Double Dark Chocolate Raspberry Namaste Cupcakes (gluten-free, vegan)

Well, you may think I almost forgot about these... Sorry, I have been busy away from baking the past few days. Been busy with the garden and planting. Which is totally worth the break. I even feel like playing in the dirt reminds me a lot of playing in the kitchen. Obviously, mixing up some delectable cupcakes is much different than dirt! But, there is something very life giving to get your hands dirty and create good food, even in the plant form!

So cupcakes... :) Need I say more...oh yeah....

double...dark chocolate...cupcakes...:) with raspberries too...

This is my last Namaste cupcake recipe for a while, and I have enjoyed playing around with their mixes. (Here are two other recent recipe posts using their mixes). Keep up with Namaste's mixes and recipes on their facebook page, HERE. Namaste's mixes are super easy to use and seem to always turn out great. I wanted to make a chocolate chocolate variety with lots of raspberry goodness. So, here is my latest take on a very delicious and tempting cupcake that will have you blushing at it's beauty, and then there's that first bite that will leave you spinning.

Double Dark Chocolate Raspberry Namaste Cupcake Recipe 

(gluten-free, vegan)

1 package Namaste Chocolate Cake Mix

3 chia gel eggs (3 TB of chia seed meal mixed with 9 TB of pure water in separate bowl)

        *or use 3 farm fresh eggs if you prefer*

3/4 cup of melted organic extra virgin coconut oil

1 cup of pure water

a heaping 1/2 cup of fresh raspberry puree

Mix all of the above ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Make sure all is thoroughly mixed and then pour into muffin/cupcake tins. This recipe should make 12-16 cupcakes depending on how high you fill the cups. I recommend about 3/4 way full to get a nice big cupcake.

Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 25 minutes. Let cool completely on cooling rack before frosting. It will be at least 1-2 hours before they are completely cool. Then top with your favorite vegan chocolate frosting a few of mine are listed below...

Vegan Chocolate Frosting Recipe

2 cups of organic powdered sugar

1/3-1/2 cup of Spectrum Organic Palm Oil Shortening

1 ounce of completely melted dark chocolate 

2-3 TB of cocoa powder

splash of 

splash to 1 TB of non-dairy milk if you need it to soften up a touch

Put all of the above ingredients in a bowl and use a electric mixer to whisk up until it turns into a creamy frosting. Then top your cupcakes or use a Wilton Decorating tip and bag to make it extra fancy. 

Then top with some shaved dark chocolate (use a potato peeler on a dark chocolate candy bar) and fresh raspberries. 

Or, here is a refined sugar free frosting recipe I love too...

Honey Chocolate Frosting Recipe

1/3 cup of raw local honey

1/4 cup of extra virgin organic room temperature coconut oil

1/3 cup of Spectrum Organic Palm Oil Shortening

2-3 TB of cocoa powder

splash of pure vanilla extract 

Whisk up the above ingredients until it turns into a thick frosting. This honey frosting is a bit more soft so you may want to keep that in mind if you want a more stiff frosting for decorating. Then follow the same above instructions for topping your cupcakes.

There you have it! A perfect vegan, gluten-free cupcake that will have you lost in love. It is so good and super easy too! BUT, if you are looking for someone to make these sweet little cakes up for you or a special event, please let me know and I will make it happen. Hire me to make your gluten-free party treats great! I would love it!

And, in the meantime I have to get back to the sunshine.... and some summer sun tea. So good!

Much love as always...

Disclaimer: Namaste Food Co. donated the cake mixes for this baking adventure, but they did not give me any monetary reward for stating my review or opinion. My opinion is purely my own and would be completely willing to share that with any one who asks :)

Strawberry Shortcake Namaste Cupcakes

As promised, a recipe for strawberry shortcake cupcakes. Viola! This recipe is a super simple recipe for any gluten-free friend, but especially for the beginner because it uses the fabulous Namaste Vanilla Cake Mix as the main base ingredient. Who can resist a sweet strawberry treat this time of year?! Not me!

Pretty in pink and perfect for an early summer treat. Or perhaps this is just the gluten-free treat you are looking for that Memorial Day celebration coming up in a few weeks. 'Wow' your friends and family with a special treat like this and I promise you will be every one's new [gluten-free vegan] best friend. In my last post I mentioned some of the great reasons why I would choose Namaste Food's Cake mixes to make some quick cupcakes, but did I mention that the mixes are also budget friendly too?!

