Pumpkin Cupcakes Recipe and Sweet & Simple Gluten-Free Baking Giveaway

Chrystal Carver, author of Sweet & Simple Gluten-Free Baking: Irresistible classics in 10 ingredients or less?, sent me her new cookbook, and she will be sending the lucky winner of my giveaway a signed copy as well.  Update - the giveaway is now over.

I made the chocolate shortbread tarts, seen on the cover of the book, shortly after it arrived.  My girls loved them, and I will be using the chocolate ganache portion of the recipe as my go-to ganache recipe from now on.  It was so easy to make, and would be great with cupcakes or fresh fruit.  

Last week, I made pumpkin cupcakes, the recipe from the book I wanted to share with you.  Like the tarts, they were easy to make, and I was amazed at how moist they were.  I stored them in the fridge overnight, and they were just as good on day two, after I let them warm up a bit to room temperature.

Chrystal has recipes for cream cheese frosting and whipped cream cheese frosting in her book, but I decided to make a browned butter cinnamon cream cheese frosting for my pumpkin cupcakes.  They were a huge hit with my whole family.

Pumpkin Cupcakes

Prep Time: 10 minutes 
Cook Time: 25 minutes 
Servings: 12

Ingredients

1 C all-purpose gluten-free flour blend*
1 tsp gluten-free baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp allspice
2 large eggs - room temperature
1 C canned pumpkin purée (8 ounces), not pie filling
½ C (100 g) granulated sugar
½ C ( 109 g) brown sugar - packed
½ C (110 g) vegetable oil 

Directions

Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C). Position the oven rack in center of oven. Line a 12 serving cupcake 
pan with paper liners; set aside. 

In a medium mixing bowl, mix flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and allspice; set 
aside. 

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together eggs, pumpkin purée, sugar, brown sugar, and vegetable oil. 
Add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients, and stir until combined. 

Spoon the batter evenly into cupcake papers, about 2/3 full. Bake for 22 to 25 minutes, until a 
toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove from oven and let cool in the pan for 
5 – 10 minutes, then remove from pan and let cool on a rack. Frost each cupcake with your 
favorite frosting.

*For this recipe, Chrystal uses her all-purpose gluten-free rice flour blend that has been prepared in
advance. Rather than making a whole batch, you can scale it down to ½ cup white rice flour + ¼ cup 
tapioca flour + ¼ cup potato starch

By Chrystal Carver, Sweet & Simple Gluten-Free Baking: Irresistible classics in 10 ingredients or less!  Photography by Mary Bernsen

Chrystal creates recipes that are quick & easy, use only one or two bowls, require less than 30 minutes to prepare, and take less than 1 hour to bake.  Her motto is "Have fun and keep it simple!"  You can check out her blog Gluten-Free Palate here.  

My Recipe Notes

I used Better Batter all purpose flour, kosher salt, Spectrum Organic Canola Oil, 3/4 teaspoon cinnamon, 3/4 teaspoon allspice, 1/4 teaspoon ginger, and 1/4 teaspoon of cloves.  I cooked my cupcakes for 20 minutes, then topped them with a browned butter cinnamon cream cheese frosting when they cooled.  I made a half recipe of the frosting, using salted butter.

I have also made the nutmeg cookies from Sweet & Simple Gluten-Free Baking.  I used Better Batter flour (350 grams), added 1/4 + 1/8 tsp kosher salt, and eliminated the xanthan gum, because the flour already contains it.  They are addictive!

June 2, 2015 Update

From June 1st to June 30th, Crystal's e-Book is available for "pay what you want" pricing.  You can read more about this promotion here.

So would you like to win a copy of Sweet & Simple Gluten-Free Baking?  

How it works:   

Each person can be entered into this contest 7 different ways via Rafflecopter.   

One winner will be picked randomly, via Rafflecopter, based on valid entries. 

This giveaway is only open to people living in the continental United States.   

The winner will appear here when the giveaway ends, and will be contacted by me.  If the winner does not respond within 48 hours, a new winner will be chosen.  Winner = Kate B. 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

I was sent a complimentary copy of Sweet & Simple Gluten-Free Baking. The opinions contained within this review are entirely my own.

Linked to: Gluten Free Fridays, Gluten-Free & DIY Tuesday, Gluten-Free Wednesdays