
These gluten free vanilla cupcakes are smooth and tender, with a fluffy and moist crumb that tastes prefer it got here out of your favourite bakery!

These never-fail bakery-style gluten free vanilla cupcakes are extremely moist and tender. They’ll even simply be made dairy free, too! And remember that creamy frosting — cupcakes like these are made for an unimaginable frosting.

Why you may love this gluten free cupcake recipe
I like a cupcake with a pleasant, flat high, so it’s straightforward to pile on a pleasant, fluffy frosting. You’ll be able to see for your self that this recipe for gluten free cupcakes is the right frosting supply system.
My recipe for the best gluten free vanilla cake is actually excellent in each attainable manner—and it does occur to make very good cupcakes. Nevertheless it requires some sifting and different fussiness within the technique, and the cupcakes don’t bake up as flat.
These straightforward gluten free vanilla cupcakes effortlessly rise right into a flat high, and so they don’t require any sifting of the dry substances. They usually’re so gentle, fluffy, and moist, they actually do style like one thing you’d decide up at a flowery bakery.
They’re additionally excellent for almost any event. Party? Recreation night time? Wednesday night time? Have a good time occasions huge and small with cupcakes. You’ll be able to even freeze these scrumptious little treats, so you may take pleasure in them later.




Cupcake substances
- Baking powder and baking soda – these substances assist your cupcakes rise and provides them that gentle, ethereal texture
- Salt – the final word taste enhancer, salt actually brings out the style of the sugar and vanilla
- Butter – additionally helps with the feel and aroma of the cupcakes, but additionally provides richness and serves as a taste supply system
- Granulated sugar – these cupcakes are candy because of the sugar, however this ingredient additionally works as a tenderizer
- Eggs – we use 1 egg and 1 egg white to provide the cupcakes construction and contribute to the rise
- Vanilla extract – that is what provides the cupcakes that superior taste that reminds you of birthday cake
- Buttermilk – use common milk or buttermilk, although I discover that buttermilk ends in essentially the most tender cupcakes with the crumb you wish to press into the tines of a fork


make gluten free vanilla cupcakes
Mix the dry substances; then the moist substances
- Whisk collectively the dry substances (gluten free flour mix with xanthan gum, baking powder, baking soda, and salt), and put aside.
- In a big mixing bowl, beat butter, an egg, egg white, and sugar till well-combined and fluffy






End making the batter
- Beat in half the dry substances, then the buttermilk, then the remaining dry substances.
- After every addition, beat till simply mixed.
- After including the final of the dry substances, combine by hand right into a easy, smooth however thick cupcake batter.








Switch to the muffin tin & bake
- Line the wells of a typical muffin tin with greaseproof liners.
- Fill the wells 2/3 of the best way full with batter. You may have sufficient batter left over to make about one other 3 to 4 cupcakes after.
- Bake at 325°F for about 20 minutes, or till flippantly golden brown.
- Let cool within the tin for about 5 minutes, after which totally on a wire rack.




The very best gluten free frosting for one of the best gluten free cupcakes
I’ve included a recipe for conventional vanilla buttercream frosting, and it is all the time a favourite. If you would like one thing a little bit lighter, and a bit much less anticipated, attempt our “Greatest” Vanilla Frosting. It is a cooked flour frosting that may be made in phases.
As a substitute of relying upon confectioners’ sugar for the right consistency, a cooked flour frosting has considerably much less sugar than buttercream. And it is smooth and velvety, however nonetheless secure at room temperature.
I have never ever tried making it with dairy-free butter, I am afraid. I guess it might work with butter-flavored Spectrum nonhydrogenated shortening, although.


Key frosting substances
- Butter: Butter at room temperature provides taste and types the bottom of your buttercream frosting
- Confectioners’ sugar: Provides sweetness and thickens the whipped butter so you may pipe in onto your cupcakes. It is powdered sugar plus some cornstarch to maintain it from caking.
- Vanilla: Provides depth of taste so the frosting does not style greasy or flat
make the frosting
- Beat the butter simply till easy and creamy.
- Add the confectioners’ sugar, salt, vanilla, and a few milk to make it simpler to beat collectively.
- Beat till creamy, then flip the mixer as much as excessive pace and beat for about 5 minutes.
- The frosting needs to be gentle and fluffy, and will maintain its form if you scoop it. Add extra confectioners’ sugar if wanted to thicken it.
- Place it in a piping bag with a metallic tip, or a zip-top bag with the nook lower off, and pipe or unfold onto cooled cupcakes.








