A classic vanilla cupcake recipe made gluten free and vegan. These gluten free vanilla cupcakes are topped with a rich, decadent chocolate frosting that’s dairy free!
I’ve been working for a while on trying to develop a recipe for delicious gluten free vanilla cupcakes, and I finally came up with a recipe that we love. When a reader emailed me recently asking about gluten free vanilla cupcakes, I knew it was time to photograph these and get them on the blog.
I know that many of you make cupcakes ahead of time in order to store them in the freezer so that your child has allergy friendly desserts ready to go for a birthday party or other special occasion. These are just perfect for that – they certainly don’t taste any different than “regular” cupcakes. The cupcake is tender and the frosting is rich and decadent.
Ingredient Notes
- Gluten Free Flour Blend – I prefer a lighter gluten free flour blend for this recipe – you don’t want these to be too dense. For this recipe, I like to use my own gluten free flour blend. It’s light and results in nice tender cake and cupcakes. Two store bought brands that would work well are King Arthur Multi-Purpose Gluten Free Flour, and Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free 1-to-1 Baking Flour. Both of those brands don’t work for my family’s dietary needs – I am not comfortable with their allergen policies and procedures. Everyone has different allergies and needs, so I wanted to mention those blends here in case they work for you.
- Cocoa Powder – We like Hershey’s Unsweetened Cocoa Powder, but you can use any brand that works for you.
- Vegan Buttery Spread – We like Earth Balance Soy Free Vegan Buttery Spread. You could also use the baking sticks.
Special Equipment
I used a Wilton #1M tip and just piped the frosting on in a simple design. You can frost them in any way that you choose – if you wind up using more frosting, just make up another small batch as needed.
FAQs
I don’t recommend that. Coconut flour and almond flour result in very dense baked goods. They work best when you include an egg in the recipe. Without the eggs, that would result in heavy and dense cupcakes.
Yes, these can be frozen. Just store them in a freezer bag or freezer safe container. They should stay fresh in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Variations
- If you’d rather do a vanilla frosting on these, you can use this easy recipe for dairy free vanilla buttercream.
- You could also make a strawberry frosting like on these vegan strawberry donuts.
Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links.
Recipe
Gluten Free Vanilla Cupcakes with Chocolate Frosting (Vegan, Nut Free).
Ingredients
For the cupcakes:
- 1 ¾ cups gluten free flour
- 1 cup organic cane sugar
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¾ cup cold water
- ½ cup organic canola oil or melted vegan buttery spread
- 2 Tablespoons So Delicious coconut milk vanilla yogurt or unsweetened applesauce
- 2½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
For the frosting:
- ¼ cup vegan buttery spread
- 3 cups confectioner’s sugar sifted
- ½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1-3 Tablespoons coconut milk or any non-dairy milk
- sprinkles for topping if desired
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line a cupcake pan with 12 paper liners.
- Put the gluten free flour blend, sugar, baking soda, and salt in a mixing bowl and whisk together.
- Add the water, organic canola oil, yogurt, vanilla extract, and apple cider vinegar.
- Mix by hand until combined.
- Spoon the batter into the cupcake liners, filling about halfway full.
- Bake at 375 degrees F for about 20-23 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Let cupcakes cool completely, then make the frosting.
- Beat the vegan butter spread until fluffy, then sift in some of the powdered sugar and cocoa powder. Alternate adding powdered sugar and cocoa powder and drizzling in a little bit of coconut milk while beating.
- Once you have added all of the powdered sugar, check the consistency. It should be quite thick so that it pipes onto the cupcakes well. If needed, add a little more milk or powdered sugar.
- Spoon the frosting into a piping bag fitted with a #1M tip. Pipe the frosting on the cooled cupcakes.
- Enjoy! Leftover cupcakes should be refrigerated.
Notes
Nutrition
This recipe was originally posted in May 2016. It has been updated.
Katie
Delicious recipe! 👍
Marsha
I need a recipe for Sugar Free cupcakes, Will need to make 30 cupcakes.
Marsha
I need a recipe for Sugar Free cupcakes, Will need to make 30 cupcaies
Tara
Do they freeze well without the icing ?
Kelly Roenicke
Yes, they should freeze well! Just wrap well in plastic wrap and put in a freezer bag.
Cheri Rottstin
Will it turn out ok if I do not have the yogurt?
Kelly Roenicke
You can use an egg in its place, or applesauce.
Ashi
How would the baking time be affected for a cake instead of cupcakes?
Katie
I just made these and they turned out amazing! I didn’t have any vegan butter, but I did have organic grass-fed, so I used that and they still turned out amazing. Thank you for the recipe I am definitely going to share it.
Kelly Roenicke
SO glad you liked this recipe! Thanks for letting me know!
April
Could I successfully sub lemon juice for the apple cider vinegar?
Kelly Roenicke
Yes, that should be fine!
Tracey
I decided to make these for my daughter’s birthday party tomorrow. I found that the first batch was such a liquid and so oily, that they basically fried in the wrappers in the oven. I double wrapped them, and had to unwrap that batch and throw the wrappers away. They were drenched in oil. For the second, third and a half batches, I used half the oil (or less) listed. I even added some extra flour to thicken them up. They are plenty sweet with the sugar and vanilla yogurt. Much happier, much less oily. Very excited to try the finished product tomorrow!
Kelly
Interesting! What gluten free flour did you use? Glad that they worked out with your changes!
Maria
this recipe is very tasty. thanks!
Jen | Baked by an Introvert
I would have never guessed these are gluten free! They look delightful!
Kelly
Thank you!
Lucy - (Recipes @ Globe Scoffers)
Your frosting looks perfect! They look and sound delicious.
Kelly
Thank you!
Bethany @ athletic avocado
Vanilla cupcakes with chocolate frosting are my fav! Yay for a gf and vegan verison!
Julia Mueller
You frost cupcakes like a CHAMP, m’dear! They’re beautiful! I have yet to try King Arthur’s GF blend – I really need to get on that via these cupcakes!
Kelly
Thank you so much!
Medha
These cupcakes look delicious- love that they’re GF!
Kelly
Thanks, Medha!