When you compare it to all of the costs of mixing your own GF flours for a one-time event it really is a bargain. You really get a lot for your money spent and plus there is the guarantee that it will taste good (and let's face it, when you experiment with flour mixing you can never be completely sure you are going to succeed!) Yes, I do like to bake gluten-free cupcakes from scratch most of the time, but every now and then it is nice to create a clever treat like this and make it quickly with ease.

Then you can have the most fun in the decorating process and forget the stress in baking in the first place. And working with gorgeous red strawberries makes is really really easy! Hmmmm, love at first sight! Am I right?!

Strawberry Shortcake Namaste Cupcakes 
(gluten-free, vegan)

1 package Vanilla Cake Mix from Namaste Foods

2/3 cup of pure water

1/3 cup of freshly squeezed lemon juice

optional: lemon zest from 1 lemon

3/4 cup of melted extra virgin organic coconut oil

3 chia-gel eggs (3 TB of ground chia seed meal plus 9 TB of water whisked together in separate bowl)

Mix the above ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Then let sit for a minute to let the chia eggs gel into the rest of the batter. Pour the batter into cupcake liners in a cupcake tin. Fill liners 2/3's full and you will get about 16 cupcakes. 

*NOTE* If you want to use eggs, then sub the chia gel eggs, for 3 eggs and your batter may make a few more cupcakes than 16. I have made this recipe with and without eggs, and the final product is very close to the same!

Bake in a 350 degree oven for 25 minutes and check to see that they are baked through and not gooey with a tooth pick. Then pull from the oven and let them cool on a cooling rack or counter. Let the cakes completely cool before frosting (1-2 hours). This recipe will make between 16-20 cupcakes depending on your size.

Vegan Strawberry Cream Frosting Recipe

2 cups of organic powdered sugar

1/3 cup of Organic Spectrum Palm Oil Shortening

2-3 TB of fresh strawberry puree 

1 ts. of pure vanilla extract

fresh, washed and dried strawberries for topping

Use a hand held mixer to blend up the frosting and make it smooth, then pour it into a frosting bag with a Wilton decorating tip if you want to go all fancy. Then top with a slice or half of a fresh washed and dried strawberry. Then viola, you have some pretty tasty strawberry cupcakes.

If you want to avoid powdered sugar you can use a honey-based frosting here, and just switch out the raspberry puree for strawberry puree. Just remember that using raw local honey will make your cupcakes no longer vegan. 

P.S.

I hope you try your hand at making some gluten-free cupcakes, especially as easy as these. And, if for some reason you rather have someone like me do the job for you (and you live locally!) I would love to make some cupcakes or cake for your special birthday, gathering or party. Really! I am starting to do this more and more and have been loving it. So if you or a friend is interested in hiring me for your gluten-free cake or cupcakes for your special event, then please let me know! I would love to do the job!

Disclaimer: Namaste Food Co. donated the cake mixes for this baking adventure, but they did not give me any monetary reward for stating my review or opinion. My opinion is purely my own and would be completely willing to share that with any one who asks :)

Much love [and cupcakes] to you as always!

Chocolate Mocha Cream Namaste Cupcakes (gluten-free, vegan)

Cupcakes, oh my! I have made hundreds of cupcakes and even a few cakes over the past few months for many close friends for birthdays and parties and such. So, again, I was recently asked to make a few dozen cupcakes for a local volunteer appreciation event. I of course said, yes! And, decided that I would make things easier on myself and make the cupcake base from my favorite gluten-free baking blend company.

That company: Namaste Foods. It is a great place to start when you are a new at the gluten-free (and even dairy-free) journey. They give you lots of amazing options, and you can find them at most local grocery stores or can easily buy online at Namaste Foods or Vitacost (get free $10 coupon HERE). They also use some of the "better" baking ingredients, using dehydrated cane juice for sweetener and not using any other junk or fillers. I love that! I have made this mix many times and I am sure you have heard me talk about them before, and especially the chocolate cake mix will easily trick any by-passer to think that for sure they are not eating a gluten-free dessert! It is that good (and easy!)

