Cookies and Cream Cupcakes

My friend Stef needed some new cupcake ideas for her daughters’ birthday. Knowing how much I love to bake she asked me for some inspiration. After a while we settled on Cookies and Cream Cupcakes and I took it as an unofficial challenge to make them.

Before I could start baking though I had to figure out what type of cookies I wanted to use. The natural selection was of course a substitution for Oreos. The two most common brands are the Macro free from and the Glutino. While I think the Glutino’s are nicer; the Woolworths Free From brand cookies and cream will work a treat too. They are also easier to find and just so happen to be egg free and dairy free as well.

While an egg free recipe wasn’t a requirement of the challenge, I realized that I haven’t created any egg free baked goods yet. The important part of removing an egg from a recipe is to know what purpose the egg serves. Eggs can be used in baking in a few ways. The fat content in the yolk provides richness of flavour and added moisture. The whites provide leavening to the batter and the entire egg acts as a binder. The egg as it cooks becomes firm, creating structure within the cake.

Knowing what an egg brings to the table, you then have to replace those reactions. I used a combination of vinegar and baking powder to replace the extra leavening within the cupcakes. It’s a pretty simple concept I think we all made the bicarb volcanos in school.

I specifically used apple cider vinegar as it is less bitter and harsh than your standard white. However you don’t want to add a large quantity of the leavening ingredients. This recipe is already using Self Raising Flour and it is possible to have too much leavening action. In this case your cakes will often deflate upon cooling. The fat content of the eggs is substituted with the fat in the oil and the cookie pieces help bind the mixture together.

I did use dairy within this recipe however it is a simple tweak to change it to become both Egg and Dairy free. Replace the milk within the cupcake with your choice of non dairy milk. Macadamia milk will provide added sweetness to the batter. That’s it! The recipe itself uses oil instead of butter so there are no other dairy components.

For the icing, I created a buttercream with added cookie pieces. The gluten free betty crocker buttercream frosting will work perfectly. However a cream cheese frosting will work just as well. You can use the one I made for my red velvet cupcakes last year. For the dairy free or vegan alternative you can top it with a dairy free buttercream frosting instead.

The result is a moist chocolatey cupcake with some spots of creamy cookie throughout the mix. It is heavy with the cocoa flavour and complimented by a sweet creamy frosting. Everyone who has eaten them has agreed that they are delicious bliss.

So I hope that you enjoy them. Use the Cookies and Cream Cupcakes for your next party or bake them just for the fun of it.

To receive recipes, recalls and news directly to your inbox sign up to our weekly newsletter. We are currently only 20 people away from a big milestone. Once we reach that milestone I’ll be releasing a subscriber e-book.

Until Next Time;

Ashlee; The Aussie Coeliac.

Print Recipe

Gluten Free Cookies and Cream Cupcakes

Gluten and Egg free cookies and cream cupcakes that can easily be altered to be a dairy free recipe as well. They are a chocolate lovers dream and an absolute treat.

Prep Time5 mins

Cook Time30 mins

Total Time45 mins

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: Dessert

Servings: 12 Cupcakes

Ingredients

Cupcakes

• 1 Cup Gluten Free Self Raising Flour
• 1/3 Cup Cocoa Powder
• 1/2 Tsp Baking Powder
• 1/4 Tsp Salt
• 3/4 Cup Caster Sugar
• 1 Cup Milk Or Milk Replacement*
• 1 Tsp Apple Cider Vinegar
• 1/3 Cup Oil
• 1 1/2 Tsp Vanilla Extract
• 1 Cup Crushed Cookies**

Cookies and Cream Frosting

• 2 Cup Vanilla Frosting
• 6 Whole Crushed Cookies**

Instructions

Cupcakes

• Pre-heat your oven to 160°C and prepare your cupcake mould. I like to double up on the cupcake pans for extra strength.
• Sift together your flour, cocoa powder, sugar, Salt and baking powder in a large bowl.
• Add in your apple cider vinegar, milk and vanilla extract. Mix well with a wooden spoon between each ingredient. Continue mixing until a batter forms.
• Add in your crushed biscuits and mix through.
• Spoon your mixture into the patty pans and bake for 25-30 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean. Leave to cool 10 minutes before icing.

Frosting

• Mix your choice of frosting with the cookie pieces. Chill in the fridge while the cupcakes are cooling, firm icing is the best to ice with.

Notes

*Macadamia milk is perfect for this recipe.
** Ensure these are gluten free, egg free and dairy free.