Well•Pict Strawberry Caramel Cupcakes
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups white rice flour
3/4 cup tapioca flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon xanthan gum
4 eggs
1 1/4 cups white sugar
2/3 cup mayonnaise
1 cup milk
2 teaspoons gluten-free vanilla extract
1 cup of diced strawberries
1-1/2 cups granulated sugar, plus 2 tablespoons
3/4 cup heavy cream
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and rice flour two cupcake pans. Mix the white rice flour, tapioca flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder and xanthan gum together and set aside.
Mix the eggs, sugar, and mayonnaise until fluffy. Add the flour mixture, milk and vanilla and mix well. Spread batter into the prepared pans.
Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 25 minutes. Cakes are done when they spring back when lightly touched or when a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean.
To Make Caramel-Strawberry Sauce
Place the diced strawberries in a bowl and toss with 2 tablespoons sugar. Leave to sit for several hours until the strawberries have released quite a bit of juice. Pour the juice off the berries into a measuring jug and add enough water to make 1/3 cup of liquid. Stir the liquid and 1-1/2 cups sugar together in a medium-sized saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring, until the sugar has dissolved. Up the heat to high and boil the mixture until it turns a lovely caramel brown, the color of sweet tea, about 5 to 7 minutes, stirring frequently. Watch it like a hawk because it goes from caramel to burnt quickly at the end. Stand back a bit and pour in the cream. It will roil and bubble furiously and seize up a little. Stir it until it all smooths out and combines, then turn the burner off and stir until it settles down. Let it cool for about 3 minutes, then stir in the diced strawberries.
Drizzle cake/cupcakes with strawberry caramel while the cake is still hot and the caramel sauce is about room temp.
Yields: 24 Servings