Elana’s Pantry Gluten-Free Cupcakes – Review and Giveaway!

**This contest is closed. Please scroll to the bottom for the winner.**

Cupcakes! Fabulous, gluten-free, grain-free, yummy-in-the-tummy cupcakes!

Did I get your attention? Good. Because you need to read this post. If you like cupcakes, that is. If you don’t like cupcakes, well… I just can’t help you then. You are a lost cause. Sorry. But it’s the truth. I know it is a trend, and some people don’t like to be one of the lemmings, but come on… Cake in cute papered, individually wrapped portions. Well, that’s if you eat just one. We all know how easy that is to do. Hah!

OK. Now that I have picked myself up off the floor from laughing so hard, let’s get on with it.

My friend, Elana from Elana’s Pantry (you know you love her), has written another fabulous cookbook, all about cupcakes. (You can click here for my review of Elana’s other cookbook, The Gluten-Free Almond Flour Cookbook. Also fabulous.) The cupcake cookbook came out a while ago, but you know, my life all in upheaval and all that jazz. So, I am finally getting around to reviewing it.

So, here is what you are getting in this post:

• My opinion of the cookbook.
• Cute pictures that I took of the cupcakes Max and I made.
• A recipe for Lime Cupcakes from Elana’s book.
• A chance to win your very own copy of Gluten-Free Cupcakes!

Seriously?!?! Can you top that? OK, maybe if I was giving away a copy to everyone, but let’s get real. A girl has to pay her own bills, too, right?

But, everyone does get the recipe for Lime Cupcakes with Vegan Coconut Frosting! Whoo-hoo! These are the ones we are making next. I made the Chocolate Banana Cupcakes because I wanted to use what I had on hand. We ALWAYS have chocolate and bananas. Two very important staples of life, in my opinion.

So, here is my opinion of the cookbook, Gluten-Free Cupcakes: 50 Irresistible Recipes Made with Almond and Coconut Flour, if you haven’t guessed it already. Fabulous! Amazing! Phenomenal! Tasty! Yummy! Uh…and all of those other adjectives. Loved the cupcakes we made and have the book all dog-eared up to make more.

Cute picture of cupcakes with fake bunny pretending to eat them. (I’m not a big frosting person, so my cupcakes are sans frosting.) And another picture of Max helping me make said (delicious) cupcakes.

Gluten-Free Chocolate Banana Cupcakes sans Frosting

Can you see the measuring cup in his hand?

Now, for the recipe that you can make right now. Lime Cupcakes!

Gluten-Free Lime Cupcake

Lime Cupcakes

Makes 10

Sweetness: Medium

• 1/2 cup coconut flour
• 1/2 cup blanched almond flour
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 3 large eggs
• 1/2 cup grapeseed oil
• 1/2 cup agave nectar
• 2 tablespoons firmly packed lime zest, plus more to decorate (about 3 limes)

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line 10 muffin cups with paper liners.
2. In a large bowl, combine the coconut flour, almond flour, salt, and baking soda. In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, grapeseed oil, agave nectar, and 2 tablespoons lime zest. Blend the wet ingredients into the coconut flour mixture with a handheld mixer until thoroughly combined.
3. Scoop 1/4 cup of batter into each prepared muffin cup.
4. Bake for 18 to 22 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out with just a few moist crumbs attached. Let the cupcakes cool in the pan for 1 hour, then frost, sprinkle with the remaining lime zest, and serve.

Vegan Coconut Frosting

Makes 2 cups

Sweetness: Medium

• 1/2 cup coconut milk
• 1/2 cup agave nectar
• 1 tablespoon arrowroot powder
• 1 tablespoon water
• 1 cup coconut oil, melted over very low heat

1. In a medium saucepan, bring the coconut milk and agave nectar to a boil over medium heat. Whisk the ingredients together, then decrease the heat and simmer for 2 to 3 minutes, to reduce just slightly, stirring frequently.
2. In a small bowl, dissolve the arrowroot powder in water, stirring to make a slurry. Increase the heat under the saucepan to medium-high so the mixture is bubbling. Add the arrowroot slurry to the coconut mixture, whisking constantly until the mixture thickens and turns opaque and shiny, about 1 minute. Once the mixture becomes shiny, remove the pan from the heat and gradually blend in the coconut oil with a handheld mixer until well combined.
3. Allow to cool on the counter for 15 minutes. The mixture will not look like frosting yet—don’t worry; this is okay.
4. Chill the frosting in the refrigerator for 1 to 11/2 hours, until the frosting fully solidifies and looks opaque white in color. Remove from the refrigerator and whip with a handheld mixer until thick and fluffy. The frosting will be sticky looking and lumps will dissolve during whipping.
5. Use immediately or store in a glass Mason jar in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Allow the frosting to soften a bit after removing from the refrigerator. Stir with a flexible spatula until spreadable.

Disclaimers -

1. Reprinted with permission from Gluten-Free Cupcakes: 50 Irresistible Recipes Made with Almond and Coconut Flour. Copyright © 2011 by Elana Amsterdam, Celestial Arts, an imprint of Ten Speed Press, a division of the Crown Publishing Group, Berkeley, CA. Photo Credit: Annabelle Breakey (for the Lime Cupcake photo).
2. I received the cookbooks for free to review and giveaway.
3. Opinions, as always, are my own.

And, for the giveaway… (I was going to write coup de grâce, but then I looked up what it really means. Ew. Nope. Not gonna use that phrase again.)

So, here’s the deal. It’s easy. I am giving away a copy of this fantastic book to one you beautiful readers. Just leave a comment below telling me which one of Elana’s recipes on her site, Elana’s Pantry, that you would like to try for yourself. I did it this way before, and I got some great ideas for recipes to try. Thanks!

Of course, there are the usual ways to get extra entries.

~Post about this giveaway on your blog and/or share it on Facebook. Leave a separate comment here saying that you did.

~Tweet about this giveaway using @GlugleGFree and @elanaspantry. Leave a separate comment here saying that you did.

~Subscribe to Glugle Gluten-Free via reader or email (upper right-hand corner of page). Leave a separate comment here saying that you did.

~“Like” Glugle Gluten-Free on Facebook. Leave a comment here saying that you did.

~“Follow” me on Twitter. Leave a separate comment here saying that you did.

~“Friend” me on Facebook. Leave a separate comment here saying that you did.

~“Like” Elana’s Pantry on Facebook. Leave a comment here saying that you did.

~“Follow” Elana on Twitter. Leave a comment here saying that you did.

If you already follow or like, go ahead and leave a comment saying that you already do. That counts.

Until later, here’s to…Living better, easily!^™

PS – If you like this post and want to receive notices whenever a new recipe/review/rambling, etc. goes up, sign up for email updates in the upper right-hand corner of this page.

PPS – The giveaway for the Gluten-Free Almond Flour Cookbook ends June 28th, at 9pm, PST has ended. Congratulations to Hedy! I will emailed the winner, and you will have 48 hours to get back to me. After which, if I have not heard back from you, another winner will be drawn.

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