Gluten-Free Chocolate-Cardamom Cupcakes with Chocolate Buttercream, Spun Sugar Bird's Nests and Jewel-Encrusted Bird's Eggs

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This is a great recipe! I made them for a party, which the hostess has a gluten food allergy. Everyone loved them! I halfed the recipe and still made over 56 mini cupcakes. I substituted cinnimon/nutmeg for the cardamon and used Baker's bittersweet chocolate squares. This recipe is definitely time intensive, I omitted the bird's nest. Since the cupcakes did sink a little on cooling; I filled them almost to the top of the papers and was still okay. I will make them again!

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It's a good recipe, you just have to be able to admit human failure sometimes. The first time I made this recipe I didn't quite understand the unclear directions and for whatever reason I mixed the egg whites and sugar in the melted chocolate. In retrospect I realize how ridiculous it is to try to beat egg whites to fluffy peaks that way. Anyway, the first time I did it that way the center sunk but they were absolutely delicious. The second time I followed the recipe, using common baking technique, I was able to create beautiful cupcakes. You wouldn't believe they were gluten free. I halved the recipe and I still made 2 dozen regular sized cupcakes.

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This was my first attemp to make something gluten free. I was shocked to discover that they were absolutely delicious. Very light in texture, much like a souffle cake. I would never have guessed they were made with rice flour. I only made half of the recipe and substituted Lindt bittersweet chocolate bar with orange for the bittersweet chocolate in the cupcakes as well as the ganache(did not use the cardamom and also the chocolate buttercream. I made regular sized cupcakes and baked them about 20 minutes in a 350 degree oven. They did settle as they cooled but certainly did not collapse in the middle. I brushed them with a little Grand Marnier before piping on the buttercream. I thought they were HEAVENLY!!

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I wish I could leave a good review. The judges just raved about these cupcakes on the show, and I was looking forward to making them. I've been baking GF for 6 years, and this was the worst GF recipe. I am a very experienced baker, so when the first batch came out terrible, I made these a second time. They came out exactly the same. The batter looks and feels perfect, but halfway through the baking process they sink in the middle, and the texture changes. Won't even try to experiment with this recipe again. I drove from Tampa to Orlando to visit Hollis's shop ... I was expecting so much more. Such a disappointment!