Perfectly moist gluten-free chocolate cupcakes with a rich chocolate buttercream frosting. So good you’ll never know they’re gluten-free and vegan!
You know, when I finally cracked the code to gluten-free baking and managed a spectacular gluten-free chocolate cake, I was so damn happy about it.
I mean no one wants to eat a cake that tastes like it’s not quite as good as the original. You want it to just taste like delicious cake.
Same thing for vegan cake of course, you just want it to taste like cake. Not vegan cake.
Well, these gluten-free chocolate cupcakes are naturally also vegan – I say naturally because, have you seen the name of this blog? But really if you feed them to your non-vegan gluten-eating friends they will have no idea.
These are just fabulously delicious cupcakes. No one would be the wiser unless you told them. No one will know they’re gluten-free. Or vegan for that matter. They’re just like the best cupcakes you’ve ever had. That’s all.
The texture of these cupcakes, oh my, the texture. So perfectly moist and delicious. And so rich and chocolatey.
And really they’re a cinch to make too.
I have a mother and sister who are gluten-free so if they’re coming over for any sort of special occasion, these cupcakes, or the gluten-free chocolate cake recipe that they’re based on, are making an appearance!
How To Make Gluten Free Chocolate Cupcakes
You will find full instructions and measurements in the recipe card at the bottom of the post. This is a summary of the process to go along with the process photos.
- Sift gluten free all purpose flour and cocoa powder into a mixing bowl.
- Add light brown sugar, baking soda and salt and mix together.
- Prepare your flax egg by mixing 1 Tbsp ground flaxseeds with 3 Tbsp hot water and allowing to sit for a minute.
- Add the flax egg, soy milk, vanilla extract, oil, applesauce and vinegar and mix into a batter.
- Use a hand whisk to get rid of any large lumps (very small ones are fine).
- Divide the batter evenly between 12 cupcake liners.
- Place into the oven to bake for 22-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean.
Recipe Tips
Check the expiry date. Always check the expiry date on your gluten-free all purpose flour mix! Gluten-free flours tend to have a shorter shelf life than regular gluten flours, and on one particular occasion, I didn’t check the expiry date on mine and made my mother a gluten-free birthday cake.
I then proceeded to question ALL my baking skills when it tasted awful! Only to find out that my flour had expired (at least it made me feel good again about my baking skills!).
So check the dates on your flour, especially if you don’t bake super often, it’s likely you need to get a fresh supply.
Use a gluten free all purpose flour blend. It has to be a blend that is designed to replace regular all purpose flour in baking.
Storing and Freezing
Keep your cupcakes stored in an airtight container at room temperature for 2-3 days. You can also store them in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
They are also freezer friendly if you’d like to freeze them. They can be frozen either frosted or unfrosted.
More Gluten Free Baking Recipes
- Vegan Gluten Free Carrot Cake
- Gluten Free Carrot Cake Cupcakes
- Vegan Gluten Free Chocolate Cake
- Vegan Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Vegan Gluten Free Brownies
Did you make this recipe? Be sure to leave a comment and rating below!
Gluten-Free Chocolate Cupcakes
Ingredients
For the cupcakes:
- 1 and ½ cups Gluten Free All Purpose Flour (204g)
- ½ cup Cocoa Powder (42g) Unsweetened
- 1 cup Light Brown Sugar (200g)
- 1 and ¼ tsp Baking Soda
- ½ tsp Salt
- 1 cup Soy Milk (240ml) or other non-dairy milk
- 2 tsp Vanilla Extract
- ½ cup Canola Oil (120ml) or Vegetable Oil
- 2 Tbsp Applesauce
- 1 Tbsp Distilled White Vinegar or Apple Cider Vinegar
- 1 Flax Egg 1 Tbsp Ground Flaxseed Meal + 3 Tbsp Hot Water
For the Frosting:
- ⅓ cup Vegan Butter (75g)
- 3 cups Powdered Sugar (360g)
- ½ cup Cocoa Powder (42g) Unsweetened
- 2 tsp Vanilla Extract
- 4 and ½ Tbsp Soy Milk or other non-dairy milk
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Line a cupcake tray with cupcake liners.
