Healthy, guilt-free desserts

Desserts are probably the trickiest part of a gluten-free diet, especially when you’re cooking for yourself and your family. There are many gluten-free products available on the market, but most of them are lumpy, tasteless, and sometimes just downright dissatisfying. It’s always difficult to find that healthy balance between watching ingredients and watching flavor. As GlutenFreeGirl.com says, it’s natural to focus on the things you think you can’t eat, and most people will tell you that if you’re forced to go on a gluten-free diet, you’ll be saying goodbye to all the things you used to love – especially the desserts.
 
But here’s a nice, quick recipe for gluten-free chocolate cupcakes. They’re easy to whip up if you’re in need of a pick-me-up, and since you’re making them from scratch, you can be sure that they’re perfectly fine for those who are on a GF diet.
 
Here’s what you’ll need for the cupcakes:
· 250g of unsalted butter
· 250g of Caster sugar
· 4 eggs
· 150g of gluten-free flour
· 70g of cocoa
And for the frosting:
· 180g of unsalted butter
· 30g of cocoa
· 150g of icing sugar
 
Cream the 250g of butter and 250g of Caster sugar together until the mixture is light and airy, then proceed to beat in the eggs one at a time. Next, work on your dry ingredients by sifting the 70g of cocoa with the flour and some salt. Then, gradually add the dry ingredients into your wet ingredients by folding a little bit into the butter-sugar-egg mixture at a time. This can go straight into twelve paper cases, and will bake for about 15-20 minutes in a 180 deg C oven.
The frosting is also quite easy to make. Just sieve the cocoa and the sugar together, and mix this into the softened butter until the mixture becomes aerated enough, with a fluffy consistency. You can simply spoon this over the cupcakes once they’ve cooled.
 

And to drink, Chris Murphy of UK-founded brand M&S recommends finding a dessert wine that’s just as light as the chocolate cupcakes. Since the flavors of the chocolate aren’t particularly intense in this recipe, you don’t want an overly flavorful wine that will overpower the dessert. Just make sure that the wine you’re drinking is still gluten-free. GFreeFoodie.com says that while most wines will be gluten-free (being that they’re made purely from grapes), some wines actually go beyond the FDA-approved 20 parts per million.

Remember, just because you’re living on a gluten-free diet doesn’t mean you have to give up the finer things in life! Enjoy a chocolate cupcake and a glass of wine every now and then.