Gluten-Free Mexican Hot Chocolate Cupcakes

Man, am I excited to share this recipe with you!!  I also just have a lot of random stuff to discuss.  I highly doubt that I can put all of these haphazard recipe and non-recipe thoughts into a cohesive blog post.  So..... sorry about what you are about to experience.

1)  I'm still new to my iphone.  (And any type of non-dumb phone for that matter).  I just discovered Pandora.  It is really exciting.  I also discovered I can now dance in the shower because music is easily transported to all areas of the house!  I hope I don't slip and fall.  Disaster waiting to happen now that I think about it.  

2)  I love my dog.   She likes to help me blog sometimes.  She's also recently decided hubby's fist is something she must attack.  She thinks it's a toy.  It is hilarious.  She growls and everything at his fist, and then comes and cuddles with me for a break.

3)  It snowed a LOT last night.  I made a hot chocolate with Peppermint Kahlua.  Oh my gawd.

4)  I experimented a lot with my new camera today.  I played some games with shadows.  I am weird.  It was fun.  I think we will all be better off because of it. 

5)  I'm sick of cleaning my kitchen.  Maybe the Jetsons should have had a self-cleaning kitchen on their cartoon, and then it would be a reality by now.  That is how the future is determined - the Jetsons.  Soon there will be flying cars.

6)  I am OBSESSED with Gilmore Girls.  I'm now watching the series from the beginning, for the 2nd time this year.  My husband makes fun of me.  Can't help it, best show ever.

7)  Sometimes my dog does not like to help me blog.

8)  I also hate doing laundry.  Good thing the Jetsons had a laundry machine.  Now I just need a laundry folder.  Wonder if doggie could learn how to do that?  

9)  These Mexican Hot Chocolate cupcakes are awesome.  They are a little spicy because of the cayenne, but not too much.  Just enough.  And I made them healthy.  They are also gluten free.

10)  Have you ever made anything gluten free?  I'm trying to learn and get into the gluten free thing, but haven't done much research yet (tips would be much appreciated for you gluten free veterans).  I tried to find almond flour at the grocery store, but they did not have it.  I did not feel like going to another store, so I bought garbanzo flour.  My thought process: "hey, I like chick peas, this flour must be awesome".  Meh.

11)  I tasted the raw cupcake batter.  Do not, I repeat, do NOT taste the raw batter.  EWWWW.  Sorry if I'm offending any gluten free lovers, but it tasted like weird beans (which I know is my fault because I bought bean flour).  Anyway, once they were cooked, they were DELICIOUS.  So there!

12)  I hope you like them!

(P.S. This recipe was featured at Bobbi's Kozy Kitchen Manic Monday Party)

Printable Recipe HERE

Cupcake Ingredients:

1 cup Stevia
1 cup sugar
1 stick butter, softened
2 eggs at room temperature

1/2 cup skim milk
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2/3 cup nonfat greek yogurt
4 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 and 3/4 cups garbanzo flour (or any other type of flour, if you know what you are doing)
3/4 cup dutch-process cocoa
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
 
Cream Cheese / Marscarpone Frosting:
8 oz 1/3 fat Cream Cheese, softened
8oz Marscarpone Cheese, softened
1 cup Confectioners Sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon vanilla extract


Preheat oven to 350 degrees (F).
 
Line 24 cupcake tins with paper liners, and set aside.
 
In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the sugar, eggs, butter, milk, yogurt, oil and vanilla, and beat until blended.
 
In a medium-sized bowl, combine the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cayenne pepper and cinnamon, and whisk to combine.
 
Add dry mixture to butter mixture, and beat until just combined.

Fill the cupcake tins to 3/4 full.
 
Bake 16-18 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.
 
Cool on a wire rack completely before frosting.  (This is important - they will be crumbly while warm)
 
Frosting directions: 

Beat cream cheese and marscarpone until smooth.  Add confectioner's sugar, cinnamon, and vanilla, and beat for just a few seconds to slightly combine.  I scooped all the frosting into a Ziploc bag, sealed it, then cut a small tip off one of the corners, and used that to pipe the frosting on top of each cupcake.


Keep the cupcakes refrigerated until they are all devoured.