Did someone say dessert?! When these delicious gluten free red velvet cupcakes are on the menu, everyone will save room! Not to mention, they're incredibly easy to make and topped with a delectable cream cheese frosting.
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Only have 30 minutes to spare and need a sweet treat but want a little more pizzazz than cookies? Turn to these gluten free red velvet cupcakes! They’ll look like you fussed and spent hours in the kitchen, but they couldn’t be simpler.
And because they start with our flour blend, they come together in no time. Find our versatile flour blend, that happens to be perfect for breads, muffins and biscuits, here. It has the perfect balance of flours to starches so you get great results with your baked goods each and every time.
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Why these are the best!
If you've ever wanted a classic red velvet cupcake that just bursts with flavor and doesn't take hours to prepare, then this is your recipe. These tempting, homemade cupcakes are also:
- Simple to mix -use a stand mixer and they'll come together in no time
- Consistent - the recipe makes darn good cupcakes! Each and every time!
- Soft and buttery - just because they're gluten free, and possibly dairy free if you go that route, doesn't mean they lack that soft crumb that typically comes with decadent cakes. Because of the batter, they're even more tender than gluten filled ones.
How to make this recipe
A mixer, a muffin tin and some bowls are all you need for melt in your mouth cupcakes. But these tips are helpful too:
Make your own buttermilk
If you happen to have buttermilk on hand, then you can skip the first 2 ingredients. Just use ½ cup buttermilk in place of the milk and vinegar combination. But, if you’re like me and never keep it on hand, not to worry, just turn to this handy substitution. Simply mix the milk and vinegar and let it sit for about 5 minutes. Quick and easy substitution.
Our flour mix
With just the right balance of flours and starches, our flour blend is ideal for this cupcake. It produces a light and tender cake without being overly sweet. It’s really the ideal blend and is perfect for these bread sticks, these chocolate chip muffins and these muffins too.
Batter consistency
Finding this batter to be really runny and wondering if you did something wrong? Not to worry, thin batter is good. The batter should have the consistency of thin soup. It should run off the spoon quite easily.
Use a measuring cup for the batter
Because this batter is very thin, portioning it into the muffin tin can be tricky. A simple solution is to use a measuring cup! Simply pour the batter into the cup and fill each cupcake liner with the batter. No mess and it’s easy to control the portion in each cup.
Frosting the cupcakes
These velvety cupcakes taste amazing by themselves, but add a dollop of cream cheese frosting and suddenly you have a dessert that will take your breath away. Any way you frost these little beauties is going to be scrumptious – because who can resist a cream cheese frosted cupcake?!
But if you’d like to practice your swirls and rings of frosting, here are the tools you’ll need:
The #12 tip size is perfect for making the small, but perfectly sized ropes of frosting around these cupcakes. A slight squeeze of the bag as you turn the cupcake around and around is all it takes.
Finish them off with a small little tip at the top and some red sugars.
FAQ's
There is some science behind using buttermilk in your red velvet cupcakes. That characteristic tang helps activate the baking soda in the cake which creates some nicely crowned cupcakes! It's easy to make buttermilk at home - just mix the milk (either almond or cow's milk) and let it sit for a few minutes, then use in the recipe.
The recipe has been tested and re-tested several times with our gluten free flour blend. Other mixes may work, but I have not tested them. I know this one works wonderfully!
Great news - these cupcakes can easily be made dairy free! In fact I do it all the time! Here's how: use almond milk for the milk in the buttermilk. Use Kite Hill brand dairy free cream cheese for the cream cheese and use a vegan butter for the butter - a delicious dairy free option!
Whether they sink while baking or after you take them out of the oven, sinking cupcakes can put a damper on your baking! The reason they sink can be a couple things - either they didn't bake quite long enough or the batter didn't have a long enough rest period. Fortunately, they can easily be fixed. And I mean super easy! Just add a bit more frosting to the tops and then decorate as usual. No one will know!
Ready for the most delicious gluten free red velvet cupcakes ever?!
Other cake recipes
Gluten Free Red Velvet Cupcakes
Ingredients
Buttermilk mixture:
- ½ cup milk
- 1 teaspoon white vinegar
Cupcakes:
- 130 grams gluten free flour blend about 1 cup
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- 2 Tablespoon unsweetened cocoa
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¾ cup white sugar
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 ounce red food coloring
- ¼ cup prepared coffee room temperature
Frosting:
- 4 ounces cream cheese softened
- ¼ cup butter room temperature
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 2 cups powdered sugar
Instructions
Prepare buttermilk: In a 1 cup measuring cup, add 1 tsp. of vinegar to milk. Mix gently and set aside.
- In a medium mixing bowl, combine flour blend, baking soda, baking powder, cocoa and salt. Mix until combined. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl or bowl of a stand mixer, mix the sugar and oil on low speed until combined. Add in the egg, buttermilk mixture, vanilla and red food coloring – mix until combined.
- Stir in the coffee.
- Add the flour mixture to the wet mixture and mix on low speed, just until combined. Scrape down the bowl.
- Mix on low-medium speed for 2 minutes.
- Set batter aside to rest for 30 minutes.
- Prepare a muffin tin by placing paper liners in each cup. Preheat oven to 350 F.
- Pour batter into a measuring cup. Fill each muffin cup ¾ of the way full of batter.
- Bake for 24 minutes or until a toothpick tests done.
- Remove the cupcakes and let them cool on a cooling rack.
Prepare frosting:
- In a medium mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese and butter until light and fluffy.
- Add the vanilla extract and beat again. Add powdered sugar, 1 cup at a time, beating well after each addition.
- Frost cooled cupcakes.
Video
Notes
- This recipe was tested with the gluten free flour blend from Zest For Baking
- Make it dairy free by using dairy free milk, butter and cream cheese
- Let the batter rest for the full 30 minutes for the lightest, fluffiest cupcakes
- A measuring cup works well for portioning the batter in the cupcake liners
- Frost the cupcakes with a knife or get fancy with a piping bag and tip
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