Mini Vanilla Cupcakes with Vanilla Buttercream Frosting {Dairy-free, Egg-free, Nut-free}

I can hardly wait for my girl to get home from school today so she can try these homemade cupcakes! They are delicious and the frosting - oh.wow. - you just have to try it!! I adapted this recipe from The Allergen-Free Baker's Handbook by Cybele Pascal (p.92). If you are going to make full-size cupcakes, I suggest using her exact recipe. My recipe only works well for the mini-cupcakes because of the ingredients I used. These mini's would be great for a brunch, tea party, after-school snack, dessert, etc.

On second thought, when is a mini cupcake not a good idea?

Mini-Vanilla Cupcakes with Vanilla Buttercream Frosting {dairy-free, egg-, peanut-free}

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 heaping T cornstarch

1 tsp double-acting baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

1 cup almond milk

1 tsp cider vinegar

1/2 cup shortening (I used Crisco Butter-flavored - it's dairy-free)

1 cup granulated sugar

1 tsp corn syrup

1 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract

1 recipe Vanilla Frosting (as follows)

1. Preheat oven to 350. Line muffin pan. (I didn't have liners on hand, so I just greased the pan. I recommend liners, though!)

2. Whisk together the flour mix, corn starch, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

3. Combine almond milk and vinegar. Set aside.

4. In mixer bowl, combine shortening, sugar, corn syrup and vanilla. Beat on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Sift in the flour mixture, alternating with almond milk, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Beat until smooth, scraping down sides of bowl as necessary, about 30 seconds.

5. Fill liners 3/4 full with batter. Smooth tops with a butter knife or spatula.

6. Bake in center of oven for about 15 minutes. (This is for the mini's.) Transfer cupcakes to cooling rack and cool completely before frosting.

FROSTING:

1 cup shortening (dairy-, soy-free)

pinch of salt

3 cups confectioners' sugar

1/4 cup almond milk

1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract

1. In the bowl of stand mixer, cream shortening and salt on medium speed for about 1 minute.

2. Add the sugar, milk and vanilla. Beat until smooth and fluffy, about 5 minutes. You can either pipe or spread frosting onto the cupcakes.



Update: My daughters LOVED these cupcakes. The consistency (in the mini's) was perfect compared to that of a boxed cake mix where I normally substitute the egg. The boxed mixes do not work nearly as well as this. These were easy and lots of fun to make!