These cupcakes use a baking soda and vinegar reaction to get rise that makes a really stinky batter, but creates a perfectly textured cupcake. (Oh, and the stink goes away, too.) I’d be quite pleased with this texture in a non-gf baked good! My mother wasn’t even sure if she liked red velvet before this, but the answer turns out to be a resounding Yes!

Ingredients:

• 1 3/4 cup all-purpose gluten-free flour (I used Bob’s)
• 1 teaspoon xanthan gum (omit if your blend already contains it)
• 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 cup sugar
• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 2 extra-large eggs, at room temperature, lightly beaten (I used regular large eggs with no problem)
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon cider vinegar
• red gel food coloring to desired color
• scant 1 cup milk, not skim, at room temperature

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees and line a muffin tin with papers.

Whisk together the flour, xanthan gum, salt, baking soda, cocoa powder, and sugar.

Add the butter, eggs, vanilla, vinegar, and a bit of food coloring. Because I was doing this by hand, not with a mixer, I cut the butter up quite small before I added the rest of the things to make sure it was getting mixed pretty well. It’s fine if the batter is still a bit lumpy.

Just getting started.

Stir in the milk, then add more food coloring until you reach a shade you like.

Divide evenly in the muffin tin, then bake 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of one comes out clean.

Carefully pry the cupcakes out of the pan to cool completely on a wire rack before frosting.

You’re kind of on your own for frosting, but most frostings I can think of are gluten free, and the internet has tons of frosting recipes! I made a cream cheese frosting but didn’t do any measuring as I worked, just threw the extra 2 tablespoons of butter (from the stick I got the 6 tablespoons in the batter from), some vanilla, and a big blob of cream cheese (6 ounces? No idea, I got it out of two different containers.) in the mixer and started beating in (1 1/2? 2?) cups of powdered sugar until I got a consistency I liked. Scientific!

Delightfully fluffy!

Gluten-Free Red Velvet Cupcakes

From Gluten-Free on a Shoestring.

• 1 3/4 cup all-purpose gluten-free flour
• 1 teaspoon xanthan gum (omit if your blend already contains it)
• 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 cup sugar
• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 2 extra-large eggs, at room temperature, lightly beaten
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon cider vinegar
• red gel food coloring to desired color
• scant 1 cup milk, not skim, at room temperature

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees and line a muffin tin with papers.

Whisk together the flour, xanthan gum, salt, baking soda, cocoa powder, and sugar. Add the butter, eggs, vanilla, vinegar, and a bit of food coloring. The batter will be a bit lumpy. Stir in the milk, then add more food coloring until you reach a shade you like.

Divide evenly in the muffin tin, then bake 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of one comes out clean. Carefully remove the cupcakes from the pan to cool completely on a wire rack before frosting.