So my youngest was having her birthday party and I usually make Gluten Free cupcakes anyway, so that part isn’t hard. I just bought a mix.
However one of her friends is trying to figure out their stomach issues and they have found he has to stay away from milk, and gluten and many other things. We always eat gluten free due to allergies and I used to have to substitute out the milk in recipe’s, so I figured I can do the same with these cupcakes.
The Hodgson Mill mix called for butter and buttermilk (it is our favorite GF mix), so I began substituting. I bought Earth Balance vegan butter, and coconut milk. I don’t like drinking coconut milk, but I have found that it makes a great substitute for regular milk in recipes. I did a straight exchange with the butter, 1/2 cup for a 1/2 cup. However – with the coconut milk, it is a bit thicker then regular milk. When the recipe called for 1 Cup buttermilk I used 1 can of coconut milk (about 1 1/2 cups) but I needed buttermilk, so I added 1 tsp of lemonjuice to milk, I learned that trick years ago on food.com
The end result, perfect moist cupcakes, better then the original.
I used Pillsbury frosting which uses soy, not milk. You can use whatever suits you best. Topping with a strawberry, to make sure this little boy who is allergic to many foods was ok, is a good and healthy alternative to sprinkles. None of the kids could tell the difference in the cupcakes, they just ate them happily, and the little boy did not get sick Win-Win.
The world of food opened up so much when I learned to substitute. Coconut milk has always worked for us in soups and desserts. Yes there is a bit of a difference in flavor, but the flavor is still very good. Somehow cooking the coconut milk takes away its sour flavor. But remember the coconut milk is thick, so adding some of the coconut water or a little extra milk always seems to help.
Enjoy!
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