Happy Father’s Day, Daddy! 

I love my dad, he is the kindest, wisest and most generous man I know. 

I am the luckiest girl in the world.

Me & My Dad

Every year for Father’s Day, my dad’s birthday and Christmas I am at a complete loss for gift ideas for him…for one, he has everything and two, if there is something he happens to want or need it’s such a specific item that it’s nearly impossible to find the right thing or since it’s so specific it becomes not much of a surprise to buy it for him because he already picked it out!  So I have changed my approach to gift giving for him…now I just feed him!   This would seem like a simple solution (or cop-out) to most people but like me, my dad also has food restrictions.  No processed foods. No gluten. No refined sugar.

Challenging at times but NOT impossible.  Especially with people in the world like Elana Amsterdam.  I came across Elana’s food blog several years ago when I was searching for a recipe for Cream Cheese Frosting using agave nectar rather than refined sugar…BINGO, her recipe was perfect and over the years I have used her site as a great reference for gluten and refined sugar-free recipes.  Since discovering her site she has published two cookbooks that I really couldn’t live without, The Gluten-Free Almond Flour Cookbook and Gluten Free Cupcakes: 50 Irresistible Recipes Made with Almond and Coconut Flour.  Elana’s recipes are all gluten-free, grain-free and refined sugar-free, easy to make and totally delicious.  I have not made one item from the cookbooks or her food blog recipe archive that didn’t turn out right or that I didn’t completely love and want to make again.

I had been cooking from Elana’s first cookbook quite regularly when she announced the pre-sale for the new cupcake cookbook, I ordered it immediately and anxiously (not patiently) waited for its release.  When my cookbook arrived I read it cover-to-cover and couldn’t wait to make each and every recipe in the book!  One of the recipes immediately caught my eye, German Chocolate Cupcakes.  I can remember as a kid my dad always talking about how much he loved German Chocolate Cake although I really can’t remember ever seeing him eat it or having it in the house but I think my grandmother made it often…anyhow, I knew that this recipe was definitely the dessert for our Father’s Day menu!  And…oh boy, they did not disappoint!

German Chocolate Cupcakes

These cupcakes were easy, fun to make and everyone really enjoyed them!  The chocolate cupcake was rich and moist but not too sweet, the ganache was the perfect smooth texture and the coconut-pecan filling tasted every bit as authentic as the original German Chocolate Cake frosting without the dairy or refined-sugar.  These will undoubtedly make an appearance again on my table, next time I think I will frost the entire cupcake with the coconut-pecan filling and leave off the ganache…just for something a bit more traditional.  Thank you Elana for this wonderful recipe!

About Elana Amsterdam…

Elana Amsterdam has been profiled in Fortune Magazine and the Wall Street Journal for her business ventures. When she and her son were both diagnosed with Celiac disease, she was inspired to develop gluten-free recipes. Elana launched the blog Elana’s Pantry in 2006. Five years later she continues to serve up at least one new gluten-free recipe a week. In 2009 she published her first cookbook The Gluten-Free Almond Flour Cookbook followed by Gluten-Free Cupcakes: 50 Irresistible Recipes Made with Almond and Coconut Flour in 2011.  Elana lives with her family in Boulder, Colorado.