Whether it’s using leftover Halloween candy or it takes a special trip to the grocery store, these Gluten Free Butterfinger Cupcakes are quite the crowd pleaser. Perfectly baked vanilla cake topped with a crushed Butterfinger buttercream. Heaven!
What just happened???
No, seriously…WHAT just happened???!
I know I’ve been a little MIA for the past week…okay, I’ve been totally MIA this past week. I have a good reason. My girls and I went on a girls’ trip to Maui for Fall break where we met up with my mom, two sister-in-laws (sisters-in-law???), and my three nieces.
Again, I repeat…WHAT JUST HAPPENED???!
I’m pretty sure the past 6 days have all blended into one fuzzy memory of beaches, crying, beaches, giggling, beaches, whining, beaches, squealing, swimming, swimming, and MORE swimming. Basically it was a vacation filled with lots of sun, oodles of fun, and about every 1, 3, 4, 5, and 6 year old girl emotion you can think of.
All in all, it was a BLAST and I’m quite certain we will be laughing for decades reminiscing over this crazy vacation. Some of my favorite highlights were:
- Trying to convince my mom that $500 worth of groceries was most certainly enough for us to survive on for less than a week. She still didn’t believe me and went for another last minute grocery run the night before we left.
- Attempting to shove all the leftover groceries and toiletries that we didn’t use into each of our luggage so we didn’t waste any money spent. I think each of us smuggled a toilet paper roll or two or four into our suitcases.
- Staying in a beautiful resort right on the beach and waking up to the view of palm trees swaying in the breeze each morning.
- Hearing all about the little butterfly kicks that my sister-in-law was feeling in her cute little belly. She and my brother are expecting their first baby (a girl) this upcoming March. Yay!!!
- Watching all the girl cousins (that’s all we have in our family: GIRLS!) play and giggle the days away.
- Driving over an hour in traffic with sleep deprived toddlers to see the amazing Iao Valley State Park only to find that it is closed for the next 6 months after a tropical storm wiped it out. Thanks Google maps for updating that little detail.
- Accidentally spraying sunscreen directly in my niece’s eyes and hearing her retell the story about 20 times. Yes, I am that terrible mom.
- Dropping our rental car keys 5 feet down the hotel elevator shaft after we were already late for the airport and watching my mom and sister-in-law harass the maintenance men into letting them fish out the keys themselves so we could make our flight on time. (We did, so hallelujah for that one!)
You know, the list could go on and on, but I just don’t have enough energy to type out all the hilarious memories that were made this past week. All I know is that I’m glad we had the chance to come together and experience some time with just us ladies and our minis. It may have been exhausting, but it was well worth it!
And now it’s back to the reality of normal life: school, working out, baking, cleaning, church responsibilities…you name it. Bring it on life!
Although, it’s not that much longer until we get another little break from the day to day grind. Braelyn gets the weekend of Halloween off from school due to parent teacher conferences. Isn’t that a genius idea?! It’s the perfect time to have off from school so your kiddos can participate in all the weekend Halloween parties without going back to school as zombies from lack of rest and sugar highs.
And you know what I’m really looking forward to this Halloween???
Stealing ALL the good chocolate candy from my kids a little at a time so they don’t even know what they’re missing. After a few days of sneaky candy snatching, I may just have enough loot to make these Gluten Free Butterfinger Cupcakes because who doesn’t need a batch of cupcakes after inhaling candy for days?!
Actually, I’m pretty sure that if I tell Braelyn I’m making these cupcakes again, she would very willingly give me ALL her candy and sit staring at the oven until these cupcakes were done. That’s how good they taste.
I was so pleased with the texture of this vanilla cake. It was light and fluffy without being dry and crumbly. They even baked up with a slight dome on top, which always makes me happy since gluten free goods tend to be finicky when rising.
The taste of this cake is superb as well. It’s full of vanilla flavor and just the right amount of sweetness to compliment a super sweet candy frosting.
That description of the frosting sounds bad, but really it’s a good bad. Like a “this frosting is so bad it’s that good” kind of good. What I mean is, YES, this is an intensely sweet frosting, but that’s what makes it so dang delicious. It’s a basic vanilla buttercream with crushed Butterfingers mixed in. A little goes a long way, but trust me, you will want that little dollop on top of your cake. It’s a must.
I guess I should have prefaced this post with the fact that Butterfingers are one of my all time favorite candies. Pretty much Butterfingers and Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups are the only two candies that ever needed to be invented in my opinion. Oh, and maybe Snickers. Those are pretty good too.
Alright, now I’m getting giddy all over again thinking about all the candy bars I’m going to steal from my kids. Halloween can’t come soon enough!
Just promise me that if you can gather enough Butterfingers to make these cupcakes, you will. Or at least make the frosting and put it on everything. EVERYTHING!!! You may be a little sticky, but you surely won’t be the least bit sorry.
What is your favorite Halloween candy?
- For the cake:
- 2 sticks butter, room temperature
- 1⅔ cup organic cane sugar
- 3 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- ½ teaspoon almond extract
- ⅔ cup superfine white rice flour
- ⅔ cup potato starch
- ½ cup brown rice flour
- ½ cup sweet sorghum flour
- ¼ cup tapioca starch
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon xanthan gum
- ¾ cup milk (I used 1%)
- ½ cup sour cream
- For the frosting:
- 1½ stick butter, room temperature
- 5-6 cups powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- dash of salt
- 3 tablespoons milk
- ⅓ cup Butterfingers baking pieces or crushed Butterfingers
- Toppings:
- melted chocolate*
- caramel sauce
- additional crushed Butterfingers
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees and fill 2 standard sized cupcake tins with paper liners.
- Begin making cake batter. In a large mixing bowl, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy, scraping down the sides as needed. Add eggs, one at a time, beating for 30 seconds after each addition. Add vanilla and almond extract and mix until incorporated.
- In a smaller mixing bowl, sift together white rice flour, potato starch, brown rice flour, sorghum flour, tapioca starch, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and xanthan gum.
- Alternately add milk and dry ingredients to wet batter, mixing until smooth in between each addition. Add the sour cream and mix on low until well incorporated.
- Fill cupcake liners with batter ¾ way full. Bake one pan at a time at 350 degrees for 20-22 minutes or until tops of cupcakes spring back at the touch of a finger and toothpick inserted into center comes out clean with few crumbs. Remove from oven and carefully transfer cupcakes to cooling rack. Cool completely.
- While cupcakes are cooling, make frosting. In a large bowl, beat butter until pale and smooth. Add 2 cups of powdered sugar and mix until smooth. Add an additional cup of powdered sugar and mix until smooth. Add vanilla, dash of salt, and milk and mix until incorporated. Add 2 more cups of sugar and mix until smooth. Add additional powdered sugar if needed to thicken consistency. Fold in Butterfingers baking pieces with a spatula.
- Once cupcakes have completely cooled, pipe frosting on top. Drizzle with melted chocolate and caramel sauce. Sprinkle extra Butterfingers on top.
