Best Gluten Free Chocolate Cupcakes with Fudge Buttercream

Finding delicious party food isn’t always easy when you have an intolerance or allergy! But when it comes to sweet treats, you can’t go wrong with gluten free cupcakes. These classic gluten free chocolate cupcakes are the perfect dessert to serve at your next get-together. Topped with a creamy fudge buttercream, they’re sure to be a hit with everyone at your celebration.

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Made with a combination of unsweetened cocoa powder and espresso powder to bring out the chocolate flavor, these delicious chocolate cupcakes are the answer to your party planning prayers!

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

Gluten Free Chocolate 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 chocolate 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.
• Unsweetened cocoa powder
• Espresso powder
• Baking powder
• Baking soda
• Salt
• Sugar
• Vegetable oil
• Eggs
• Vanilla extract
• Milk
• Boiling water

How to Make Gluten Free Chocolate Cupcakes

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

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

In a separate bowl, whisk together the sugar and vegetable oil. Continue stirring until the two ingredients are smooth and well combined.

Next, add the eggs, vanilla extract, and milk to the bowl. Use a hand mixer or stand mixer to beat the eggs into the sugar mixture until the ingredients are light and fluffy.

Add 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.

Add the hot water to the batter and slowly beat it in. Continue mixing until the batter is smooth and thin.

Pour the batter 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 20 to 25 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 Fudge Buttercream

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

Start by adding the butter, 4 tablespoons of milk, and 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 those 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 Chocolate Cupcake Recipe Ideas

See how easy these 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.

• Use premade frosting. If you’re in a rush, you can top your gluten free cupcakes with premade chocolate frosting. Brands like Duncan Hines chocolate frosting and Betty Crocker chocolate icing are both labeled gluten free.
• 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.

More Gluten Free Party Food:

Gluten Free Red Velvet Cupcakes

Dairy Free Buttercream Frosting