Gluten Free Pomegranate Cupcakes

A pomegranate is a challenge. Certainly if you’ve grown up cracking them open perfectly in Iran or Turkey or Israel, you’ll scoff at the absolute mess most of us in California make when we try to hack into the intricately-marbled honeycomb of garnet beads. The thin, gorgeously-cardinal skin poses both a hefty protection for the fruit inside and an impossibly-flimsy match for any kitchen knife. After years of trying, and looking up tips for getting into the tricky bulb without turning the kitchen into a bloodbath, I think I’ve got some sort of system down. Slicing a neat little square into the top and carefully peeling back the casing until I can snap apart the main sections and begin knocking the tiny rubies out into a bowl. But still, I remain open to any and all tutelage on the subject.

These gluten free pomegranate cupcakes are my love letter to the delicate fruit and it’s many pieces. The cupcake itself is laced with the thick, tart syrup that is Pomegranate Molasses (an ingredient I’d been wanting to use in baking for some time), as is the buttercream (with added color), and the result is a bright, citrus-like tang in a buttery, light cupcake. Certainly the opposite of a rich, deeply-chocolate cupcake, but a pleasant surprise and a delight to munch on while finishing up work on a Tuesday afternoon or on a hot summer Sunday. If you have any favorite pomegranate desserts, we’d love to hear about them! Comment below this post if you do!

A final note for these ruby beauties (though the buttercream ended up a deep mauve, reminding me of my favorite lipstick) – if you’re piping your buttercream onto your cupcakes, I tend to find that going counterclockwise, slowly, gives the highest-definition to the frosting edges. The things you learn after 13+ weeks of making various flavors of cupcakes and piping endless amounts of buttercream! If you’re a newer baker, it’s fascinating what you can learn simply by making different versions of one item (cupcakes, or all cookies, or all layer cakes, etc), similar to all of those “Variations on a Theme” that the repertoire of great composers is littered with. As Beethoven noted, “Don’t only practice your art, but force your way into its secrets, for it and knowledge can raise [people] to the divine.”

If you’re into fruity desserts, check out our strawberry hibiscus cupcakes, or this strawberry lemonade tiered cake, or this strawberry and rose cream tart, or even our raspberry pancakes!

Print Recipe

5 from 1 vote

Gluten Free Pomegranate Cupcakes

Springy, fluffy cupcakes with tons of tangy pomegranate syrup and pomegranate buttercream

Prep Time20 minutes mins

Cook Time20 minutes mins

Cooling time15 minutes mins

Course: Dessert, Snack

Cuisine: American

Diet: Gluten Free

Keyword: buttercream, cupcakes, easy, gluten free, pomegranate

Servings: 24 Cupcakes

Calories: 350kcal

Author: Amelia Farber

Equipment

• Cupcake pans

Ingredients

For the cupcakes:

• 2 Cups gluten free flour 1-1 mix with xanthan gum added (if it doesn't have xanthan gum, add 1 teaspoon)
• 1/2 Cup blanched almond flour
• 1 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 3 large eggs
• 3/4 Cup canola oil
• 3/4 Cup sour cream
• 3/4 Cup milk
• 1 Tbsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 Cup pomegranate molasses
• 1 1/2 Cup white sugar

For the buttercream:

• 2 Cups salted butter room temperature
• 5 Cups powdered sugar
• 1/4 Cup pomegranate molasses
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• burgundy or red+purple food coloring optional

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 350° Fahrenheit and line two cupcake trays with paper liners then set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients for the cupcakes – the flour, almond flour, baking soda and powder, salt – then set aside. In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, oil, sour cream, milk, vanilla, pomegranate molasses, and sugar until smooth. Then, add in the whisked dry ingredients and stir together until combined. Spoon batter into the prepared cupcake pans – each cup should be about 2/3-3/4 full. Bake for 18-22 minutes or until tops of cupcakes spring back when touched. Let cool completely before frosting.
• While cupcakes are cooling, make the frosting. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat the room-temp butter, vanilla, and 1 cup of the powdered sugar until smooth. Add in the rest of the powdered sugar, one cup at a time, until completely blended, Add in the pomegranate molasses and food coloring (if you're using some) and blend until combined. Scoop frosting into a piping bag and pipe onto cooled cupcakes, then serve!

Tag @sisterssansgluten on Instagram if you snap a photo of your cupcakes!

Food photography and styling by Amelia Farber