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Oh my goodness these gluten free red velvet cupcakes are next level good! The softest, fluffiest chocolate-vanilla flavoured sponge topped with silky smooth cream cheese frosting. Absolute heaven.

They are so good that you would never guess they are gluten free. Simply delicious little cakey morsels that you want to gobble up as fast as possible. If you can resist the tempation to eat more than one of these in a single sitting then you’ve more willpower than me!

These cupcakes are an adapted version of my Gluten Free Red Velvet Cake recipe, which is ideal for celebrations. Perhaps bake a big cake alongside a batch of these little cupcakes to really create a showstopping bake.

The method for these cupcakes uses ingredients in a slightly different order to classic cupcakes and also yields a very wet batter. You hold off adding the dry ingredients until the last moment. Then quickly transfer the cupcakes to the oven.

The reason for the quick transfer? Well, the active ingredients in this recipe are bicarbonate of soda/baking powder and white wine vinegar. As soon as they combine, the bicarb will start reacting with vinegar, and the baking powder with the liquid, creating little air bubbles. These are what helps give the gluten free red velvet cupcakes a beautiful rise. So work quickly to mix and pop into the oven at this final stage for lovely, springy cupcakes.

Gluten Free Red Velvet Cupcakes Recipe

This recipe makes 9 red velvet cupcakes (rather than anyone having to faff around with half eggs, I’ve opted for a slightly unorthodox batch size!), but feel free to double if you want to bake 18 instead.

The batter is very wet, much runnier than normal cake batter, but have faith that they will work. This recipe yields the most wonderfully fluffy sponges, and the wet batter is key to achieving that final bake.

You’ll find the detailed method below with a couple pictures for guidance, but feel free to email me any questions or comments you might have. You can contact me at laura@mygfguide.com or message me on Instagram/Facebook @myglutenfreeguide.

If you enjoy these red velvet cupcakes, I would be really grateful if you could leave a star rating on the recipe card below. Thank you!

Laura xxx

Gluten Free Red Velvet Cupcakes
Yield: Makes 9 Cupcakes

Gluten Free Red Velvet Cupcakes

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients

For the cupcakes:

  • 60g butter/Stork Baking Block
  • 150g caster sugar
  • 1 tsp vanilla essence
  • 1 large egg
  • 60ml sunflower oil
  • 1 tsp red food gel
  • 15g cocoa powder
  • 140ml milk
  • 1 tsp white wine vinegar
  • 40g ground almonds
  • 110g gluten free plain flour
  • 1 tsp gluten free baking powder
  • 0.5 tsp bicarbonate of soda
  • 0.25 tsp xanthan gum

For the cream cheese frosting:

  • 330g icing sugar
  • 55g butter
  • 150g cream cheese
  • 1 tsp vanilla bean paste/vanilla essence

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 175C (fan). Take a muffin tin and line 9 of the holes with cupcake cases.
  • Chop the butter into small chunks and beat with an electric whisk until smooth. Add the caster sugar and vanilla essence, then mix again with the electric whisk until the ingredients are well combined.
  • Add the egg to the butter/sugar and mix until combined.
  • In a new small bowl, combine the sunflower oil, red food gel and sifted cocoa powder, stirring well to get rid of any lumps.
  • Add the cocoa powder oil mix to the butter/sugar/egg, stir to combine. Then add the milk and white wine vinegar, ensuring everything is mixed really well. The mixture will be very liquid at this stage as we are yet to add the dry ingredients.
  • Add the ground almonds to the bowl then sift the plain flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and xanthan gum into the bowl. Mix really well until everything is combined and you have a smooth cake batter. You'll notice it is much runnier than other cake batter, but have faith, it bakes up a treat!
  • Immediately ladle cake batter into the cupcake cases, until each is about two thirds full, then they go straight into the oven. Place the cupcakes on the middle shelf and bake at 175C (fan) for 20 minutes.
  • After 20 minutes, test the centre cupcake with a cake tester or skewer - if it comes out clean the cupcakes are baked, if not continue to bake for a further couple of minutes. If baked, remove from the oven.
  • Leave the cakes in the tin to cool for the first 10 minutes (as they will still be quite soft). Then carefully lift them out onto to wire rack and leave to cool completely.
  • Once the cakes have cooled entirely, you can go ahead and make the cream cheese frosting. In a clean bowl, mix your butter with a wooden spoon or electric whisk until it has been whipped smooth.
  • Add the cream cheese to the butter and mix well to combine. Then you gradually mix in the sifted icing sugar – doing this gradually will help avoid any lumps forming. I would use a wooden spoon to initially mix the icing sugar in (as if you use an electric whisk straightaway you’ll end up with an icing sugar cloud in your kitchen!). Then add the vanilla. If you have an electric whisk give everything a final blitz, or use some arm power to mix. You should end up with a lovely smooth, thick frosting.
  • Now to assemble the cupcakes, mmmmm. Dollop a heaped tsp of cream cheese frosting on top of each cake. Then use a small palette knife to spread the frosting. Decorate with a little cocoa powder or chocolate shavings and enjoy!
    • © Laura Strange (www.mygfguide.com)
    Cuisine: Baking / Category: Gluten Free Recipe
    The consistency of the final cake batter will be very runny, as pictured above

    If you enjoy baking and eating these gluten free red velvet cupcakes, why not try some of my other baking recipes! Here are a few to whet your appetite:

    Enjoy! Laura xxx