Toasted Oat Chocolate Cupcakes & Champagne Frosting

You guys. It has been quite a year. Can we all just take a moment to say "thank you" to ourselves for making it through it all in one piece?

(moment passes)

Great. That was great. We're not here to dwell on the past though - instead, let's talk about 2017. Matt and I have kind of made it a point to believe that 2017 is going to be better - despite that whole demagogue scenario - if we make an actual effort to do better, produce better work, and be more involved in our community (both online and in real life). I mean shit if it's not better we're cancelling this whole blog situation, packing Fox into a motorbike helmet and moving back to Ho Chi Minh City where at least no one talked to us and we could eat noodles for breakfast. We'll let you know before that happens though, promise! For now though, let's talk about the present.

New Years Eve. This time last year, I was trying to get this little blog off the ground, working as a freelance writer, and waiting patiently for Matt to get off work at 2 am every night from his restaurant management job. It's safe to say that, despite the craziness of 2016, we're in a better place in our personal lives. Now, we get to just take pretty photos for Food.com , explore our DIY homemaker skills for eBay, and document our day-to-day thoughts and baked goods here and on our Instagram. Thank you amazing people so much for sticking with us two butt heads on our journey from post-college broke millennials to real life adult broke millenials.

Anyhow, time to do what we do best: carbs. We went ahead and made some gluten free chocolate cupcakes with toasted oats and a champagne frosting. It's pretty much divine. The cupcakes are fluffy and rich, with a little earthiness added in from the oats. The frosting is sweet and simple, with a nice subtle pop of champagne flavor. They're pretty much amazing, and we're kinda imagining them as a nice addition to a New Year's Eve spread. Something familiar, simple, and delicious. Anyhow, next time we see each other it'll be 2017! How exciting - see you then, cuties!

(GF) Chocolate Cupcakes with Toasted Oats and Champagne Frosting

prep: 10 minutes // cook: 45 minutes // makes: 48 mini cupcakes or 18 - 24 regular cupcakes

For the Cupcakes

For the Champagne Frosting

  • 1 stick unsalted butter, softened
  • 2 1/4 cup powdered sugar, sifted (may need a few extra tablespoons depending on desired frosting consistency)
  • 3 tablespoon champagne, cava, or prosecco
  • Golden sprinkles, for garnish

Check out the step by step instructions below, or skip to the bottom of this post to view written instructions!

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and line your cupcake pans with parchment liners. Add a teaspoon of canola oil to a skillet or saucier over medium-high heat and let it heat up for about one minute before tossing in your oats. Let them toast for 4-5 minutes, stirring occasionally until they have turned two shades darker and have a slightly burnt earthy aroma. Remove from heat and set aside to cool.

Whisk together your flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer (or in a mixing bowl if using a hand mixer) combine your softened butter and granulated sugar. Beat for about 2 minutes on medium-high speed until light and fluffy.

Add the eggs one at a time, beating briefly between each addition and scraping down the bowl with a rubber spatula to make sure all of our little ingredient friends are getting incorporated. Add in the vanilla and beat briefly.

Now we're going to add half of our dry mix, mix on medium-low speed just to combine, scraping down the bowl as necessary.

Andddd in goes the sour cream, again mixing just to combine.

Finally, add the remaining dry mix, mix to combine and then turn off the mixer and use a wooden spoon or rubber spatula to fold in half (1/2 cup) of the toasted oats.

Transfer the batter to a piping bag and snip off a tip large enough to allow the oats to easily pass through. Pipe into the prepared pans, filling each tin up about 2/3 of the way. Sprinkle with some of the remaining oats (reserving a small handful of oats for garnish). Bake for 9 - 12 minutes for mini cupcakes, and 18 - 20 minutes for standard cupcakes. Use the toothpick-coming-out-clean method to ensure they are done!

To make the frosting, place the butter in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment (or mixing bowl if using a hand mixer) and beat on high for about one minute, until slightly fluffy. Add half of the powdered sugar and beat again, starting out slow and moving to medium-high speed after about thirty seconds. Add in half of the sparkling wine and mix again. Add remaining powdered sugar and beat again before adding the rest of the sparkling wine. Beat for another minute to add body. If the frosting is too thin, add a tablespoon of powdered sugar at a time, beating between each addition, until desired consistency is reached. If the frosting is too thick, do the same with sparkling wine, a teaspoon at a time. Transfer to a piping bag and frost all of your cupcakes! Top with toasted oats and golden sprinkles.

(GF) Chocolate Cupcakes with Toasted Oats and Champagne Frosting

prep: 10 minutes // cook: 45 minutes // makes: 48 mini cupcakes or 18 - 24 regular cupcakes

For the Cupcakes

  1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and line your cupcake pans with parchment liners. Add a teaspoon of canola oil to a skillet or saucier over medium-high heat and let it heat up for about one minute before tossing in your oats. Let them toast for 4-5 minutes, stirring occasionally until they have turned two shades darker and have a slightly burnt earthy aroma. Remove from heat and set aside to cool.
  2. Whisk together your flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
  3. In the bowl of a stand mixer (or in a mixing bowl if using a hand mixer) combine your softened butter and granulated sugar. Beat for about 2 minutes on medium-high speed until light and fluffy.
  4. Add the eggs one at a time, beating briefly between each addition and scraping down the bowl with a rubber spatula to make sure all of our little ingredient friends are getting incorporated. Add in the vanilla and beat briefly.
  5. Now we're going to add half of our dry mix and mix on medium-low speed just to combine, scraping down the bowl as necessary. Add in the sour cream, again mixing just to combine. Finally, add the remaining dry mix, mix to combine and then turn off the mixer and use a wooden spoon or rubber spatula to fold in half (1/2 cup) of the toasted oats.
  6. Transfer the batter to a piping bag and snip off a tip large enough to allow the oats to easily pass through. Pipe into the prepared pans, filling each tin up about 2/3 of the way. Sprinkle with some of the remaining oats (reserving a small handful of oats for garnish). Bake for 9 - 12 minutes for mini cupcakes, and 18 - 20 minutes for standard cupcakes. Use the toothpick-coming-out-clean method to ensure they are done!

For the Champagne Frosting

  • 1 stick unsalted butter, softened
  • 2 1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons powdered sugar, sifted
  • 3 tablespoon champagne, cava, or prosecco
  • Golden sprinkles, for garnish
  1. Place the butter in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment (or mixing bowl if using a hand mixer) and beat on high for about one minute, until slightly fluffy. Add half of the powdered sugar and beat again, starting out slow and moving to medium-high speed after about thirty seconds. Add in half of the sparkling wine and mix again. Add remaining powdered sugar and beat again before adding the rest of the sparkling wine. Beat for another minute to add body.
  2. If the frosting is too thin, add a tablespoon of powdered sugar at a time, beating between each addition, until desired consistency is reached. If the frosting is too thick, do the same with sparkling wine, a teaspoon at a time. Transfer to a piping bag and frost all of your cupcakes! Top with toasted oats and golden sprinkles.

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Thank you so much for Bob's Red Mill for sponsoring this post, and for providing amazing gluten free rolled oats! You can find them in stores or online here. As always, all opinions are our own!

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