I'm no genius, but I bet some of my from-scatch gluten-free vegan cupcakes may be a bit intimidating for the beginner gluten-free friend. Mixing flours and finding new ingredients can be a little stressful in the beginning. It takes time friends! Don't fret too much, but yet, you still want to make something special for the upcoming birthday, party or special gathering. This recipe is just for you then! It is super simple with the gluten-free flours already mixed and you can make your cupcakes just as simple as putting together a 'box mix'.

So my next few posts will be some cupcake recipes for beginners with the help of Namaste Cake mixes. I added some ingredients to the mixes to make them a little more than generic and with a little more sparkle. My next Namaste cupcake recipe will be Strawberry Shortcake with the Vanilla Cake mix, so stay tuned for a few more recipes as well.

But, let's just enjoy this recipe shall we. Decadent. Lots of coffee chocolate flavor and lots of roll-your-eyes oooing and ahhing. Seriously. Top with a little mocha cream frosting and some chocolate or coffee bean shavings and you are in heaven!

Chocolate Mocha Cream Namaste Cupcakes 
(gluten-free, vegan)

1 package Chocolate Cake Mix from Namaste Foods

1 1/2 cup of strongly brewed coffee (regular, decaf, or a coffee/tea sub)
*I used fair-trade organic decaf for the flavor*

2/3 cup of melted extra virgin organic coconut oil

3 chia-gel eggs (3 TB of ground chia seed meal plus 9 TB of water whisked together in separate bowl)

Mix the above ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Then let sit for a minute to let the chia eggs gel into the rest of the batter. Pour the batter into cupcake liners in a cupcake tin. Fill liners 2/3's full and you will get about 16 cupcakes. 

*NOTE* If you want to use eggs, then sub the chia gel eggs, for 3 eggs and your batter may make a few more cupcakes than 16. I have made this recipe with and without eggs, and the final product is very close to the same!

Bake in a 350 degree oven for 25 minutes and check to see that they are baked through and not gooey with a tooth pick. Then pull from the oven and let them cool on a cooling rack or counter. Let the cakes completely cool before frosting (1-2 hours). This recipe will make between 16-20 cupcakes depending on your size.

Vegan Mocha Cream Frosting Recipe

2 cups of organic powdered sugar

1/3 cup of Organic Spectrum Palm Oil Shortening

2-3 TB of strong brewed coffee

1-2 ts. of pure vanilla extract

Use a hand held mixer to blend up the frosting and make it smooth, then pour it into a frosting bag with a wilton decorating tip if you want to go all fancy, and then top with chocolate or coffee bean shavings. You can do this with a potato peeler and a dark chocolate bar. Just shave off the chocolate like you are peeling a potato. Or use some ground coffee beans (I say always use decaf so to make it more eater-friendly!) Then viola, you have some pretty amazing cupcakes on your hands!

I topped my cupcakes with a little frosting, shaved chocolate AND ground coffee. Perfect. If you want to avoid powdered sugar you can use a honey-based frosting here, and just add a touch of coffee or cocoa/chocolate for flavor as well.

P.S.
I hope you try your hand at making some gluten-free cupcakes, especially as easy as these. And, if for some reason you rather have someone like me do the job for you (and you live locally!) I would love to make some cupcakes or cake for your special birthday, gathering or party. Really! I am starting to do this more and more and have been loving it. So if you or a friend is interested in hiring me for your gluten-free cake or cupcakes for your special event, then please let me know! I would love to do the job!

Disclaimer: Namaste Food Co. donated the cake mixes for this baking adventure, but they did not give me any monetary reward for stating my review or opinion. My opinion is purely my own and would be completely willing to share that with any one who asks :)

Much love [and cupcakes] to you as always!

Pink Berry Pancakes (gluten-free, vegan)

Happy Mother's Day, to all of you mothers out there! I think I have more respect, love and thankfulness for mothers since becoming a mother myself. Especially for my own mother of five children and also for all the many many moms I have witnessed their sacrifice and love over the years.

I feel like when I became a mom I all of a sudden got accepted into this special club of mom-hood. It was like all at once I 'got it'. I understood the deep deep love for your child. The sacrifice, headaches and worries that grace your heart each and every day. Or like when you are at the grocery store and you or the other mom's kid are all of a sudden having a meltdown and you just look at each other and give each other silent support. We understand and remind each other that nap time is just around the corner!

