• First, preheat your oven to 350°F/177°C.  Then, line 18 spots in two cupcake tins with paper liners (you may not need them all.)
• In a small bowl, combine the wet ingredients: almond milk, apple cider vinegar, vanilla extract, and oils.  Set this aside for now. You may notice the milk will start to curdle, but don't worry! It's suppose to.
• In a separate medium-sized bowl, combine the dry ingredients: flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and xanthan gum. Stir well.
• Slowly add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients while stirring.  Make sure all flour is scraped from the sides and bottom of the bowl.  Do your best to break up any large flour clumps in the batter with your spoon. The small clumps, however, will likely dissipate during baking.
• Spoon the batter into the cupcake liners just until they are about 1/2 - 2/3 full. (I use a retractable ice cream scoop for this job!) Filling them any higher than this could lead to mega rising and spilling over the sides during baking, which then leads to not-so-pretty (aka "Fugly") cupcakes!  It's always best to play it safe.
• Bake in your preheated oven for 19-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted down the center of each cupcake comes out clean with no batter. Allow them to sit in the tin for 5 minutes before carefully transferring them to a cooling rack.
• Cool completely before frosting, about 1 1/2 - 2 hours.  In the meantime, enjoy the glorious smell of freshly baked cupcakes that has surely permeated your home!

Classic White Frosting

• Using an electric stand or hand mixer, cream the shortening on a medium speed for about 30 seconds.
• Then, add half of the powdered sugar and half of the almond milk and mix for another 30 seconds.
• Next, add the salt and remaining sugar and almond milk.  Mix again for another 30 seconds. If you feel the frosting should be slightly thicker, add a spoonful or so more of powdered sugar.  For slightly thinner frosting, add a splash of almond milk - but be careful - a little goes a long way!
• Frost cupcakes the old fashioned way with a butter knife or offset spatula, or, put your fancy pants on and place the frosting in a pastry bag fitted with a decorating tip!