Gluten-Free Cranberry Chocolate Cupcakes

So as a special request, I made some gluten-free cupcakes for a co-worker of mine. Now, it’s been a long while since I did gluten-free and whenever I create or rework a recipe I think a lot, this involved a day of thinking. I was very VERY pleased with the result!

Gluten-free chocolate cranberry cupcakes:

Cranberry syrup:

about 1-2 cups dried cranberries
about 3 cups water
a drop of lemon juice
2 TBS sugar

I made this by combining all of these ingredients and cooking on the stove for about an hour, until a syrup formed. I drained the cranberries and then refrigerated till use.

Chocolate Cranberry Cupcakes:

1 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups gluten-free cake flour
1 cup Dutch-process cocoa
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon agar agar
2/3 cup vegetable oil
4 large eggs
1 1/3 cups water
2 teaspoons gluten-free vanilla
cranberry syrup

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Place cupcake liners in muffin pan.
In a medium mixing bowl (not the bowl of your stand mixer), whisk together the sugar, gluten-free flour, cocoa, baking powder, salt, and agar agar.
Place the oil, eggs, water, and vanilla into your mixer bowl, and beat well.
Blend in the dry ingredients 1 cup at a time, beating for 1 minute and scraping the bottom and sides of the bowl after each addition.
Once all of the dry ingredients have been added, beat at medium-high speed for 2 minutes, to make a smooth batter.
Pour the batter into the prepared liners, and top with 1/4 tsp. of cranberry syrup. Mix with a toothpick.
Bake the cupcakes for 18-25 minutes.
Remove the cupcakes from the oven, and let them cool in the pan for 5 minutes. Turn them out of the pans to cool completely on a rack.

Cranberry Chocolate Ganache:

4-5 Tablespoons cranberry syrup
1 block of chocolate about 250 grams

Combine ingredients in a saucepan and cook on low until all ingredients are smooth and icing-like. If it is too thick, add more syrup.
Top each cooled cupcake with desired amount.
ENJOY!