foodie: meyer lemon & lime coconut cupcakes (gluten-free)

for my dad's 60th birthday, i offered to make a few dozen gluten-free cupcakes to accommodate the several family members and friends who do not eat wheat.  to ensure quality (since i haven't done too much gluten-free baking, yet) i used a box cake mix as the base, but added in super delicious add-ins to personalize them.  and, if i do say so myself, they turned out great!  they were moist, delicious, and full of awesome flavor.

table for dad's birthday party

picnic area for dad's birthday party

one box mix yeilded 1 dozen large cupcake and 1 dozen mini cupcakes.  i was baking for a crowd, so i made two boxes worth and jazzed each up differently.  below are two cupcake variations that i made with pamela's products: wheat-free, gluten-free classic vanilla cake mix, which i found at our local natural foods market.

meyer lemon cupcakes

1 bag of vanilla cake mix (gluten-free)
zest from one lemon
juice of 1 lemon
1/2 cup almond milk (or other milk)
1/3 cup coconut oil, melted (you could also use canola)
3 eggs

1 jar of lemon curd
1 container of gluten-free vanilla frosting
1 meyer lemon (if you can find one)

mix all the ingredients together.  line your cupcake pans with paper wrappers, and fill 3/4 full with the batter.  (i got 12 large and 12 mini cupcakes from the batter.)  bake according to the cake mix directions or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.

once the cupcakes cool, scoop out a divet at the center of each large cupcake.  then, fill it with a spoonful of lemon curd!  (i didn't fill the mini cupcakes.)

using a piping bag, fill it with the remaining lemon curd and vanilla frosting, and frost the cupcakes.  (try to fill one side with lemon curd and one side with frosting so that both come out when you start piping the icing onto the cupcakes.)  garnish with a small slice of meyer lemon!

lime coconut cupcakes

1 bag of vanilla cake mix (gluten-free)
zest of 1 lime
juice of 1 lime
1/2 cup coconut milk (or other milk)
1/3 cup shredded coconut
1 cup white chocolate chips
1/3 cup coconut oil, melted (or canola oil)
3 eggs

1 container fluffy white frosting
extra lime zest for garnish

mix all the ingredients together. (toss the white chocolate chips with a bit of the dry cake mix to coat them.  then add them at the last minute to the batter -- hopefully this will prevent them from sinking, as mine did....)  line your cupcake pans with paper wrappers, and fill 3/4 full with the batter. (i got 12 large and 12 mini cupcakes from the batter.) bake according to the cake mix directions or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.

once cupcakes cool, frost them and garnish with a sprinkle of lime zest!

both cupcakes were utterly delicious, but if i had to choose, i'd vote for the lime coconut.  the mix of bitter lime with the creamy white chocolate was divine!  also, for whatever reason, the lime cupcakes rose better than the lemon, but both were still moist and decadent.

trust me, you will not be disappointed with these :-)