- Sift the flour and cocoa powder into a mixing bowl and add the brown sugar, baking soda and salt. Mix together.
- Prepare your flax egg by mixing 1 Tbsp ground flaxseeds with 3 Tbsp hot water and allowing to sit for a minute.
- Add the flax egg, soy milk, vanilla extract, oil, applesauce and vinegar and mix into a batter.
- Use a hand whisk to get rid of any large lumps (very small ones are fine).
- Divide the batter evenly between the 12 cupcake liners.
- Place into the oven to bake for 22-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean.
- While the cupcakes are baking, prepare your frosting by adding the vegan butter, powdered sugar, cocoa powder, vanilla and 3 tablespoons of soy milk to the bowl of your stand mixer and starting on low speed gradually increase speed until it's thick and creamy. If it's too thick, add in the remaining soy milk only as much as needed to get the right consistency.
- As soon as your cupcakes are cooked, move them to a cooling rack to cool completely before frosting.
Notes
- I used Bob's Red Mill All Purpose Baking Flour but I have tested this recipe with other gluten-free all purpose blends and they have all been perfect. Some blends have had xantham gum in them and some have not, and I have not found a difference in the outcome. As long as it is an all purpose baking blend, it should work well for this recipe.
Hello! I tried this recipe the other day. I swapped out the olive oil with High Ratio Shortening (100g) and creamed the shortening with the sugar before adding other wet ingredients and then sifted the dry ingredients into it and mixed. I used Bob’s Red Mill 1-to-1 GF Baking Flour (which I use for a lot of recipes and it works great). I added 1tbsp more sugar to the mix as well. My cupcakes tasted fine but were noticeably denser than I’ve made them before. Why? Was it the shortening, you think? I realized the shortening I used was specifically meant for buttercream frosting and not for baking. But does it really make a difference? Should I try using vegan butter instead? And should 100g of that work well instead of 120ml olive oil? Thanks so much!
Hi Vasu, that would definitely be from using the shortening rather than oil. I have never used shortening myself, but it’s not going to be the same as oil. Vegan butter also doesn’t make a good swap in this case because the baked goods end up drier when butter is used instead of oil. This recipe was not designed around either shortening or vegan butter so I highly recommend you make it with oil. All the best!
Hi there, thank you for this lovely recipe. When you state ‘all purpose gluten free flour’ is that plain flour in the Uk? I am just concerned that the plain flour has no xanthan gum in but the gluten free self raising flour does. Which should I use please?
Thank you.
Mandy
Hi Mandy, the plain flour is what I would use. I often use blends without xantham gum and they work great.
Thanks for the info and just to check, when you say baking soda, is that bicarbonate of soda in the Uk or baking powder please? Thanks again.
Mandy
Hi Mandy, yes baking soda is called bicarbonate of soda in the UK.
I tried these as well as the coffee cupcakes. They both tasted wonderful and are extremely moist.
I used Bob’s Red Mill, 1 to 1 Baking Flour, Gluten Free but everything I make gluten-free tastes gummy even though they bake well and there are no wet streaks after baking. please advise what I can do differently to keep then vegan and gluten free
Hi there, you can actually try mixing a bit longer, sometimes gluten-free goods can do with a bit more mixing than things baked with regular flour. Alternatively you can try a different flour blend, I always have good success with Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free All Purpose Baking Flour.
Delicious, moist and good texture for a gluten free dessert! Highly recommend.
Thanks Leora!
The texture of these was amazing. I also like that the cupcakes were not overly sweet since the frosting has a good amount of sugar in it.
Awesome! So glad you enjoyed them Jorien!
Yummy. I did trade out half of the milk for strong coffee as I do with all chocolate cake recipes I make. The texture and flavour were great. Definitely a keeper. Thanks for the recipe!