So this 'day to celebrate mom's' means a lot more to me now than ever. I am all about having a day just for us! Seriously. Let's live it up. Have the kids make you breakfast, clean the kitchen, buy you flowers. You deserve it, and you need to let yourself be loved and cared for (even if it feels like maybe this is your only day per year!)

I think that being a mom means that you understand the tension between the simplicity and complexity of life. We get to experience the simple heart of our child and yet know that life, growth and love can some times be so complex there are no words. We can ache and have joy in the same emotion. Being a mom has been one of the greatest gifts I could ever ask for.

So this recipe comes just in time for a nice mother's day breakfast or brunch, and you may need a daddy or other helper if you have smaller children. Or, make it all together and enjoy. The pancakes have a good amount of fresh strawberry puree in them to give them a pink hue and with a touch of fresh berries, or bananas or your favorite topping these pancakes are absolutely divine!

Now that's a perfect bite. A slice of strawberry, a slice of banana and a slice of pancake. All kissed with a gentle touch of raw honey and lemon. Hmmmm, good. Love, love, love!

Whole Grain Pink Berry Pancake Recipe 
(gluten, dairy, egg, nut, sugar-free and vegan) 

1 cup of buckwheat groats 

1 cup of gluten-free rolled oats 

*Grind each grain, separately in magic bullet or high powered blender 

to make a heaping cup of flour- about 1 1/4 cup of each flour*

2 TB of aluminum-free baking powder

2 TB of chia seed meal

2 TB of grape seed oil or light olive oil

2-3 TB of maple syrup or coconut palm sugar

1 ts. of pure vanilla extract or 12 drops of liquid vanilla stevia extract

2 cup of non-dairy milk (I use So Delicious coconut milk beverage)

2/3 cup of pureed fresh strawberries (or raspberry)

1 fresh lemon juiced (1-2 TB)

optional: zest from one lemon (about 1-2 tsps.)

optional additions or toppings:

fresh strawberries

fresh raspberries

fresh sliced bananas

goji berries

local maple syrup

raw and local honey

Pancake Instructions:

*First, grind your buckwheat groats and oats separately so that you have your flour for the pancakes. Then, mix the flours and all of the dry ingredients together in a large bowl. Then add the wet and whisk well together. You know your batter is doing well when you start to see the batter-bubbles appear and the batter thickens.   

*Then, warm either your skillet or griddle and use some coconut oil or ghee to grease up the frying area. Then use a 1/4 or 1/3 measuring cup to pour batter over the hot skillet to make a good sized pancake. 

*Let cook for about 2 minutes and you will see bubbles on the top and then you know to turn to the other side. Cook for an additional 1-2 minutes. Make sure you keep the heat on low to medium so avoid burning! This recipe makes 1-2 dozen cakes depending on how large you make them.

Well, that's my kind of special 'mom' breakfast. Pink pancakes. Lots of colors, fresh sweetness and spring time lovin'. I hope you have a great weekend filled with love, flowers and the great outdoors!

Much love as always! And to all the momma's, Happy Mother's Day! 

Rhubarb Oat Bread (gluten-free, vegan)

Yesterday was a glorious day here in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Our beloved Farmer's Market opened again for the 2012 summer season. And this year was also a 'grand opening' of a new and expanded marketplace. It was pretty exciting just to see the mounds of people electrified about fresh locally farmed food. My mouth was watering just looking at the buttery asparagus and my nose tingling with happiness with the scent of fresh and growing herbs and other vegetable plants. It was a pretty great day to be in Grand Rapids. I bet many of you have had similar experiences this past weekend with opening market's or maybe you have been blessed to enjoy a year-round local farmer's market. In Michigan, with our four distinct seasons, it is easy to have significant starts and ends to the year and the first weekend in May is kinda an unofficial start to the summer with the beginning of our cherished farmer's market.

Last night we ate a few pounds of roasted asparagus (I think I ate a pound just by myself!) and today I was excited to make a few special treats with some fresh rhubarb. Oh, I wish I had some wild growing asparagus and rhubarb growing in my backyard. I think I will have to investigate how to make that happen for me someday :) In the meantime, I love supporting my local farmers that bring their bounty to sell to the city-folk like me.

