So you know, matcha is very trendy right now. And not that I’m a person who manages to keep up with trends or anything, but I have been wanting to make gluten-free vegan vanilla cupcakes for ages, so I decided to just go for it and top them with some matcha green tea frosting!
After making my matcha green tea smoothie I knew I was a fan, so why not extend the love to other recipes?
And since making my vegan vanilla cupcakes, I have been wanting to try a gluten-free version, so these two ideas collided in a most pleasing way.
I was pretty much thrilled with how these came out. And so was everyone who ate them!
I was a little surprised at how golden the color was. I’m assuming that’s down to the gluten-free all purpose flour, because in my other vanilla cupcakes made with regular flour, the color is much lighter. Here, it’s this lovely golden color.
The golden color of the cupcakes blends so well with the light green color of the matcha green tea frosting.
I used a tablespoon of matcha green tea powder in this frosting, and the green tea flavor is quite strong when you taste the frosting alone.
But once it’s on top of the cupcakes and the flavors blend together the green tea flavor then seems very mild.
Gluten-Free Vegan Vanilla Cupcakes FAQ
Can I adapt this recipe for a cake? Yes you can! This adapts to two 7″ cake pans for a two layer cake or a single 9″ cake pan for a single layer cake.
Baking time would increase to 30 minutes (or perhaps a little longer – use the toothpick test: if a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean, then it’s done).
I’m not gluten-free. Can I make this with regular flour? We have made vegan vanilla cupcakes with regular wheat flour, check out that recipe.
Can I use rice flour/coconut flour/almond flour? I have experimented with gluten-free baking and in my experience the BEST results are going to come from using a gluten-free all purpose flour blend. I have had some epic flops trying to use a single type of flour such as rice flour. Bob’s Red Mill is a great brand to use, but any gluten-free all purpose flour blend is going to do the trick.
Do I need to use xantham gum? No, it will either already be in your gluten-free all purpose baking blend or it won’t, but either way, don’t worry about it. I have made gluten-free cakes with a blend that did contain xantham gum and a blend that did not. Both worked out wonderfully. As long as you’re using an all purpose baking blend, you should be good.
You will love these gluten-free vanilla cupcakes, they are:
- Moist
- Spongey
- Light and fluffy
- Perfectly sweet
- Vanilla infused
- Gluten-free!
- Topped with velvety smooth matcha green tea frosting!
Keep them covered in the fridge where they will stay good for up to a week!
Let me know what you think of these beautifully golden gluten-free vegan vanilla cupcakes! And if gluten-free cupcakes are your thing, definitely check out our gluten-free vegan chocolate cupcakes too!
Post any comments or questions in the comment section down below and please do rate the recipe too.
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Gluten-Free Vegan Vanilla Cupcakes with Matcha Green Tea Frosting
- Prep Time: 20 mins
- Cook Time: 25 mins
- Total Time: 45 mins
- Yield: 12
Description
Light fluffy and spongey gluten-free vegan vanilla cupcakes with matcha green tea frosting. Beautifully golden cupcakes with a pale green velvety frosting. Perfect packages of deliciousness!
Ingredients
For the Cupcakes:
- 1 + 3/4 cups (238g) Gluten-Free All Purpose Flour
- 1 cup (200g) White Sugar
- 1 + 1/4 tsp Baking Soda
- 1/2 tsp Salt
- 1 cup Soy Milk*
- 2 tsp Vanilla Extract
- 1/2 cup (120ml) Extra Virgin Olive Oil*
- 1 Tbsp White Vinegar
- 2 Tbsp Applesauce
For the Frosting:
- 3 cups (375g) Powdered (Confectioners) Sugar
- 1/3 cup (75g) Vegan Butter
- 3 Tbsp Soy Milk*
- 1 Tbsp Matcha Green Tea Powder
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C).
- Sift the flour into a mixing bowl and add the sugar, baking soda and salt and mix together.
- Add the soy milk, vanilla extract, oil, vinegar and applesauce and mix using a hand whisk until all the lumps are gone. If a few small lumps remain, that’s fine.
- Line a cupcake tray with cupcake liners. Pour the batter into a jug that’s easy to pour from and pour out the batter evenly between the 12 cupcake liners.
- Place into the oven and bake for 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Transfer the cupcakes to a cooling rack and allow to cool completely before frosting.
- Add the powdered sugar, vegan butter, soy milk* (see notes) and matcha green tea powder to an electric mixing bowl.
- Starting on low speed and then gradually increasing speed, whisk until smooth and creamy.
- Pipe onto the cupcakes and serve.
Notes
*Almond milk can be used instead of soy milk if you prefer.
*You can use a different vegetable oil such as canola oil if you prefer.
*You may not need to use all the soy milk in the frosting. Depending on the brand of vegan butter you use, if it has a higher water content than the one I used, you may need less soy milk added in. So just add it in slowly until you reach the right consistency. If it still ends up too thin, add more powdered sugar. If it’s too thick, add more soy milk, a drop at a time until you reach the right consistency.
*Adapted from my Vegan Vanilla Cupcakes
- Category: Dessert, Gluten-Free
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: Vegan
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cupcake (of 12)
- Calories: 367
- Sugar: 48.7g
- Sodium: 282mg
- Fat: 12.8g
- Saturated Fat: 1.8g
- Carbohydrates: 61.8g
- Fiber: 1.9g
- Protein: 2.8g
Keywords: gluten-free vegan vanilla cupcakes
Hi!
Can you substitute applesauce entirely instead of using oil?
Also, when I made your vegan vanilla cake recipe, I’m not sure what happened, but the cake didn’t turn out golden and seemed relatively dense? The flavor was great, but it was also gummy. Not sure what could have caused that, maybe I didn’t cook it long enough?
Hi Kelsey, yes you can try replacing all the oil with applesauce. There can be a number of reasons for that to happen. Overmixing the cake batter, letting it sit too long before baking (it should be baked right away), or the oven temp not being correct (an oven thermometer is very handy to figure that out).
Please help Alison! I’m trying so hard to make gf cakes and I can’t figure out what’s going wrong. I followed your recipe to the letter as I’m aware, but my cupcakes sunk quite dramatically in the middle and the consistency wasn’t right at all, they were cooked but seemed stodgy. The batter was quite thin when it went in. What would cause this? X
Hi Michelle, what gf flour did you use?
This recipe was a life saver. I made this recipe as a cake today for my son’s birthday. I have to say that this was one of the best gluten free egg free dairy free cakes I have tried! It’s been near impossible to make a GF DF EF cake that everyone would eat. I would make it again. Thank you!!
★★★★★
So happy to hear that Katie! Thanks a million!
Hello Alison,
Can I not use the applesauce and would that be alright, my daughter is allergic to apple and dairy intolerant.
Hi Usha, yes you can leave it out and replace with 2 extra tablespoons of oil.
Thank you so much for your reply! I’ll try them today and let you know how they turn out
★★★★★
Hi Alison,
Thanks so much for your recipe. Can you keep these out of the fridge and for how long? Thanks!
Hi Alicia, yes sure, about 3 days at room temp.
These came out great, very moist and not too sweet. Thank you!
★★★★★
Awesome! Thanks for sharing!