As many of you know my 16 year old son has life threatening allergies to gluten, dairy, eggs, nuts and fish. We discovered these allergies when he was just 6 months old and he had his first anaphylaxis episode after drinking a small amount of goats milk (we unfortunately followed terrible advice from our Doctor at the time).
When you have a child with food allergies you want to be able to provide them a treat like all the other kids are eating. This is our go to recipe for chocolate cupcakes. We have made it so many times over the years because it is my son’s very favorite of them all. It’s super easy to whip together because it only requires one bowl and I love that each batch makes 24 cupcakes! We usually leave a few out and freeze the rest to take out as we need them. An emergency freezer stash is a great idea for last minute class and birthday parties.
I’ve brought these to parties for everyone to enjoy and no one even guessed they were allergy friendly, whoot!
Adapted from my favorite allergy cookbook Special Foods for Special Kids (affiliate link).
- 3 cups gluten-free flour blend (see mine below or use one of your own)
- 1½ cups sugar
- 6 Tbsp. unsweetened gluten-free cocoa
- 2 tsp. baking soda
- 2 tsp. gluten-free baking powder
- ½ tsp. salt
- ½ cup plus 2 Tbsp. canola oil
- 2 tsp. vanilla
- 2 tsp. lemon juice
- 2 cups warm water
- Frosting:
- ¾ cup Earth Balance or Becel Vegan butter
- Pinch of salt
- 2¼ cups confectioners' sugar
- 3 tablespoons rice milk
- ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- for chocolate frosting add 1 cup dairy-free chocolate chips (I used Enjoy Life Foods brand)
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees
- You'll need two cupcake pans of 12 - no greasing is required.
- Add to a bowl the flour blend, cocoa, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
- Now add to that the oil, vanilla, lemon juice and water.
- Beat the ingredients together until smooth.
- Pour batter equally into cupcake pans.
- Bake for 18-20 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean.
- Cool.
- Top with frosting.
- Frosting:
- In a bowl, cream the butter and salt on medium speed for about 1 to 2 minutes.
- Add the confectioners' sugar in three batches, beating after each addition.
- Add the rice milk and vanilla. Beat until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. If you find mixture too runny, add more confectioners' sugar.
- If making chocolate frosting, melt the chocolate chips in the microwave in a microwave safe bowl for a couple of minutes stirring frequently. Add melted chocolate to frosting and beat for another minute.
- Spread the frosting on cupcakes.
- If you'd like, add gluten-free sprinkles for decoration.
All Purpose GF Flour Mix
I mix this blend up in big batches and keep it in the fridge ready for when I need it. It subs beautifully cup for cup whenever a recipe calls for regular flour. I’ve used the same blend for 15 years.
1 cup brown rice flour
1 1/4 cup white rice flour
1/4 cup potato starch
2/3 cup tapioca starch
3/4 cup sweet rice flour
1/3 cup cornstarch
2 tsp xantham gum
Enjoy!
See other allergen-free recipes HERE plus read about my top three favorite food allergy resources.
Sherry B in Sacramento says
Thank you for sharing the recipe. I got excited seeing foods that I am able to eat!!!
Laura Wittmann says
Oh I’m so happy to hear this as I know many of my readers don’t like it when I stray off the organizing topic. But if by sharing this I help just one person get a little more enjoyment out of life it is worth it to me! Merry Christmas 🙂
julie c says
I had no idea you had food allergies in your home – we face this struggle too. My son is almost 6 – hoping it gets easier as he grows. Thanks for sharing!
Laura Wittmann says
It does get easier Julie, my son is 16 now and is very careful about reading labels himself as well as cooking most of his own meals (which he prefers actually). He had an anaphylactic reaction in the summer but he was clearly able to communicate what was happening to him. Hang in there momma, I know how hard it can be.