A wise old wizard once said, “happiness can be found, even in the darkest of times, if one only remembers to turn on the light,” and that classic Dumbledore quip seems especially pertinent now. These are uncertain, dark times, and it’s imperative that we all remember to turn on the light whenever we can. These gluten free lemon ricotta cupcakes were some of the most fun to make and photograph (and eat, of course) because they really are quite sunny, and in a regularly-gloomy city in a particularly gloomy time, they brought at least a bit of light into my dining room, and to the few friends who got special cupcake deliveries to their doorstep this morning. This isn’t meant to trivialize the actual fear and worry that is spreading through so many global communities, but it is meant to perhaps allow you to focus on something entirely anti-virus and anti-gloom and pro-lemony-sunshine at the moment (it has a LOT of lemon in it, let me tell you).
In my last post, comfort food played the starring role, and it probably will continue to be a principal player for the foreseeable future as we weather this together. What are your favorite comfort foods, sweet or savory, that keep you going through tough times? Sugar definitely stands out as one of the key elements of a lot of my comfort foods, and it definitely is the ultimate element of ALL of our recipes here (except this awesome breakfast frittata – another thing you can make while stuck at home!), so get ready for a sugar rush after downing one of these sunshine-in-a-cup[cake] bombs.
The recipe comes from Kendra (the younger – not shorter – of the two of us Sisters Sans Gluten – check out our About page and you’ll know what I mean), and the fascinating story behind how she was inspired to make this lovely little ditty is that she “had ricotta in the fridge that was about to go bad.” Voila, it’s that easy, folks. And you’re probably experiencing this too, though maybe more of the “we only have half a container of sour cream and a lot of bananas that I panic-bought at Whole Foods and I can’t leave the apartment again because #shelterinplace” (if this is exactly what you’re thinking, we’ve got you covered, go make this super easy and amazingly fluffy banana cake). In any case, get creative with what you have and you might just surprise yourself with the awesome recipes you come up with! If you’re needing some inspo though, check out our instagram for lots of baking content. In the meantime, if you’re into lemon, check out our lemon drizzle bundt cake, or lemon bars, or if you just want more cupcakes to get you through the week, we highly recommend these chocolate coffee cupcakes. Stay well and hopeful, friends!
Gluten Free Lemon Ricotta Cupcakes
Equipment
- Cupcake pans
Ingredients
For the cupcakes:
- 3 large eggs separated yolks from whites into two bowls
- 1 3/4 Cup white sugar
- 3/4 Cup canola oil
- 1 1/2 Cups ricotta
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 Tbsp lemon juice
- 2 1/2 tsp lemon zest
- 1 1/2 tsp lemon extract
- 1 1/4 Cup gluten free 1-1 flour mix with xanthan gum in it (if your mix doesn't have xanthan gum, add 1 tsp now)
- 3/4 Cup almond meal/flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
For the lemon glaze:
- 1/4 Cup lemon juice
- 1/2 tsp lemon extract
- 2 Cups powdered sugar
For the lemon buttercream:
- 2 Cups salted butter room temperature
- 6 Cups powdered sugar
- 1 1/2 tsp lemon extract
- 2 1/2 tsp lemon juice
- 1 1/2 tsp lemon zest
- yellow food coloring optional
Instructions
- First, preheat the oven to 325° Fahrenheit. Grease two 12-cupcake pans, or line with paper cupcake liners, then set aside. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat together the eggs, sugar, oil, ricotta, vanilla, lemon juice, extract, and zest until smooth and blended. Add in the flour, starch, almond flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt, and stir together using a wooden spoon or spatula.
- Spoon batter into cupcake cups – they should be about 3/4 of the way full. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until a skewer or toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean. Remove and let cool for a few minutes, then, using a skewer or toothpick, poke about 15 holes in the top of each cupcake (this is for the lemon glaze).
- Then, make the lemon glaze. In a medium bowl, whisk together all glaze ingredients until smooth. You can taste it and add more lemon juice/zest/extract to your liking. Then, spoon about a teaspoon of the glaze on top of each cupcake, using the spoon to spread the glaze so that it covers all of the toothpick holes. Once the glaze soaks in, you can add more to each cupcake if you want.
- Let the glazed cupcakes continue to cool. Once cooled, remove from cupcake pans and place them on a cooling rack or cookie sheet to prepare for frosting.
- Make the buttercream. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat together the two cups of room temperature butter until smooth. Add in the lemon zest, extract, and juice and beat until combined, then add 1 cup of the powdered sugar at a time until the frosting is smooth and stiffer. Add in a few drops of yellow food coloring (totally optional!) and beat until color is evenly distributed. Taste frosting and adjust lemony-ness as needed – you can always add a bit more lemon juice or zest for a tangier frosting!
- Scoop the frosting into a prepared piping bag (or just use a butterknife to spread frosting over cupcakes! If you're hungry, I recommend this faster/less fancy option). Pipe on frosting, and then serve!
Tag @sisterssansgluten on Instagram if you snap a photo of your cupcakes!
Food photography and styling by Amelia Farber
13 Comments
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Kathryn
These came out great! In case you’re wondering – don’t bother separating the eggs. They can go in all at once in the first step. Fill your cupcakes about 2/3 of the way so that there’s no muffin too. I halved the frosting recipe and had plenty – and I used about 1 1/3 cup sugar and they were plenty sweet. I had to add extra flour to make the batter thick enough. (I’m used to baking by weight not measured cups, so maybe I’m out of practice.) Definitely will make them again. Really delicious, moist cake and the lemon was strong enough to cut through all the sugar. Yummy.
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Jasmine Terry-Shindelman
SO GOOD! Thank you!!
MK Whelehan
Lemon flavor is my favorite, and these definitely top my best of all time list!
Julia Dahm
These were my favorite! The frosting was the perfect balance of lemony, sweet and creamy. The cupcake itself was moist (even after three days) and tasty. Would order again!
Adrian Rodriguez
Amazing cupcakes! I am usually very picky when it comes to icing, but these were just perfect!
Christopher Lopez
Amazing birthday gift for my lovely gluten free wife! They were soooooo good! Thank you for this magic.
Theo Doussineau
They are simply magical!! I keep ordering them.
Julia W
Obsessed with these!!! Amazing flavor in both the cake and icing. So moist and delicious! I could have eaten a dozen.
Dani Andrade
LOVED THESE! Favorite thing in the world. Not too moist and not too dry and the icing was perfect