Earth - Gluten & Dairy free Orange Cranberry Cupcake with Maple "Buttercream"

Iron Cupcake: Earth - Gluten & Dairy free Orange Cranberry Cupcake with Maple "Buttercream"

Well, my first month of joining Iron Cupcake:  Earth has been crazy.  I couldn’t get a flickr account started up, my camera is busted (Sorry about the fuzzy photo.  I had to take my photo with my phone!),  and basically missed the deadline which was today at noon (I knew the deadline was today, but missed the noon part!)…  But at least everything will be in place for next month.  

 

What is Iron Cupcake?  So glad you asked!  Iron Cupcake is the “ultimate world-wide creative cupcake challenge!”  Each month an ingredient is announced.  Once the ingredient is announced, the baker has four weeks to develop and bake their interpretation of the challenge ingredient.  The baker photographs their baking story and then posts about it on their own blog. In your post, please be sure to include reference and a link to the ETSY artist donating that months prize as well as No One Puts Cupcake in a Corner, where all voting will take place.  Cool, huh?  And there are prizes, too!  If you like my Orange Cranberry with Maple “Buttercream” cupcake, please vote for me! Voting begins Nov. 28th!!  

 

And, yes my entry is gluten and dairy free!  Woo-hoo!  

 

This Month’s Prizes are:

You can vote Starting November 28th here for the Iron Cupcake Earth Challenge.  You will want to check out the amazing cupcakes over there!  Wow!

 

My first thought was to use dried cranberries, but that seemed too much like a muffin to me.  So, fresh it was and I just had to pair that with orange.  I was concerned that the fresh cranberry flavor flavor would not be as intense in the cupcake, so I topped my cupcake with a cranberry and orange sauce then topped the entire thing with a maple butter cream to sweeten up the whole thing.  On top as a garnish are candied cranberries.  I think the flavors work really well together and my taste testers agreed!  I am saving the extra cupcakes in the freezer to have with our Thanksgiving dinner.  The entire cupcake is gluten and dairy free.

 

My entry: a Gluten and Dairy free Orange Cranberry Cupcake, topped with an orange cranberry sauce, topped with a Maple “Buttercream” and garnished with candied cranberries.  
Candied Cranberries:  (Make these first.  They will keep for a long time.)
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup fresh cranberries
more sugar for rolling

Select firm, red cranberries. Prick two or three times with a needle. Boil sugar in water until it spins a thread. Put in cranberries and cook very gently until syrup jellies when tested from the tip of a spoon. 

Remove berries one at a time and place on wax paper.  You may need to reform the cranberries that have burst into the oval shape.  Let stand until dry.  I left overnight.  Roll the cranberries in granulated sugar. 




Orange Cranberry Sauce for cupcakes:
in a small pan over medium heat, cook 1/2 cup of coarsely chopped cranberries until bright red and softened, stirring constantly.  Add 1/2 cup St. Dalfour 100% fruit orange marmalade, stir until combined, then remove from heat.  
Gluten and Dairy free Orange Cranberry Cupcakes
makes about 14 cupcakes
2/3 cup sorghum flour
2/3 cup corn starch
1/3 cup tapioca starch (or tapioca flour)
1/4 cup almond meal
1/4 cup sugar
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon xanthan gum
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 eggs (large, at room temperature)
4 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon almond extract
3/4 cup orange marmalade (I used St. Dalfour 100% fruit marmalade)
1/2 cup almond milk
1 cup coarsely chopped fresh cranberries
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Put cupcake liners in a cupcake pan.
Whisk together all dry ingredients in a bowl.  Set aside.
In the bowl of your stand mixer, beat eggs until frothy.  Add olive oil, almond extract, and marmalade.  Mix until combined.  Add half of dry ingredients and mix until just combined.  Add half of almond milk, and just mix until combined.  Scrape down bowl.  Add the last of the dry ingredients and blend until just combined.  Scape down bowl, add the last of the almond milk and cranberries.  Mix until just combined. 
Scoop 1/3 cup batter into each cupcake liner.  Bake 20-25 minutes until a toothpick entered into the center of a cupcake comes out clean.  
Put cupcake on a cooling rack.  While still warm put one teaspoon of orange cranberry sauce on top of cupcake and spread until almost to the edge.  Allow to cool completely. 
When cool, top cupcakes with Maple “Buttercream.”
Maple “Buttercream”
4 tablespoons Earth Balance Buttery Spread
1/3 cup maple syrup
2 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted
Cream buttery spread until light and fluffy, then blend in 1 cup of confectioners’ sugar.  Add the maple syrup and mix well.  Mix in the last cup of confectioners’ sugar and mix on high speed, scraping down after a minute or so, until light and fluffy.