Chocolate Valentine cupcakes topped with naturally dyed pink frosting and topped with chocolate hearts are a perfect way to celebrate this special day!
Food allergies, dietary intolerances, special diets…all of these things can be complicated on a day to day basis. You’re reading labels, you’re making special treats for classroom parties, you’re calling companies to double check about shared lines.
And then a holiday comes along. And suddenly there are more things to think about. What kind of treats will you buy or make? Are they going to do food treats at school parties? Will the Valentines that your children bring home contain candy that’s unsafe?
These chocolate Valentine cupcakes are a way to keep things simple but special.
Simple, because you don’t need complicated recipes to have a celebration, and special, because of course you want to enjoy the holiday and shower your family with love.
These chocolate cupcakes are decadent, easy to make, and have a wonderful texture. No gummy or crumbly cupcakes here! When topped with naturally dyed pink frosting, they’re just perfect for Valentine’s Day.
Now, if you have a store bought food dye that you like to use, go ahead and use it. If you want to go the natural route, beet puree is a fantastic way to add a pretty pink color to your frosting. And if you just want to do chocolate or vanilla frosting, that would work as well.
The chocolate hearts on top of each cupcake are easy to make with some melted allergy friendly chocolate chips. Simply melt your chocolate chips, then spoon into a Ziploc bag and snip off a teeny tiny corner. Pipe pretty hearts or x’s and o’s onto a wax paper lined cookie sheet, then pop into the freezer or refrigerator to firm up. It’s a simple and allergy friendly way to add a festive touch to these cupcakes.
Chocolate Valentine Cupcakes (Gluten Free, Vegan).
Ingredients
For the Cupcakes:
- 1½ cups gluten free flour blend I used King Arthur's Gluten Free Blend
- ½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 cup organic cane sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ⅓ cup unrefined organic coconut oil or organic canola oil, or melted vegan buttery spread
- ⅔ cup non-dairy milk I used SO Delicious unsweetened coconut milk
- 3 Tablespoons vanilla coconut milk yogurt * I used SO Delicious brand
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
For the Frosting:
- ½ cup vegan buttery spread
- 3-3 1/2 cups powdered sugar sifted
- 2-3 Tablespoons beet puree**
For the chocolate hearts:
- 3/4 cup dairy free chocolate chips I used Enjoy Life mini-chocolate chips
Instructions
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Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a cupcake pan with paper cupcake liners.
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Measure ⅓ cup of coconut oil and put it in a small microwave safe bowl. Microwave for about 15-20 seconds until melted. Set aside.
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In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the gluten free flour blend, unsweetened cocoa powder, organic cane sugar, baking soda, and salt.
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Add the coconut oil, non-dairy milk, vanilla coconut yogurt, vanilla extract, and apple cider vinegar, and mix on medium low speed until smooth and combined.
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Pour the batter into the cupcake liners, filling them about ⅔ full.
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Bake at 350 degrees for 17-22 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Place the cupcakes on a wire rack to cool.
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Make the chocolate hearts: Melt the dairy free chocolate chips in a microwave safe bowl for 60 seconds, then stir and microwave at 10 second intervals until smooth and melted.
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Let cool for a few minutes (just so it isn't super hot), then spoon into a ziploc bag. Line a cookie sheet with waxed paper. Snip off a tiny corner of the bag and pipe heart shapes onto the waxed paper. Place the hearts in the freezer or refrigerator until firm.
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Once the cupcakes are cool, make the frosting:
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Cream the vegan buttery spread in a large bowl. Add a little bit of the sifted powdered sugar. Continue to mix on low speed.
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Alternate adding the sugar drizzling in the beet puree until the desired consistency is reached. If needed, add a little bit of non-dairy milk. The frosting should be thick but spreadable.
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Spread or pipe the frosting onto the cooled cupcakes, then top with a chocolate heart. Store in the refrigerator if you are not going to serve them right away. (I used a 1M tip to frost these).
Recipe Notes
*You can use any yogurt that works for your needs, or use applesauce or mashed banana.
**To make beet puree: Peel and chop one medium sized beet. Boil for about 20 minutes or until tender. Place the cooled beets and some of the liquid in a blender and blend until completely smooth. If it's not blending well, add more liquid.
Kelly Roenicke
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Wow! You’ve done it again Kelly! This cupcakes are perfect for food allergies and I really appreciate the DYE-FREE coloring.<3 Pinned and shared!
Thank you so much! I appreciate you sharing, Laura! :)
I tried these today, but found my batter to be very thick – almost cookie dough consistency. They look lumpy on top but taste fine. I used a locally available GF flour blend as King Arthur’s is not sold here. I would love if you included the weights for your flours as it is easier to measure when you’re baking GF.
Since I recommend using a storebought cup for cup blend, I don’t include weights. These storebought blends are intended to be used as cup for cup replacements to all purpose flours, and should work fine if you are measuring them cup for cup. I do include which brands I use for each recipe. I know if you are making your own blend, weight is really important. If your batter is really thick it is probably due to a difference in the ingredients in the blend you used. You can always add more liquid if something seems “off” – lumpy, too dry batter, etc.
We have dairy, egg, and peanut allergies but can still bake with gluten. Do you know if I can exchange the gluten free flour for all purpose? If so, is itan even exchange?
Yes, you should be fine with an equal amount of all purpose flour!
Best gluten free dairy egg free cake mix I have found…..and I have tried a lot! I use coconut keffir instead of yogurt and works magic. Thank you for sharing these wonderful recipes
So glad you liked these! Thanks for letting me know!