Hi!! I’m making this as there is one gluten free person to accommodate for and I was just wondering if you knew how I could scale it down a bit as 12 is too many? Thanks so much!
Hi Katelyn, you could probably halve the recipe (just be very careful with the calculations) and make 6 cupcakes instead of the full batch. All the best! 🙂
Made this yesterday – only substitution was 1 regular large egg instead of the flax egg. They turned out beautifully. Nice slight dome. Had batter for 13-14…
I would like to boost the chocolate flavor. What would you recommend? I thought of cutting the milk in half and adding half of the liquid as espresso. Or should I cut some flour and up the cocoa?? Thank you for sharing this recipe!! I love that it all comes together in one bowl and is “low tech”!
Hi Silvia, so glad they turned out well! I think adding some of the liquid as espresso would work great! Half milk, half strongly brewed coffee or espresso. All the best! 🙂
Hi Alison
Looking to use this recipe and was wondering what the apple sauce brings to the mixture and can it be substituted with anything?
Cheers
Mike
Hi Mike, it’s for extra moisture, so you can use extra oil instead. 🙂
Thank you, and sorry would it be a 1:1 ratio as in an extra 2 tbsp of oil instead of apple sauce, or is this just one to experiment with.
Same ratio, so 2 extra tbsp of oil would be perfect! 🙂
Thank you so very much, looking forward to trying these 🙂
hello
can i omit the flax egg?
Hi Shauna, you can’t omit it unless you’re replacing it with something else.
Can it be replaced by more applesauce?
Hi Stephanie, yes sure! If using applesauce to replace it then I would use 3 Tbsp applesauce to replace 1 flax egg. 🙂
These came out really dry for me! I was so disappointed!! Do you have any idea what I could have done wrong??
Most likely you used too much flour. Flour should either be weighed on a food scale or measured using the spoon and level method. Spoon it into your measuring cup and then level off the top with a knife. Don’t scoop it and don’t pack it into the cup. Hope that helps!
Can I put them in the freezer? After baking. And if I can then for how many weeks?
Yes you can freeze them for up to 3 months. This article has some tips on freezing your cupcakes. All the best! 🙂
I was really nervous about making a vegan gluten free cupcake (vegan baking is especially out of my comfort zone, and when combined with GF it’s even more nerve-wracking!). This came out really great! I ended up making two batches because I wasn’t paying enough attention and assumed it was a 24 cupcake recipe. Whoops! The first batch I whisked a bit with a stand mixer and then also let sit for longer before baking. The second I hand whisked and pretty much poured straight into the tin. The first batch came out a little more dense and didn’t rise as much (which makes sense). They were a little “prettier” though in that they did not crack on the top.
I’m really pleased that these cupcakes weren’t crumbly at all and the texture was great!. I did make one modification by letting my flax egg sit and get a little more sticky in the fridge for about ten minutes. It still seemed too runny after 1 minute.
Someone mentioned they’d prefer a more chocolatey flavor. I used guittard cocoa rouge for the cupcakes (which should be a brighter, less mellow chocolate) and a dutch processed cocoa (tastes like oreos) for the frosting. I may try to push the chocolate factor in a future run of this recipe by trying other cocoa powders or subbing out some of the soy milk for some coffee.
So glad you enjoyed them! Thanks so much for sharing and the great review! 🙂
These were so delicious, however, mine came out a little dry and crumbled a lot when I barely picked it up. Any ideas what I did wrong? Otherwise, they were SOO good! Thanks for the recipe!
Hi Monica, I would guess you might have used a little too much flour, that would cause the dryness. If you weigh it, you should have a better result with that. As far as crumbling goes though, I’m not sure what would cause that. If you used a gluten-free all purpose flour blend, as opposed to a single type of flour, it should hold together.
Great texture and crumb, but these had a milder flavor than I anticipated. I’d have preferred a deeper chocolate flavor. I needed vanilla as the icing so I just used my own recipe for the icing so I can’t vouch for that. This came out with 14 cupcakes rather than 12 for me. I’ll keep this recipe handy for future use!