Gluten Free & Vegan Chocolate Cupcakes
Tons of people out there follow special diets, sometimes by choice and sometimes by necessity. It can be a real bummer to see all of these tasty desserts and not be able to enjoy them! With this simple recipe, you are ready to make gluten free and vegan chocolate cupcakes. Now you can have your cake and eat it too.
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This recipe was originally published on May 16, 2019 and is being republished on April 5, 2021 with updates.
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Gluten Free & Vegan Chocolate Cupcakes
When I started Bakes & Blunders years ago, I knew absolutely nothing about alternative baking like gluten free, dairy free, and vegan. I did happen to know a yummy recipe for chocolate cupcakes that just happened to be vegan.
As I grew my baking skills, I got more and more requests for gluten free, dairy free, and vegan recipes. Naturally, I started with what I knew. I used my fave (aka the only one I’ve ever used) gluten free flour substitute from King Arthur Baking in my vegan chocolate cupcake recipe and it was a huge success!
Top Tips for Cupcakes
- Do NOT over mix. Once you combine the wet and dry ingredients, only mix to combine.
- Place some dried rice (½ – 1 teaspoon) in the bottom of each cupcake cavity before adding your paper cases.
- Use a large cookie scoop to perfectly portion your cupcake batter.
Gluten Free vs Traditional Baking
The most important issue here is, how do these gluten free and vegan chocolate cupcakes compare to those made with traditional flour? Well, pretty darn good in my opinion.
In all serious, there is a tiny bit of a difference. The gluten free cupcakes won’t rise quite as much and tend to me a bit more dense. This does not bother me because it kinda adds a bit of a brownie vibe.
The one other difference is also a texture thing. I find that gluten free flour has a bit of grittiness to it. Don’t worry though, it’s not terribly noticeable, but if I want to be completely transparent.
Onto the Frosting
So, we’ve established that these gluten free and vegan chocolate cupcakes are simple and delicious. But they need an equally wonderful dairy free or vegan frosting! Luckily, I’ve got quite a few to choose from.
Top Choices:
- Vegan Vanilla Bean Frosting
- Vegan Strawberry Frosting
- Vegan Strawberry Coconut Cream Frosting
- Dairy Free Marshmallow Frosting
- Vegan Cream Cheese Frosting
- Vegan Black Cocoa Frosting (recipe in description box)
Turn This Into a Cake!
Not only does this recipe make amazing cupcakes, but you can use this very same batter to make a delicious gluten free and vegan chocolate cake! This little beauty is a 2 layer 4 inch cake with vegan vanilla frosting. It got rave reviews from the birthday boy!
You can snag my free Bake Time by Pan Size chart from the Resource Library when you subscribe. This chart will help you adjust your bake times depending on what size pan you want to use.
Related Reading: Alternative Baking: Common Baking Substitutes
Enjoy!
I was so curious to see how these gluten free cupcakes would turn out and I was not disappointed. You can’t even tell that these are vegan or gluten free because they are just so dang tasty! The vegan and gluten free cupcakes are rich, moist, and tender.
If you’ve got a friend who needs some gluten free and vegan chocolate cupcakes in their life, make sure to send them this recipe asap!
Vegan and Gluten Free Cupcakes
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups King Arthur gluten free measure for measure flour 6.5 oz
- 1 cup sugar 7 oz
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 3 Tbsps cocoa powder
- 1 cup hot black coffee
- 1 tsp white vinegar
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 5 Tbsps canola oil
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350℉. Fill cupcake tin with liners. Set aside.
- Sift flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt into a medium or large bowl. Set aside.
- Sift cocoa powder into a medium bowl and add hot coffee. Stir until combined. Add vinegar, vanilla, and oil and stir again until combined.
- Pour the chocolate mixture into the bowl of dry ingredients. Gently stir until combined.
- Use a scoop to dispense the batter evenly in the cupcake pan. Bake for 17- 20 minutes, or until the tops spring back when touched.
- Cool in the pan for 5 minutes before removing to a cooling rack. Allow cupcakes to cool completely before frosting.
Notes
- I used King Arthur Measure for Measure Gluten Free Flour, but if there's another brand you prefer, that should work too. Just make sure it works well with baked goods.
- 6 inch pan - 12 oz - 30- 35 minutes
- 4 inch pan - 6 oz - 30 minutes
My Favorite Products For This Recipe
Colleen
Hi there! I’m Colleen, a novice baker with a passion for learning and improving my bakes… and blunders. On Bakes and Blunders, you can find all sorts of tasty recipes that range in difficulty, but most importantly, I’ll try to explain the reason behind important steps. If you know why a recipe works, you can tweak and adapt it to suit your unique tastes, and you’ll be able to reliably produce some very delicious treats. If you love baking and want to expand and grow your skills, or if you are a casual baker and just need some pointers, my blog is right up your alley! Join me on my baking journey and we’ll learn how to make more impressive recipes together.
4 Comments
Angela Greven | Mean Green Chef
Loving the coconut cream raspberry frosting, I bet cheesecloth would also aid in straining the excess water, maybe laid in a fine-meshed sieve. Your cupcakes are beautiful and I can tell that they POP with flavor!! Thank you so much for sharing! 🙂
Colleen
Great idea with the cheesecloth! I’ll have to try that next time.
Kendra
What a yummy looking cupcake! I’m so excited to try this!
Colleen
It’s absolutely delicious even if you’re not vegan 😀