It was also a busy weekend in my own backyard garden. I planted many seeds. Zucchini, Cucumber, a few different squashes, lots of herbs, lettuce, kale, and a few different beans and peas. It was a dramatic start to our doubled-in-size garden. We plowed another 28 x 22 plot in out backyard to plant more. I think our urban neighbors think we are a bit silly (and maybe we are!), but it has become somewhat a hobby as well as a way to learn to grow and eat food from our own sweat and land. 

I would encourage you to try and grow something this summer, even if it is just a little mint plant in a pot on your window sill for home brewed tea. Or investigate back porch or container gardening if you do not have the ground space. Or I have heard a great deal of love for square foot gardening as well. Either way, it is worth trying and experiencing the joy, disappointment, tears and fulfillment in growing your own food. It seems like you are a bit closer to God, or heaven, or at least how God intended it to be. 

And with all that fun in the garden this weekend with a fair share of rain, sun and humidity), we were all in agreement about a yummy baked treat. And since rhubarb has made her spring debut in our house, we made oat bread with rhubarb, plus a little rhubarb butter to spice it up. This recipe is based off of my basic gluten-free oatmeal bread. Delish!

Rhubarb Oat Bread Recipe (gluten-free, vegan)

1 cup of certified gluten-free rolled oats (I used Bob Red Mill's)

1 1/4 cup of boiling water

2/3 cup of non-dairy milk (I used So Delicious Coconut Milk)

2 TB of fresh lemon juice (juice of 1 lemon or sub apple cider vinegar)

In a medium bowl, pour the boiling water over the rolled oats. Let sit for a few minutes and then add the milk and lemon juice. Continue to let sit for 5-10 more minutes until the oats are soft and you can see some cultured milk and water from the lemons. Then mix with the following ingredients...

1 cup of freshly ground buckwheat flour

1/4 cup of chia seed meal

1/2 cup of freshly ground GF oat flour

1/2 cup of tapioca flour

1 ts of baking powder

1 ts. of baking soda

1/2 ts. of sea salt

1/2 cup of sucanat (or your preferred sweetener)

1/3 cup of baking oil: grapseed, melted coconut oil or light olive oil

1 ts. of pure vanilla or 10 drops of pure vanilla stevia liquid (I used NuNatural's)

1 heaping cup of finely chopped fresh rhubarb

In a large mixing bowl, mix all of the dry ingredients with a whisk. Then add the wet oat mix and the oil.  Mix well and let the batter sit for just a few minutes to soak up the moisture. Lastly, add the finely chopped rhubarb and mix well together. Then pour the batter into a well oiled bread pan and top with a sprinkle of dry gluten-free oats. Then put in a preheated 350 degree oven and let bake for 45-55 minutes. Check then to see if the bread is baked through in the middle, if not, let it continue to cook for 5-10 more minutes until it is not gooey and golden brown. 

Pull from oven and let cool at least 15 minutes before pulling from pan to let it cool on a grate or plate.  This bread will make between 12-15 slices depending on how thick you like to cut each slice. 

Serve bread warm with a touch of vegan butter or fruit butter. I made some rhubarb butter to add a nice tart touch. The simple recipe is below.

Honey Rhubarb Butter Recipe

1 cup of washed and chopped rhubarb

1 TB of water

2 TB of raw honey

1/2 ts. of ground cinnamon

1/4 ts. of ground cloves

In a small sauce pan, cook the chopped rhubarb with the water until the rhubarb turns to a thick mush. This takes about 10-15 minutes on medium heat. Then pull from the heat and add the honey and spices. Then let cool and place in a high speed blender. This recipe is a very small amount, but is intended to be doubled or tripled depending on your amount of rhubarb. Store in a mason jar in the fridge for up to 2 weeks, or preserve using traditional canning methods.

The perfect spring-time bread recipe. And, this bread does not contain too much sweetener, so if you want it make it more a sweet bread then add more sucanant. I wanted this bread to be a bread that could easily be toasted and topped with honey or rhubarb butter for the extra sweetness. 

Good to the last bite! I hope you enjoy and find joy and excitement this spring with added growth and life!

Much love as always!