This initial four ingredient flourless recipe is based on a tried and tested recipe on a Celiac disease gluten-free baking forum. Tried and tested by myself in the microwave, as the recipe advises. The picture told a story of a fresh-baked oven cupcake, and, while I have no doubt that the author did get the desired effect of the spongy inside as the picture suggests, I must have a fault with my microwave, as my make sure didn’t look that moist and spongy.
So I decided to adapt the recipe, still flourless, but with additional ingredients to see the effect my adaption would make on this. Yes, it did take longer in a conventional oven but the effect was way different from the microwave version. Two minutes after cooking, with the original recipe (cooked in the microwave for 1 minute), it started losing its softness – actually, it hardened quite quickly. The conventional oven, albeit 12-14 minutes delayed, produced the desired cupcake texture and taste, moist, soft, spongy and extremely tasty. I opted to make 2 small cupcakes using 2 small silicone moulds. If you require 1 large cupcake, use a larger oven proof baking vessel.
What I have come to realise in gluten free baking, is that there has to be a fair amount of moisture in the ingredients and in some recipes, where no flour is used, to create the desired result, a little lateral thinking is required.
This one egg recipe produced 2 small cupcakes and this recipe may be tweaked to bake a bigger batch. Although, I am of the opinion that this is a chocolate craving saver and soother, and works well for that exact purpose. I used a combination of date syrup and nut butter as the sweetener of choice. I recommend raw honey for those wanting a sweeter taste, or perhaps including about 2 tablespoons of applesauce, or, mashed banana too. For those following a low carb, high fat diet, your sweetener of choice will work too.
Ingredients
1 large egg
2 tblsp cacao powder or sugar free cocoa powder
1/8 tsp bicarbonate of soda + 1/8 tsp cream of tartar = gluten free baking powder
¼ tsp vanilla extract
1-2 tblsp sweetener of choice
Optional: 1 tlsp almond milk or coconut milk (sugar free)
Here’s How
- Preheat the oven to 180° C.
- Lightly grease one or two silicone muffin moulds and keep aside. You may also use paper cupcake casings
- In a small glass dish, whisk together the egg, sweetener of choice and the vanilla extract (if using a nut-milk, you may add it in now. [I used a teaspoon to mix the ingredients together and it worked well
] - Add in the cacao or cocoa powder and the gluten free baking powder and combine the ingredients well for a cupcake batter.
- Pour into one large cupcake paper casing or the two small silicone moulds, and bake for 12-15 minutes.
- Use a skewer to test that the cupcake is fully baked. You may, if preferred, try the microwave cooking method and nuke for 1 minute or about 1 minute and 30 seconds.
- Remove from the oven, place on a wire rack to cool and serve as desired.
Enjoy
