Gluten Free Cupcakes!

A close friend of ours has a child who needs to follow a Gluten Free (GF) diet.  She once asked me if I had a recipe she could use to make Gluten Free cupcakes for her son’s birthday party.  Of course she wanted high-quality ingredients and a tasty treat that the kids would love so no one would suspect they were gluten free – quite the challenge!

Here are some recipe substitutions for wheat flour.  Before the big birthday celebration play with your favorite recipes to see how they work and taste.  This is also a great opportunity to spend some time with your children and expose them to the joy of baking!  Also, following a recipe is a great way to fit in a math lesson (a quarter cup of this, a half a cup of that).

For Baking:

Replace 1 Cup of wheat flour with any one of the following:

• 1 cup finely milled corn flour
• 1 SCANT cup fine cornmeal
• 3/4 cup coarse cornmeal
• 5/8 cup or 10 tbsp potato starch flour
• 7/8 cup or 14 tbsp brown or white rice flour
• 1 cup soy flour plus 1/4 cup potato starch flour
• 1/2 cup soy flour plus 1/2 cup potato starch flour

Replace 1 tbsp of wheat flour with any one of the following:

• 1 1/2 tsp cornstarch, potato starch, rice flour, arrowroot starch, or gelatin
• 2 tsp quick-cooking tapioca
• 1 tbsp brown or white rice flour

And always have fun!!!