Low FODMAP Cinco de Mayo Red Chile Chocolate Cupcakes
IBS FRIENDLY • GLUTEN-FREE • LACTOSE-FREE • VEGAN FROSTING • LOW FODMAP
Cinco de Mayo is a wonderful time for getting together with family and friends to dance, visit local festivals, break open piñatas, and eat your favorite Mexican foods and sweet treats.
About the Chocolate:
These decadent cupcakes are made with baking chocolate and cocoa powder melted with butter alternative, then added to the batter to enhance the chocolate flavor. Some baking chocolates contain a bit of dairy that many people with IBS are able to tolerate. If you use this type or a dairy-free baking chocolate, be sure that it is 70% cocoa minimum and contains no high FODMAP ingredients.
About the Chile Powder and Cayenne:
Just enough pure New Mexican chile powder and cayenne are added for a noticeable hint of chile and a bit of heat. If you are sensitive to capsaicin (not a FODMAP) that gives chiles their spicy flavor, omit the chile powders. If you love a cupcake with more kick, add an extra 1/2 teaspoon of cayenne to the batter recipe.
Reminder: Pure mild chile powder with an ‘e’ contains dried, ground red chiles. Chili powder with an ‘i’ is a mixture of chile powder, garlic powder, onion powder and other seasonings, like taco or fajita seasoning. You want the label that reads: red chile.*
About the Flour:
Even if your gluten-free baking flour contains xanthan gum, adding 1 teaspoon more will hold the cupcakes together much better. Gluten-free flours often need this extra binding ingredient to avoid crumbling. My ratio is generally 1 teaspoon xanthan gum to 1 cup of gluten-free flour.
About the Decorations:
I use small flowers and cacti from my cake decorating supply house, and plastic succulent flowers from my craft store. The mini Mexican flag toothpicks are available at some carnicerias and on Amazon. The small cacti and flags are a choking risk for children under three years. If you are concerned about using plastic decorations for the kiddos, I suggest using colorful sugar flowers (containing no high FODMAP sweeteners or other ingredients) from your cake decorating supplier, or mixing a double batch of frosting to color and pipe your own flowers and designs.
The addition of low FODMAP lactose-free sour cream gives the cupcakes a tender consistency without crumbling. Green Valley Creamery is an excellent brand.
You will need a 12-well standard cupcake tin and 12 paper cupcake liners. (I doubled my liners up, 24 total)
Makes 12 cupcakes, 1 serving per person
CUPCAKE INGREDIENTS:
8 Tblsps (113 g) dairy-free butter alternative, room temperature and cut into small pieces (I use Earth Balance Vegan Buttery Sticks)
2-ounces (60 g) 70% minimum cocoa mass bittersweet baking chocolate, broken into pieces
1/3 cup (30 g) sifted Dutch-processed cocoa powder, containing 70% cocoa minimum (I used Hershey’s brand)
3/4 cup (110 g) low FODMAP gluten-free all-purpose baking flour (I use Bob’s Red Mill 1 to 1 Gluten-Free Baking Flour)
1 Tblsp, plus 1 tsp (8 g) pure mild red chile powder (containing no garlic, onion or other high FODMAP ingredients)
1 tsp xanthan gum
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp cayenne powder
2 large eggs, room temperature
3/4 cup (150 g) granulated sugar
2 tsps vanilla
1/8 tsp fine sea salt (omit if your butter alternative is salted)
1/2 cup (120 g) lactose-free low FODMAP sour cream, room temperature
FROSTING INGREDIENTS:
8 Tblsp (113 g) dairy-free butter alternative, room temperature and cut into 8 pieces (I use Earth Balance Vegan Buttery Sticks)
2 tsps vanilla
1/4 tsp fine sea salt (omit if your butter is salted)
3 cups (375 g) confectioners’ sugar
2 to 3 Tblsps (30 to 40 ml) plain, unsweetened almond milk, room temperature
DECORATIONS:
I use an assortment of small (not mini) plastic cake decorating succulents and flowers: 12 orange, 12 yellow, 12 purple-pink.
Warning: choking hazard small parts for children under 3 years:
12 mini plastic cacti
12 mini Mexican flag toothpicks
METHOD:
Melt the butter, baking chocolate and cocoa powder in a medium stainless steel or heat-proof bowl set over a saucepan filled with 1-inch of low boiling water. Use an oven mitt to hold the bowl as you stir until completely incorporated and melted to a smooth consistency. Remove from heat and set aside to cool to room temperature.
Preheat oven to 350 F / 177 C
Whisk the flour, chile powder, xanthan gum, baking powder, baking soda and cayenne in a medium mixing bowl.
Whisk the eggs, granulated sugar, vanilla and salt in a separate medium mixing bowl. Add the cooled, melted butter-chocolate and stir to completely combine. Sift one-half of the flour mix over the batter and stir to combine. Stir and fold in the sour cream and remaining flour mix until you have a thick chocolate-y batter.
Divide the batter evenly among the cupcake tins, filling each 2/3 full. Bake for 15 to 18 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean. Cool them in the pan on a wire baking rack for 10 minutes. Carefully lift each one out and set on a wire rack to cool to room temperature, about 30 minutes.
For the frosting, beat the butter on high in a medium mixing bowl for 4 minutes or until creamy and fluffy. Add the vanilla and salt and beat for 1 minute to incorporate. Add 1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar at a time, on the slow setting at first then on high, to blend the frosting. Use a spatula to scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed. If the consistency is too stiff, add 1 teaspoon of almond milk at a time, alternating with the sugar, until you have a smooth frosting that will spread nicely onto the cupcakes.
Divide the frosting evenly to top each cupcake, using a butter knife to spread and create swirls. Decorate with items of your choice, again minding the choking hazard for children under 3 years.
Buen provecho!
Products used for this recipe:
Bob’s Red Mill 1 to 1 baking flour
Pure Mild Red Chile Powder
Earth Balance Vegan Buttery Sticks
Mini Mexican flag toothpicks
Archie McPhee Itty Bitty Cactus (2, 8-piece bags)
*Monash Note: Although chiles (chillies) are generally low in FODMAPs, some people with IBS may be sensitive to the capsaicin they contain. Capsaicin is a natural compound that gives chiles their spicy quality. You may need to limit how much you eat if your IBS symptoms are triggered by spicy food.
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To learn more about the Low FODMAP Diet, visit the Monash University website.