Gluten Free/Vegan Concord Grape Preserve Filled Cupcakes with Creamy Cashew Frosting

Ingredients

• 1 cup Sugar
• 1/4 cup Arrowroot (flour)
• 1/4 cup Tapioca Flour
• 1 cup Sourghum Flour
• 1 teaspoon Xanthan Gum
• 1 teaspoon Baking Powder
• 1/2 teaspoon Salt
• 1 Stick (1/2 Cup) Melted Earth Balance Butter
• 3/4 cup Mimiccream (Other Nondairy milk would work here)
• 3 tablespoons Apple Cider Vinegar
• 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract

Concord Grape Preserves

• 1 1/2 cups Concord Grapes
• 1/2 cup Sugar
• 1 1/2 tablespoons CornStarch (Or any other starch of choice)

Creamy Cashew Frosting

• 1/4 cup Cashew Butter
• 1/2 stick (4 Tbs) Softened Earth Balance Butter
• 2 cups Confectioners Sugar
• 3 tablespoons Mimiccream (or other non-dairy milk)

Directions

Last evening I got this impulsive desire to make cupcakes. 10 minutes later I was searching recipes and wanted to make it easy on myself for once. Normally I either write my own recipe or convert a gluten containing recipe to make it allergy free.  In my quick little search I stumbled upon a very cool blog! Manifest : Vegan . Allison  posted an INCREDIBLE Simple White Cake Recipe. That really is simple- which is hard to come by. Most Gluten Free recipes contain a trillion ingredients. So make sure to check out her original recipe and her gorgeous frosting!

I made just a few alterations to the recipe- (not that is needed any) But for my own curiosities sake- I am always looking to up the moisture of my baked goods-partially because I LOVE moist cake but also due to the fact that gluten free goods typically dry out and fall apart after a day or two-  more moisture on the forefront helps to prevent this.

As you may have begun to notice- I LOVE concord Grapes. I have 3 big freezer bags full waiting for my use- so while the rest of the world has moved on Im sure Ill still be pumping out grape recipes. Apologies.. I cant help myself!  I think we all know that fresh is always better than store bought- so I suggest you make this quick and easy “preserve” that I’m providing the recipe for- but if you don’t have the time or access to grapes- then I suppose Store bought Concord Grape Jelly will do these cupcakes justice. This recipe makes roughly a dozen cupcakes. I ended up with 10- but I also must admit that I ” taste tested” too much batter. (it was Good )

Lets get started:

1. Pull out the Jar of Cashew Butter and a 1/2 stick of Butter so that they come to room temperature. Set aside for the frosting.
2. Preheat the Oven to 350 degrees. Spray muffin tin with nonstick spray or place muffin tins in pan.
3. In a Bowl combine the flours, Sugar, Xanthan, Salt, Baking Powder. Melt the stick of Earth Balance Butter and add to the bowl along with the Mimiccream, Vinegar and Vanilla Extract. Mix well.
4. Scoop heaping spoonfuls into the muffin tins- Fill about 3/4 of the cup. Place in preheated oven and bake 25-30 minutes (Until toothpick comes out clean) Remove from oven and Allow to cool.
5. While the cupcakes are baking- make the Grape Preserves and Frosting. To make the Preserves you will need a food processor. Remove the skin from each grape and set aside. Place the innards of the grapes into the processor. Once processed pour Juices through a fine mesh strainer into a sauce pan. (this process is done to remove the seeds) Into the saucepan add back the Grape Skins, Sugar and Cornstarch. Bring to a gentle boil and allow to thicken. Remove from heat and set aside.
6. To make the Frosting Using a hand mixer combine the Softened Butter, Cashew Butter, Mimiccream and Confectioners sugar. If the mixture beads up on you and doesn’t want to come together- add additional mimiccream- but only a little at a time. Cover and place the frosting into the fridge until using.
7. Using a piping bag, or a large “zip lock” bag (with one corner cut off) pipe in a Tbs of Jelly into the top of each cupcake. Punching in the hole prior to piping makes this task easier. Then Frost each cupcake.

This frosting will NOT melt at room temperature (assuming that you don’t have them sitting in front of a heat vent) So they can be stored on your counter covered or in the fridge. (Though in the fridge you risk them drying out faster- but this will take a day or two) You will notice I topped my cupcakes with a few dried Cranberries for a splash of color!

Enjoy!!

This Recipe has been submitted to this weeks Slightly Indulgent Tuesday.