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
Print Recipe
Pin RecipeDescription
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
How would I substitute the cup of white sugar for stevia? Or do you think it would even work? Thanks in advance.
Hi Julie, sorry I have no experience at all with subbing sugar for stevia so can’t advise.
Hmmmmm not sure what happened here but they came out very salty. Texture is great and color is nice but they sunk in the middle and taste heavy of salt. Followed recipe also.
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Did you by any chance use a gluten-free self raising flour instead of gf all purpose? Self raising has baking powder added which would account for both the salty taste and the sinking in the middle.
Hello,
I made the cupcakes and they turned out well. I would say the flavour is a bit like caramel. I plan to serve mine with vanilla icing or frosting, LivB’s vegan caramel sauce and blackberries. Should be amazing. Thanks for taking the time to create this recipe. It filled a gaping hole in our family’s celebrations.
Hi Nicole! So happy to hear they turned out well. Thanks so much for sharing. 🙂
Made these as cupcakes and they are lovely but would like to make a single one in my 12″x9″ baking tray how much mixture would I need please?
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Hi Pat, I actually think you’d be good to go, without any adjustment. Baking time would be shorter though, maybe 20 mins or so. All the best! 🙂
Thank you for the swift reply, will be trying out in a couple of days and will let you know the outcome.?
I haven’t tried this recipe but will do this weekend. I just wasn’t sure what applesauce is?
It’s like puréed apples, but you get it in jars and it’s useful in baking. 🙂
They turned out wonderfully yummy! My 2nd time making cupcakes so I don’t have much context for comparison, but I think I prefer these vegan/GF cupcakes over glutinous wheat based cupcakes! I needed these to accommodate special eaters at my work, and they did the job. Love the matcha, as well as the nutty flavor of the cupcake itself. Also very easy to make.
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Hi Lianna, so happy to hear they were a success! Thanks so much for sharing! 🙂
Please can you let me know what you mean / use for vegan butter? Coconut oil? Nut butter? Many thanks Helen
Hi Helen, no I mean a vegan buttery spread, like Earth Balance in the USA, Nuttelex in Australia/Dubai, Vitalite in the UK. If you don’t have a brand that is particularly labeled vegan you can just search for a margarine brand that may be ‘accidentally’ vegan, as in, vegan by ingredient list, but not necessarily labeled as vegan.
Thank you for the clarification Alison
Can I use rice flour? My daughter is gluten, dairy and egg intolerant. Having trouble finding recipe that would work for birthday cake. She also cannot have vanilla so would substitute with almond. Any help would be greatly appreciative.
Hi
I would love to try these cupcakes, but was wondering, do I need to use xanthan gum?
I used a gluten-free all purpose blend that didn’t have xantham gum in it (Bob’s Red Mill All Purpose Blend) but if you use a blend that DOES have xantham gum in it, that’s totally fine. There’s no need to add it in extra though if the blend you have doesn’t contain it. However, you must use a gluten-free all purpose blend (formulated as a blend for baking).
Hi Alison, i just finished baking a batch of these (without frosting).
– The texture is great. I used a personal mix of 40% cornstarch / 30% corn flour / 30% rice flower and the texture is really close to a regular cupcake, maybe a bit fluffier and light with that mix.
– I divided in half all the quantities, and i still got 20 mini cupcakes (instead of 12 minis expected since the recipe yields 12 regular cupcakes). I could’ve made more of them, i think filling the cases up to 3/4 gives a nice volume (i filled mine like you did and it went over the top and stuck a little to the pan all around the cases with some sort of flat edges… Not sure if it’s clear…
– The colour was also very golden. I only cooked them for 22 min instead of 25, thinking i would test and then go up to 25 minutes if not cooked, but i think even 22 min was too long with my oven. I might try a little less next time.
– As for the taste… I’m undecided. It doesn’t taste at all like vanilla cupcakes… It doesn’t taste bad, absolutely not, just not vanilla.
– I didn’t use olive oil but ISIO4 vegetal oil, i was afraid the taste of it would be too strong for cakes. Isn’t it ? Can you taste it once the cake is all done ?
