Best Gluten Free Vanilla Cupcakes with Chocolate Buttercream

It doesn’t have to be difficult to find delicious party food when you have an intolerance or allergy! That’s especially true if you have a few gluten free cupcakes recipes in your back pocket. These classic gluten free vanilla cupcakes are the perfect sweet treat to serve at your next get-together. Topped with a creamy chocolate buttercream, they’re sure to be a hit with everyone at your celebration.

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Made with a combination of gluten free flour and butter, these delicious yellow cake cupcakes are the perfect addition to your party menu.

And since they’re packed with vanilla and chocolate flavor thanks to the delicious buttercream icing on top, these gluten free party treats are perfect for everyone at your celebration — whether they eat gluten or not.

Gluten Free Vanilla Cupcakes

On top of being delicious, these cupcakes couldn’t be easier to make. That’s because you can prepare them with just a handful of simple ingredients.

All you need to make your vanilla cakes is a few common ingredients, including:

• Gluten free flour. I always bake with Bob’s Red Mill 1-for-1 Gluten Free Baking flour, especially when making cakes and cupcakes! It’s the closest thing to wheat-based flour that I’ve found.
• Baking powder
• Salt
• Butter
• Sugar
• Eggs
• Vanilla extract
• Milk

What is the Difference Between Vanilla and White Cake?

When it comes to making cake, it can be difficult to see the difference between vanilla (or yellow) cake and white cake. In fact, both recipes contain a similar list of ingredients.

The only difference between the two recipes is the eggs! While vanilla or yellow cake is made with whole eggs, white cake is made with only the egg whites.

How to Make Gluten Free Vanilla Cupcakes

Once you have all your gluten free ingredients ready to go, it’s time to start baking your yellow cupcakes! Just follow these simple instructions for making your own gluten free treats for your next party.

Start by combining the dry ingredients in a medium bowl. Whisk together your gluten free flour, baking powder, and salt until all the ingredients are well combined. As you’re whisking, make sure to break up any clumps in the flour to create a smooth batter. Then, set your bowl aside.

In a separate bowl, beat together the sugar and butter until well combined. The mixture should have a light and fluffy consistency when you’re finished beating.

Always start with room temperature butter for the best results when making cupcakes!

Next, add the eggs to the bowl one at a time. After adding each egg, beat the ingredients together until just combined.

After that, add the vanilla to the bowl and beat until just mixed.

Next, add half the dry ingredients to the bowl. Use the mixer to slowly beat the dry ingredients into the egg mixture, making sure all the flour is fully incorporated.

When the dry ingredients are mixed in, add half the milk and beat to mix. Then, alternate adding the remaining flour and milk, beating between each addition.

When the cake batter is fully mixed, pour it into a muffin pan lined with cupcake liners. I suggest filling each cup around 3/4 of the way full of batter.

Place the pan in the oven to bake at 350 degrees for 18 to 20 minutes. You’ll know your cupcakes are finished baking when you insert a toothpick into the center and it comes out clean.

Allow the cupcakes to cool in the pan for around five minutes, then transfer them to a wire cooling rack to cool completely.

How to Make Chocolate Buttercream

Now that your cupcakes are finished baking, you’re only halfway done preparing this fun party treat! While your cupcakes are cooling, follow these instructions for whipping up your chocolate buttercream frosting.

To make the chocolate buttercream, you’ll need:

• Butter
• Unsweetened cocoa powder
• Milk
• Powdered sugar

To make the frosting, begin by adding the softened butter, 4 tablespoons of milk, and unsweetened cocoa powder to a medium bowl. Carefully and slowly mix the ingredients together with your hand mixer. Make sure to mix slowly to keep the cocoa powder from going everywhere!

Once the chocolate buttercream ingredients are well mixed and smooth, add the powdered sugar and slowly beat it in. At this point, you can add more milk to the mixture to thin out the frosting to your desired consistency.

After that, transfer the frosting to a piping bag fitted with a star tip and pipe the frosting onto the top of each cooled cupcake. Then, your party treats are ready to serve!

Gluten Free Vanilla Cupcake Recipe Ideas

See how easy these vanilla cupcakes are to make? And they taste so amazing, no one will guess that they’re gluten free!

And since the recipe is so easy to make, it’s also easy to customize. Try these recipe ideas as you’re baking to create a delicious party snack that everyone at your celebration is sure to love.

• Add some decorations. Top your cupcakes with colorful sprinkles or cute cupcake toppers to help them fit the party theme! There are so many cute ways to add a pop of color to your treats.
• Make a full cake. In addition to baking 24 cupcakes, this chocolate cake recipe can also be prepared as a 9×13 cake. Simply prepare the recipe as written, then pour the batter into a greased 9×13 baking pan. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until the edges begin to pull away from the pan and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
• Use premade frosting. If you’re in a rush, you can top your gluten free yellow cupcakes with premade chocolate frosting. Brands like Duncan Hines chocolate frosting and Betty Crocker chocolate icing are both labeled gluten free.

More Gluten Free Party Food:

Gluten Free Red Velvet Cupcakes

Dairy Free Buttercream Frosting