homemade Apple Sauce or store bought
3 Tbsp. Pure Vanilla Extract
Grated Zest of 1 Lemon
1 Cup Hot Water

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.  Line two standard 12-cup muffin tins with paper liners.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, potato starch, arrowroot, baking powder, baking soda, xanthan gum, and salt.  Add the oil (make sure it's melted),  agave nectar, applesauce, vanilla, and lemon zest to the dry ingredients and combine.  Stir in the hot water and mix 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 22 minutes, rotating the tins 180 degrees after 15 minutes.

The finished cupcakes will be golden brown and will bounce bake when pressure is applied gently to the center.

Let the cupcakes stand in the tins for 20 minutes, then transfer them to a wire rack and cool completely.  Using a frosting knife, gently spread 1 tablespoon vanilla frosting over each cupcake.  Store the cupcakes in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

Now, what you'll need for the vanilla frosting (once again, measure in dry cups only):

1 1/2 Cups Unsweetened Soy or Rice Milk
3/4 Cup Dry Soy or Rice Milk Powder
1 Tbsp. Coconut Flour
1/4 Cup Agave Nectar (light, not dark)
1 Tbsp. Pure Vanilla Extract
1 1/2 Cups Coconut Oil (melted)
2 Tbsp. Fresh Lemon Juice

In a blender or a food processor, combine the soy milk, soy powder, coconut flour, agave nectar, and vanilla. Blend the ingredients for 2 minutes.  With the machine running, slowly add the oil and lemon juice, alternating between the two until both are fully incorporated.  Pour the mixture into an airtight container and refridgerate for 6 hours or for up to 1 month.

*I used Corn Starch instead because I didn't want to have to send out my husband to get one more item esp. after he had just come back from grocery shopping.  The cupcakes turned out fine with the Corn Starch.

Enjoy!