Recipe suggestions
Use room-temperature substances
Room-temperature substances simply combine higher, so pull out the chilly substances about an hour earlier than you are able to bake. If you have not deliberate forward, attempt immersing your eggs in heat water for 10 minutes to extend their temperature gently, and chop up your butter so it warms sooner at room temp.
Do not over-beat your cupcake batter
Mixing introduces air into your batter. That is advantageous as a result of the air helps these cupcakes come out gentle and fluffy. However if you over-mix your batter or combine it utilizing a excessive setting, you are going to introduce quite a bit of air — and throughout the baking course of, it is going to develop huge air pockets that kind holes in your cupcakes.
Do not over-fill the wells of your muffin tin
Simply make certain to not overfill the wells of the cupcake tin (2/3 of the best way full is totally excellent). This prevents the dreaded cupcake explosion, the place your cupcakes spill over the sides of the wells of the muffin tin.
A simple approach to get uniformly sized cupcakes is to make use of a greased ice cream or muffin scoop. It guarantee an ideal portion each time.
Do not over bake your cupcakes
Bake your cupcakes at not more than 325°F, and solely till the tops spring again when pressed very flippantly within the middle. The toothpick check is just not one of the best check for doneness right here, and might simply result in overbaking.
Let your cupcakes cool earlier than frosting
If you are going to frost yours, you actually do should allow them to cool utterly first. Should you do not, your frosting will soften and make a sticky mess.
Correctly measure your gluten free flour
When individuals inform me that they’ve had issues with gluten free baking, I can sometimes hint their drawback again to the gf flour they’re utilizing. Generally, it is merely not applicable for the recipe. However many different occasions, it is as a result of they have not used the correct quantity, regardless of utilizing a measuring cup.
That is as a result of a measuring cup is not a dependable approach to measure flour. I do know what you are considering: “how can that be?!” Let me clarify.
Take into consideration the way you measure flour. If it is by sticking the measuring cup into the bag or storage container, you are already off to a foul begin. While you do this, you pack the flour into the cup. This implies you are going to find yourself with greater than the recipe requires.
Plus, dry measuring cups aren’t standardized in dimension. Even for those who spoon the flour into your measuring cup, your “cup” is likely to be totally different from mine, even when we have been each to measure completely proper each time (which, in fact, we will not).
One of the simplest ways to measure gluten free flours is to make use of a kitchen scale. You may discover that every one my recipes additionally embody substances in grams, so use that to make sure you’re baking cupcakes exactly the best way I’ve.
retailer your gluten free cupcakes
As a result of these gluten free cupcakes do not comprise preservatives, they will not final for weeks in your kitchen counter. I usually discover that they are good for a few days earlier than they begin to go stale.
Should you make extra cupcakes than you may eat in that time-frame, I recommend freezing them for longer-term storage.
No matter you do, do not put them within the fridge. That simply quickens the drying course of.
Freezing gluten free vanilla cupcakes
As soon as they’re cool, unfrosted cupcakes freeze very nicely. Simply wrap every of them individually in freezer-safe wrap and retailer them in a sealed container or zip high freezer bag. They’re going to keep contemporary as frozen for as much as 3 months.
Defrost at room temperature or pace them up by microwaving them for 20 seconds at low energy. You can freeze them after they have been frosted, however no matter you do, do not microwave a frosted cupcake or the frosting will soften in every single place!


Ingredient substitutions
Dairy free
These cupcakes and buttercream can simply be made dairy free by utilizing vegan butter (my favourite manufacturers are Soften and Miyoko’s Kitchen), or butter-flavored nonhydrogenated vegetable shortening instead of butter.
Any unsweetened nondairy milk works nicely instead of cow’s milk. I like unsweetened almond milk as a result of it has some fats and is much less watery than some nondairy milks.
These cupcakes are extra tender with buttermilk. Should you’re dairy free or haven’t got buttermilk, you can also make a buttermilk alternative with half milk (dairy or nondairy) and half plain yogurt (dairy or nondairy) by quantity.
Egg-free
It is a little bit difficult to switch the egg and egg white right here than it might be if the recipe referred to as just for entire eggs. I have never tried it, however you may attempt changing the egg and egg white with 1 1/2 chia eggs.
Make sure you use floor chia seeds, not entire seeds, although. And keep away from flax eggs, notably in a recipe so simple as this, as flax has a powerful taste.
Vegan
Whereas it might be difficult to substitute the eggs on this easy gluten free cupcakes recipe, dairy is straightforward. And because the dairy and eggs are the one non-vegan substances, you may comply with my substitution recommendation for every above to make vegan-friendly cupcakes. Simply make certain your sugar is not made with bone char, for those who’re a strict vegan.


