Gluten-free products ain't what they used to be! In the not so olden days, these items were fair-to-poor approximations of foods that those who can't eat gluten would endure simply to have some form of baked good. But the situation has improved considerably, and there are lots of really great products that let you have your cake and eat it too!
Manischewitz has developed a number of new gluten-free products, including yellow and chocolate cake mixes; both include a foil baking dish and even a frosting packet for the sake of convenience.
I was very happy to receive an incredibly generous box of goodies to play with recently, a lovely marketing gift from the Bender Hammerling Group which handles public relations and marketing for several food producers. This assortment also included several bags of Hawaiian Kettle Style Potato Chips, in addition to a sample of the above-mentioned chocolate cake mix.
Sweet and salty is a flavor combination which is always popular, so I wanted to somehow combine the cake mix and the potato chips ... not the Luau BBQ flavor, I admit! But some combination was calling to me.
And so, I made mini chocolate cupcakes - entirely gluten-free - and topped them with a brown sugar and crushed potato chip streusel that offered flavor and texture contrasts. Then, instead of just letting the frosting packet loiter on my pantry shelf, I thinned it with coffee to make a glaze.
Chocolate cake, but with a bit of flair!
Gluten-Free Sweet 'n' Salty Mini Chocolate Cupcakes
Cupcakes:
1 15-ounce package Manischewitz Gluten-Free Chocolate Cake Mix
3 eggs
1/2 cup vegetable oil
Streusel:
1 cup Hawaiian Kettle Style Original Flavor Potato Chips, crushed fine
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
3 tablespoons butter, melted
Topping:
frosting packet included with cake mix
2 tablespoons freshly brewed coffee
Preheat oven to 350F. Line a 12-cup mini cupcake tin with paper liners.
In a large bowl, stir together the cake mix, eggs and oil; beat until thoroughly mixed. Fill each cupcake liner 2/3 full with the batter.
In a small bowl, combine the streusel ingredients. Place a heaping 1/4 teaspoon-ful into the center of each cupcake.
Bake cupcakes for 12 minutes until a tester inserted into the center comes out clean; let rest for 2 minutes, then remove from muffin tin and place on a rack. Repeat with remaining batter and streusel. Let cupcakes cool completely.
Combine frosting packet and coffee; mix thoroughly with a fork until smooth. Drizzle over the cupcakes and let glaze set.
Makes 30 mini cupcakes.
Oh Mary, you know these are screamin' my name! Sweet and salty is an amazing combination. And GF to boot. Must try this recipe. I'm sure my calorie count was too low yesterday and I need to remedy that...
ReplyDeleteThose look very yummy. Sweet and salty is a big win in my house.
ReplyDeleteAlthough the "gluten free" label is probably new, the product itself likely isn't.
I'll bet that the gfree chocolate cake mix is their Passover chocolate cake mix re-branded with some tasty frosting thrown in (although it may not be the same mix, and I'm certain that the frosting isn't KFP). From what I remember, the Passover chocolate cake mix never had matza/cake meal in it and was made with some sort of starch or something else.
I think it's brilliant marketing and a great way to sell those products all-year-round.
You truly are a food genius!! I love what you did with the streusel topping! Sweet and salty are truly a match made in heaven!
ReplyDeleteWhat a fun little cupcake! I love the potato chip topping, salty sweet is the best!! Great idea to add it to the cupcake. you'd never know from it's looks that it's gluten free.
ReplyDeleteMary do you remember Stir & Frost cakes from the late 70's, early 80's? Sounds a LOT like your cake mix here, came with a small foil pan and a packet of icing w/ the cake mix. They were a staple of my grandmothers :) She was NOT known for her cooking skillz LOL. Anyway we had them back in MI, and my CO raised hubby has no clue what I'm talking about when I say stir & frost. Even though we don't do gluten free I'm going to look for this mix in the store - just for the Stir & Frost nostalgia :)