Birthday Cake and Cupcakes

Gracie's birthday was May 4th. Her family forgot it was her birthday, so they called me the night before her birthday and asked if I could make her a cake. Her favorite flavor is lemon, so I made over 50 cupcakes (1/2 of them lemon, and 1/2 vanilla), and a 2 layer cake (top layer lemon, bottom layer vanilla). She liked them, they were nice and fluffy and pretty moist.

This is the only picture I got of the cupcakes. I used colored sugar to decorate everything - just mix some food coloring and a few drops of water into white sugar.

Cake or Cupcakes (Gluten-free, Dairy-free, Corn-free)
Adapted from www.Babble.com

Cake:
3/4 cup + 2 tablespoons shortening or lard
1 1/2 cups sugar
4 eggs
2 3/4 cups gluten-free flour (I use rice)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 cup milk (I use goat milk)
1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Icing:
1/3 cup + 1 tablespoon shortening or lard
4 cups confectioners' sugar
1/4 cup milk

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Place cupcake papers in three 12-hole muffin trays. If you don’t have enough trays, just fill the papers and cook them in a second batch.

2. Beat shortening until creamy. Add sugar one third (1/2 cup) at a time, beating well between each addition. Add the eggs one at a time, beating between each addition. Add the vanilla extract and beat until combined. Add flour, baking soda, cream of tartar and milk, and beat until well combined. Spoon into cupcake papers (about 1/2 full to 3/4 full).

3. Bake for about 15 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the middle of a cupcake comes out clean. Transfer to wire racks and allow to cool completely.

Icing:

Cream shortening until smooth. Add the milk and half the sifted confectioners sugar. Beat until well combined. Add the remaining confectioners sugar and beat until mixture is light and fluffy. The mixture should be a spreadable paste; if it is too dry add some more milk, if too wet add more confectioners sugar.

~ Hanunyah