G-Free Red Velvet Cupcakes!

This g-free girl has one major sweet tooth and the thought of giving up my sweet creations was just not an option.  Since removing gluten from my diet, I've been determined to convert my favorite recipes into ones both my husband and his g-free wife could enjoy.  A few months back, my sister and I had a baking day and experimented with various flours and cupcake recipes - needless to say, we were sorely disappointed with the outcome.  (We were bouncing cupcakes off travertine tile, if that tells you anything.)  But more recently, I gave homemade cupcakes another shot and I'm proud to say I found a winning recipe!  My mom had a cute little cupcake book sitting in her kitchen and as I thumbed through it, I mustered up courage to give cupcakes a second chance.  I'm so glad I did, because I'll be using this recipe time and time again.  The book is called "The Sweet Little Book of Cupcakes" by nicholas Peruzzi from Sweet Cupcakes in Boston - it can be found here.  All of their recipes look delicious, I can't wait to try more of them.  In the mean time I've posted my g-free version below.  Let me know if you make them - I'd love to hear your thoughts!

Red Velvet Cupcakes

3/4 C Unsalted Butter (room temp)

1 C Sugar

2 Large Eggs

2 1/2 T Red Food Coloring (make sure it's g-free)

1 1/2 T Cocoa Powder

3/4 C Buttermilk

1 C Blanched Almond Flour (I recommend Honeyville Farms Blanched Almond Flour)

1/2 C Arrowroot Powder 

1 t Vinegar

3/4 t Baking Soda 

1. Preheat oven to 350 Degrees F.
2. Line 12 muffin tin cups with paper cupcake liners.
3. In a large bowl, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
4. Beat in eggs one at a time, until well blended.
5. In a separate bowl, mix food coloring and cocoa pwdr until you have  apaste.
6. Add paste to butter mixture, and blend well.
7. Add the buttermilk to the butter mixture and blend well.  Then add the flours and blend until smooth.
8. In a separate bowl, mix together the vinegar and baking soda.  Then add this to the butter and flour mixture, blending until fully incorporated.
9. Pour the batter into the lined cupcake pan, distributing the batter equally. (I found that two scoops of batter from a regular sized ice cream scoop worked well for a large cupcake pan.)
10. Bake for 10 minutes, rotate and bake for 10 more minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a cupcake comes out clean.  (My cupcakes baked for a total of 30 minutes, but I was using my mom's oven and it tends to take longer than most.  I'll have to update the time once I try them in my own oven.)
11. Place the pan on a wire rack, and cool completely.
12. Once cooled, ice and enjoy! 

Cream Cheese Frosting

1 C + 2 T Cream Cheese (room temp)

6 T Unsalted Butter (room temp)

4 C Confectioners Sugar (pure cane sugar works best)

2 1/2 t G-Free Vanilla Extract (use clear if you want your frosting to be white)

1. In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese and butter on medium speed until creamy.
2. In a separate bowl, sift the confectioners sugar.
3. Add the confectioners sugar to the butter mixture on low speed until it begins to incorporate.
4. Add the vanilla extract, and beat at medium to high speed until fully incorporated.