– I also used apple cider vinegar instead of white vinegar… Not sure if that impacted the taste, since it’s so little of it…
So yeah, after that detailed feedback : texture is great, taste is not vanilla (just “no particular taste” cupcake so it will mainly depend on the flours and tasty ingredients used, probably), oven time is to be monitored, recipe give a bit more cupcakes than expected.
Next time i’ll try your chocolat GF Vegan cupcakes recipe, i didn’t have flaxseed meal today.
Thank you for your recipes !
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Hi
I have made your recipe and the texture is great however the colour is very pale compared to your lovely golden colour ?
Hi Fiona, honestly I was very surprised that mine came out so golden, the color going in was very pale! It is likely from using different brands of ingredients. If they taste good (and I hope they do!) then that’s the most important thing.
Hi! When the batter was mixed it was very thick, not pourable. Should I add more milk until it’s runny? Thanks!
It’s hard to say, did you weigh the flour? If not, you may have used too much, in which case, a little more milk may help.
Should I use gluten free all purpose flour or gluten free 1:1 baking flour? Thanks!
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The one I used was just the gluten free all purpose flour blend, but the 1:1 baking flour would work fine for this as well.
Looks perfect! Can I use this recipe for a cake?
Sure! In this quantity it makes a perfect amount for a 2-layer cake if you use 7-inch round cake pans, or you could do 1-layer if your cake pans are much bigger.
Okay please help! I’m not vegan but I’m needing to make cupcakes for a girl who is graduating and has a gluten egg and dairy allergy so vegan is the way for her! Your recipe rose well and turned golden just like yours however when I cut it it’s gummy! Is that normal? I’ve tried so many recipes and yours had best consistency and actually rose while baking so looked wonderful just don’t understand why still is a gum dough consistency! Thanks for your recipe! I plan to try more!
Hi Sarah! Did you poke one of the cupcakes with a toothpick to check if it was ready or did you just go by the time? The reason I ask is because ovens are variable in their temperatures and gluten-free baking can add even an extra layer of variability to cooking times, so this becomes even more crucial. It sounds to me like you may have taken it out the oven too soon. It should definitely not be gummy, it should be perfect cake! You may find that as they cool down the texture may still turn out okay. But if you make them again, that toothpick needs to come out clean to show that there is no gumminess remaining. All the best!
Thanks for such fast help! I will try again! They for sure have the best flavor I’ve tried so far. Can I stick them back in or is it once they start cooling no more baking? I cooked them at 350 for 30 mins! Should I try a different temp? My oven should be pretty close as I bake cakes daily in it but this has been my first adventure to trying vegan!
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Usually that should be more than enough time, but gluten-free baking can be more variable, which is tricky! I don’t actually know if you can just put them back in, it’s worth a try though! Preheat the oven again and put them back in for 5 minutes (try the toothpick method after 5 mins) and just see. The risk would be them drying out a bit too much, since they have cooled and then are being reheated. Hope it goes well!
Hi Alison!
Found these AFTER my comment from yesterday. I see that some proportions are different (soda & oil).
Will this really be OK with out baking powder?
Also, is applesauce mandatory? Any other substitute? Would pureed pineapples work?
Hi Renuka, yes it’s fine without baking powder. The applesauce adds extra moisture as gluten-free flours absorb more moisture. You could use a bit more oil instead. I have no idea if pureed pineapples would work out the same as applesauce.
Sounds delicious! I will definitely be giving it a try; I think the frosting would go very well with a maple walnut cupcake!!
Mmmm, maple walnut sounds divine!
HI Alison! I just stumbled upon your blog (I was looking for a matcha smoothie recipe. Thank you for that!) and I am in love with it! I am so glad I’ve found it. You have so many amazing recipes. I can’t wait to try some of them out 🙂 These cupcakes will definitely go on the must try list!
Wonderful! So glad you found us too! 🙂 Thanks so much for your kind words! 🙂
Wow! Can’t believe that one can get gluten-free and vegan!
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Yep! It’s pretty cool!