Bake With Me! Gluten-Free Spice Cupcakes

A couple of weeks ago I was browsing online for gluten-free Annie's Mac & Cheese and stumbled across Namaste brand gluten-free spiced cake mix. I love spiced cakes, really anything with that classic gingerbread taste is a a no-brainer for me.

I eat 99% gluten-free just because I feel much better when I do. I find it way easier to digest and love that I don't feel like I need a nap after eating a piece of cake.

When the mix arrived, I lost it in my kitchen for a full week (don't ask how- I just did) until one snowy afternoon I knew it was time. I searched high and low and there it was up high, in a back cabinet, behind a random container of baking soda.

First impressions: it's a huge and heavy box. Not brick heavy, just heavier than most box mixes. I don't know if rice flour is heavier than wheat, but it just felt heavy. I was a bit nervous.

The recipe requires four eggs, 2/3 cup of oil or butter, and 3/4 cup of water. It says you can add thinly chopped carrots or raisins to make a carrot cake but I didn't want my kids to cry so I skipped that.

This box makes exactly 24 cupcakes. No more, no less. It's perfect.

The crumb isn't as light and spongy as a gluten Betty Crocker type mix, but I don't even like the cloth-like softness of regular cake mix. I like denser cakes because they taste more like homemade. It's not a hard, brick of a gluten-free cupcake, it simply tastes like it doesn't come from a mix. It tastes like a bakery cupcake made with good butter if you know what I mean.

It tastes like a spiced holiday muffin/cupcake and goes perfectly with a nice tea. It's not too sweet and isn't grainy. It tastes just like a good quality pastry.

I frosted a few of them for dessert and put the rest in a large Ziploc so we can pull out what we want from the freezer and heat them up one at a time. Don't mind my frosting job, it was a weekday night. The sprinkles were to add a little razzle dazzle for the kids.

10/10 I will buy this again. If your child likes spice cake, this would be a great birthday mix. I definitely want to try it with the carrot and raisins one day. I suppose you could shred half a carrot and make a few custom cupcakes. Why didn't I think of that before??

I've tried many gluten-free box mixes, but what sets this one apart is that the ingredients aren't a 30 long list of chemicals. They're straight forward. I eat gluten-free Oreoes, but I appreciated that. Maybe it's why they were so good!

Anyway, it's a great mix! Try it and let me know. ♥️

"Fear not, for I am with you; Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, Yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.’"

-Isaiah 41:10