The Cupcake Chronicles Part 4: Gluten Free Dark Chocolate Mocha Cupcakes with Brown Butter Icing

Now that I have mastered gluten free baking, I decided to experiment with a more interesting cupcake (instead of the traditional vanilla that I have been working on the past few months).  I settled on a dark chocolate mocha cupcake with brown butter icing.  I tasted the batter and added ingredients until I got the flavors just right and watched the oven closely to make sure they were not overcooked.  Please keep in mind, gluten free cake batter will be denser than regular cake batter and if you use xanthan gum for it's binding properties you need to beat it for 8-10 minutes.  The result was a dark rich chocolaty cupcake that was perfect in texture: not too dense or too fluffy.  They were so delicious, I sent them off to work with Anthony this morning so that I wouldn't eat them all.  When he came home, I asked him if he liked the cupcakes and he said, "Well I wanted to eat 2 of them but everyone ate them so fast that there wasn't any left!"  Exactly.

Rich velvety chocolate coffee cupcake with a rich butter icing

Chocolate Coffee Cupcake Ingredients:
3/4c rounded sorghum flour
3/4c rounded tapioca starch
1/2c unsweetened cocoa powder (I used Hershey's Special Dark Cocoa)
1c packed light brown sugar
1/2tsp fine sea salt
1tsp baking powder
1tsp baking soda
1tsp xanthan gum

1c room temperature brewed coffee (save some leftover coffee from your morning batch!)
1/4tsp good instant coffee (I used starbucks)
2 eggs, room temperature
3tbs canola oil
1tbs + 1tsp vanilla extract
1/2tsp unseasoned rice vinegar
1/2c semisweet chocolate, melted then cooled slightly (I used Ghirardelli 60% Cacao Chocolate Chips)

Directions:
1. Whisk together dry ingredients (sorghum flour through xanthan gum).
2. Add in wet ingredients and instant coffee.  Beat on low until smooth.  Then continue to beat 8 minutes (if the batter climbs your mixer, slow down the speed, scrape down and mix with your beater at an angle and moving in a figure 8 motion around the bowl).  Pour batter into lined cupcake tins 3/4 of the way full.
3. Bake in a 350F oven about 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cupcake comes out clean (mine were done at 19 minutes).  Watch them closely: do not overbake!
4. Cool cupcakes on a wire rack (don't let them sit in the pan!)
5. Frost when completely cooled.

Ingredients for brown butter icing:
2 sticks butter
4c powdered sugar
2tbs vanilla extract
2tbs cold milk
2-3tbs heavy cream
pinch sea salt
Cinnamon (optional)

Directions:
1. Melt butter on low in a saucepan.  Continue to cook about 10 minutes or until begins to turn a delicate brown.  Cool in the refrigerator for about 20 minutes or until room temp.
2. Mix butter, sugar, and vanilla on low until incorporated.  Add a tbs of milk.  Beat for a few minutes until fluffy.  Continue to add milk or cream until it is the consistency that you want.  Sprinkle with cinnamon for serving or add a little into the batter and mix.