FAQs
I like to recommend that you simply use a mix of Higher Batter and corn starch within the ratio supplied within the recipe. Including cornstarch lightens the gluten free flour to provide it a consistency that is extra like conventional cake flour. The flour mix you select have to be one among my advisable blends, or the recipe will not work.
No! Like an excellent chocolate cake, your cupcakes definitely shouldn’t have an odd aftertaste or a gritty mouthfeel. They need to have a moist and tender crumb, identical to you’d count on from a cupcake in a bakery. Should you’ve had gluten free vanilla cupcakes up to now and located them to be “good, for gluten free,” you weren’t consuming the best cupcake, made with the best recipe and substances.
A gritty mouthfeel is from an all goal gluten free flour that incorporates a gritty rice flour. A wierd aftertaste or mouthfeel seemingly means the flour wasn’t good high quality and well-balanced.
A dry cupcake is likely to be made with the incorrect recipe, so the substances have been poorly balanced. Or, once more, the flour mix wasn’t good high quality.
Sure, you should use vanilla bean paste as a substitute, simply notice that it is going to have a stronger taste than the vanilla extract. When substituting, embody the identical quantity of paste as you’d vanilla extract.
Sure — simply modify your baking time as mini cupcakes do not want as a lot. And testing for doneness is similar: Press flippantly on the highest of a cupcake. If it springs again up, the cupcakes are prepared.
No, this recipe is not fairly proper for making a cake. As a substitute, attempt my Basic Gluten Free Vanilla Cake recipe. The ingredient ratios are a lot better for baking in a bigger pan.
These gf cupcakes will maintain at room temperature for about two days, so for those who’re making them for a celebration or different occasion, I would advocate making them solely the day earlier than.
Should you want extra time, go forward and bake them, however then freeze them till wanted. To defrost, simply go away them on the counter for a few hours, lined with a dome so they do not dry out.
The commonest motive that gluten free cupcakes sink is that your oven ran too scorching, so the skin cooked earlier than the middle developed the right construction to assist it. So when the cupcakes cool, they collapse.
In case your oven temperature is just too low, your cupcakes will most likely rise reliably, however will not rise very excessive. The one actually dependable approach to gauge oven temperature is with a standalone oven thermometer that you simply substitute typically. That is what I do!
Gluten Free Vanilla Cupcakes Recipe
These gluten free vanilla cupcakes are smooth and tender, with a fluffy and moist crumb that tastes prefer it got here out of your favourite bakery!
Yield: 16 cupcakes
Forestall your display from going darkish
Components
For the vanilla cupcakes.
- 1 ½ cups (210 g) all goal gluten free flour mix (I like Higher Batter right here)
- ¾ teaspoon xanthan gum omit in case your mix already incorporates it
- 2 tablespoons (18 g) cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 8 tablespoons (112 g) unsalted butter at room temperature
- 1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar
- 1 (50 g, weighed out of shell) egg at room temperature
- 1 (25 g) egg white at room temperature
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- ⅔ cup (5 ⅓ fluid ounces) milk or buttermilk at room temperature
For vanilla buttercream frosting.
- 8 tablespoons unsalted butter at room temperature
- 1 cup confectioners' sugar plus extra as vital
- ⅛ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- Milk by the teaspoon as vital
Directions
For the cupcakes.
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Preheat your oven to 325°F. Line 16 wells of ordinary muffin tins with cupcake liners or grease the wells, and set the tins apart.
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In a small bowl, place the flour, xanthan gum, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, and salt, and whisk to mix nicely. Set the bowl of dry substances apart.
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Within the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or a big bowl with a handheld mixer, place the butter, sugar, egg, egg white and vanilla, and beat at medium-low pace to mix. Improve the mixer pace to medium-high and beat till it seems whipped (about 2 minutes).
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To the massive bowl with the butter combination, add the dry substances in 3 batches, alternating with the milk or buttermilk, starting and ending with the dry substances. Beat flippantly after every addition till simply mixed. Don't overmix. The batter needs to be gentle and fluffy.
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Fill the ready wells of the muffin tin about 2/3 of the best way filled with the batter. Shake the tin backwards and forwards to evenly distribute the batter in every of the wells.
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Place the tin within the middle of the preheated oven and bake till the cupcakes are very flippantly golden brown and spring again when pressed flippantly within the middle (about 20 minutes). Don’t over bake.
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Enable the cupcakes to chill for a minimum of 5 minutes within the tin earlier than transferring to a wire rack to chill utterly. Repeat with the remaining cupcake batter. Cool the cupcakes utterly earlier than frosting and/or adorning.
For the frosting.
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In a big bowl with a hand mixer or the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, place the butter. Beat on medium pace till creamy (about 30 seconds).
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Add the 1 cup (115 g) of confectioners’ sugar, the salt, vanilla, and 1 teaspoonful of milk, and beat on medium pace till well-combined (about 1 minute).
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Beat in additional confectioners’ sugar till the consistency is thick however not stiff. Flip up the mixer pace to excessive and beat for about 5 minutes or till gentle and fluffy.
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Switch the frosting to a piping bag fitted along with your favourite piping tip. Pipe the frosting on the cooled cupcakes, or use two spoons to scoop a dollop onto every cupcake.
Notes
Vitamin info is per cupcake, excluding frosting, and is approximate and shouldn't be relied upon.
Vitamin
Energy: 162kcal | Carbohydrates: 24g | Protein: 1g | Fats: 6g | Saturated Fats: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fats: 0.3g | Monounsaturated Fats: 2g | Trans Fats: 0.2g | Ldl cholesterol: 27mg | Sodium: 156mg | Potassium: 25mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 13g | Vitamin A: 206IU | Calcium: 31mg | Iron: 0.1mg

Thanks for stopping by!
Hello, I’m Nicole. I create gluten free recipes that actually work and style pretty much as good as you bear in mind. No extra making separate meals when somebody is GF, or shopping for packaged meals that aren’t ok to justify the worth. At Gluten Free on a Shoestring, “good, for gluten free” simply isn’t ok! Come go to my bio!