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 darn 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.
Baker’s 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 I tasted it! 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 for up to 3 months 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
- Vegan Gluten Free Vanilla Cupcakes
Did you make this recipe? Be sure to leave a comment and rating below!
Gluten Free Chocolate Cupcakes
Ingredients
For the cupcakes:
- 1 ½ cups Gluten Free All Purpose Flour (204g)
- ½ cup Cocoa Powder (42g) Unsweetened
- 1 cup Light Brown Sugar (200g)
- 1 ¼ teaspoons Baking Soda
- ½ teaspoon Salt
- 1 Flax Egg 1 Tbsp Ground Flaxseed Meal + 3 Tbsp Hot Water
- 1 cup Soy Milk (240ml) or other non-dairy milk
- 2 teaspoons Vanilla Extract
- ½ cup Canola Oil (120ml) or Vegetable Oil
- 2 Tablespoons Applesauce
- 1 Tablespoon Distilled White Vinegar or Apple Cider Vinegar
For the Frosting:
- ⅓ cup Vegan Butter (75g)
- 3 cups Powdered Sugar (360g)
- ½ cup Cocoa Powder (42g) Unsweetened
- 2 teaspoons Vanilla Extract
- 4 ½ Tablespoons 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
- Gluten free all purpose flour. 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.
- Storing: 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.
- Freezing: They are also freezer friendly (frosted or unfrosted) for up to 3 months.
The taste was AMAZING! They fell apart really easily (they were really hard to eat and really crumbly) Is this normal? Any suggestions on how to make them stay together better?
(They were a perfect shape and rose perfectly, they just didn’t stay together when I bit into them…)
Hi Mandy, so glad the taste was good. I haven’t had this happen with the crumbliness, it might be an idea to try a different gluten free baking blend.
Have you ever added chocolate chips to this recipe, and if so how much? Thank you.
Hi Rita, I haven’t tried adding chocolate chips but if I did I would use 1 cup (175g) and see how it turned out.
These cupcakes are so great! I have been gluten free for many years and tried numerous cake/cupcake recipes. These have by far the best texture of any that I have ever made. I can finally add a chocolate cupcake recipe to my special “permanent” recipe book and stop searching. Thank you!
So happy to hear that Lynette!
These are so good and so easy to make!
Awesome! Thanks Alexandra!