Gluten Free Pumpkin Cupcake Recipe

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A few years ago I decided to try offering some gluten free cupcakes at the farmers markets for those who have a gluten allergy. I bought a great book called The Allergen-Free Baker’s Handbook to use as a starting point. What I love about the book is that the recipes aren’t just gluten-free but are also dairy, egg and nut free, so I have all the bases covered. Just about every recipe I’ve made out of that book has been a success so I highly recommend it to anyone looking for a gluten/allergy free baking book.

Once I was comfortable baking gluten-free recipes I started to get creative and develop some of my own. This gluten free pumpkin cupcake recipe is the first I’ve created, plus it’s also egg and dairy free. I know Thanksgiving is over, but I still wanted to share the recipe (at the bottom of the post) with everyone. If you have any left over canned pumpkin it’s a great way to use it!

The recipe comes together much like a traditional butter cake recipe. You start out by gathering all of your dry ingredients…

As you measure them out sift them into a bowl and whisk well to combine. Next gather all of your wet ingredients…

Combine the non-dairy milk (I often use rice milk in case someone has a soy or nut allergy), pumpkin puree and apple cider vinegar together. Now we get to mixing!

In the bowl of a stand mixer beat the shortening with a paddle attachment. I like to use Spectrum organic shortening since it is made without any chemicals. Add the brown sugar and vanilla and mix some more. It’s always good to scrape down the sides of the bowl before adding any new ingredients.

Next mix the egg replacer powder with some more rice milk, add to the bowl and mix. You can use a commercial brand egg replacer, like Ener-G, or make your own (see my egg replacer recipe)

Finally add the dry ingredients alternating with the pumpkin/milk mixture in about 3-4 batches. Mix for about 30 seconds after each addition. Remember to scrape down the sides of the bowl in between each addition.

Scoop the batter into lined cupcake/muffing pans. You may want to overfill them since the batter is pretty thick. I usually use a 1/4 cup of batter per cupcake, but these tend to come out a little on the short side so going up to 1/3 cup is probably best. Bake @ 350F for about 18-20 minutes.

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Gluten Free Pumpkin Cupcake Recipe

Prep Time 30 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes

Total Time 50 minutes

Servings 26

Author Jennifer Rao - Around the World in 80 Cakes

Ingredients

• 3 cups (14 oz) Gluten-free flour mix (see notes)
• ¾ teas xanthan gum
• 1½ teas baking powder
• 1½ teas baking soda
• 1 teas salt
• 1 teas ground cinnamon
• ½ teas ground nutmeg
• ¼ teas ground ginger
• 1 15-oz can pumpkin
• ¾ cup dairy free milk I use rice milk
• 2 teas apple cider vinegar
• 10 ½ Tbsp (5.25 oz) organic shortening
• 1½ cups (11 oz) lightly packed brown sugar
• 1 teas pure vanilla extract
• 4½ teas egg replacer (see notes)
• 6 Tbsp dairy free milk to mix with egg replacer

Instructions

1. Set the rack to the middle of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Line 2½ cupcake pans with liners for a total of 30 cupcakes.
2. To make the batter Sift the gluten-free flour, xanthan gum, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and spices into a bowl. Whisk well to combine and set aside. In a separate bowl mix together the pumpkin, milk, and cider vinegar and set aside.
3. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment beat the shortening for 2 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add the brown sugar and vanilla. Mix for about 30 seconds. Whisk together the egg replacer and 6 Tablespoons of rice milk until there are no lumps, then add to the batter. Mix for another 1-2 minutes.
4. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the dry ingredients alternating with the pumpkin mixture in three batches. Scrape down the sides of the bowl in between each addition.
5. Spoon about ¼ cup of batter into each cupcake paper. Bake for 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool in the pans for 10 minutes before moving onto a cooling rack. Top these cupcakes with your favorite frosting or leave them plain.

Recipe Notes

Notes: You can use your favorite egg replace, or use my recipe for egg replacer.

Gluten-Free Flour Mix (from The Allergen-Free Baker's Handbook)

• 4 cups (18.5 ounces) brown rice flour
• 1⅓ cups (7 ounces) potato starch
• ⅔ cups (2.7 ounces) tapioca starch

Measure out the ingredients by spooning into a cup. For best results weigh out the ingredients. Combine all ingredients in a container or a zipper top bag and mix well. The recipe can be doubled, tripled etc.