I have a bad habit, and that bad habit is baking. Where so many people open a pint of ice cream or pour a glass of wine to unwind, I find a comfort in pulling flours from the cabinet, fitting a mixer with the paddle & bowl and whipping up a batch of something warm and soft. I have always known exactly where I got it. My mother. I went home for Easter this weekend and my mom made quite a spread. She wouldn’t let me cook at all (she says I am a messy cook, I say I was a messy cook when I was a kid) but, she made these fantastic cupcakes. She even said I could share her recipe.
| Raspberry Surprise |
|
- 3 cups Gluten-Free Multi-Purpose Flour Blend
- 2 teaspoon xanthan gum (if not already in your blend)
- 1 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 1/2 sticks butter, softened
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoon gluten-free raspberry liqueur
- 3 teaspoons baking powder
- 4 large eggs
- 1 cup milk, at room temperature
- Raspberry jam for filling (about 1 teaspoon per cupcake)
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Using an electric mixer beat together the sugar, butter, salt, liqueur and baking powder till smooth. Add 1 egg, and beat for several minutes, until fluffy.
- Add the remaining eggs, one at a time, scraping between each egg.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour and xantham gum (if needed).
- In the bowl of the mixer, beat in the milk alternately with the dry ingredients, adding about 1/3 of each at a time, and ending with the dry ingredients.
- Measure batter into prepared cupcake pan. Bake for 18-25 minutes, and a cake tester inserted into the middle comes out clean.
- Remove from the oven, and cool for 5 to 10 minutes before turning out of the pan to cool on a rack.
- Once the cupcakes are cooled, use a pastry bag fitted with a filling tip, squeeze a teaspoon of jam into each cupcake.
- Frost with raspberry cream cheese frosting.
Mom frosted them with a cream cheese frosting (here is a similar one from King Arthur Flour). This time she replaced the vanilla and some of the milk with the raspberry liqueur, adjusting liquids and sugar as she went until she got the consistency that she wanted. The liqueur added a hint of raspberry flavor and a pink tint. The butter in this recipe keeps the frosting from the full amount of tang you get with normal cream cheese frosting.