Rum and Raisin Cupcakes (Gluten-Free Option)
Rum and raisin cupcakes are a simple cupcake recipe enlivened by cinnamon and rum-soaked raisins. You can easily make a gluten-free version by using commercial gluten-free flour and baking powder rather than self-raising flour. For a different flavour, try using dried blueberries and replacing dark rum with white rum, or try mixed peel and Cointreau, replacing the cinnamon with vanilla essence.
Ingredients
100 g raisins
40 mL dark rum
125 butter
180 g self-raising flour
200 g caster sugar
¾ cup milk
2 eggs
1 tbl ground cinnamon
Method
Coarsely chop raisins and soak overnight in rum in a ceramic bowl. Next day, place the butter in a small saucepan and melt over low heat then let cool slightly. In a large bowl, mix together flour, sugar and cinnamon. Beat eggs and add to dry ingredients along with milk and butter. Mix to form a smooth batter and stir in the rum-soaked raisins, including any rum that has not been soaked up by the fruit. Fill batter into greased, paper-lined cupcake pans. To allow room to rise, each tin should only be two-thirds full before baking. Bake cupcakes for 12-15 min at 180 °C (fan-forced) or until a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean. Let cool slightly before removing from tins. Makes 18 full-sized cupcakes. Alternately, you can bake the mixture as mini-cupcakes. Use the same baking temperature, but shorten the baking time to 8-10 min.
If you want to make a gluten-free version of this recipe, you can use a commercial gluten-free flour mix available in most supermarkets. You can also make up a mixture of rice and tapioca flours with potato starch as described here. To convert the flour mixture to a self-raising version, add 1 ½ tsp baking powder to 180 g flour.