Gluten Free Strawberry Cupcakes with Strawberry Frosting

Just because you have an intolerance or allergy doesn’t mean you have to give up on dessert! In fact, with the help of a few gluten free cupcakes recipes in your back pocket, you have everything you need to prepare amazing sweet treats for any party. These easy gluten free strawberry cupcakes are the perfect dessert to serve at your next get-together. Topped with a creamy strawberry buttercream frosting, 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 vegetable oil, these moist pink cupcakes are the perfect addition to your party menu.

And since they’re packed with strawberry flavor thanks to the delicious strawberry preserves in the cake and buttercream icing on top, there’s no need to wait until fresh strawberries are in season to make these gluten free party treats!

Gluten Free Strawberry 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 — no fresh strawberries needed.

All you need to make your strawberry 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
• Vegetable oil
• Sugar
• Eggs
• Vanilla extract
• Strawberry preserves
• Buttermilk

Can I Substitute Milk for Buttermilk?

Buttermilk isn’t the most common ingredient, so you may be wondering if you can make a substitution to use regular milk instead. While I wouldn’t recommend substituting milk for buttermilk because the consistency of the two liquids is different, you can easily make your own buttermilk at home if you have some white vinegar.

To make your own buttermilk, combine one cup milk with one tablespoon white vinegar. Stir to mix the vinegar into the milk, then allow the mixture to rest for around 15 minutes. The milk will thicken and sour as it sits, making buttermilk perfect for your cupcake recipe!

How to Make Gluten Free Strawberry Cupcakes

Once you have all your gluten free ingredients ready to go, it’s time to start baking your strawberry 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 vegetable oil until well combined. The mixture will be light and grainy when you’re finished mixing.

Next, add the eggs, vanilla extract, and strawberry preserves to the bowl. Beat to mix all the ingredients together until the batter is smooth and free of lumps.

Next, 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 the buttermilk and food coloring, then beat to mix. Using food coloring is totally optional! I added three drops of red gel food coloring to get the bright pink color you see in my cupcakes. You can add more or less to get the shade you’re looking for.

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 Strawberry Buttercream Frosting

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 strawberry buttercream frosting.

To make the chocolate buttercream, you’ll need:

• Butter
• Vanilla extract
• Strawberry preserves
• Powdered sugar
• Milk
• Red gel food coloring (optional)

To make the frosting, begin by adding the softened butter, vanilla extract, and strawberry preserves to a medium bowl. Mix the ingredients together with your hand mixer until it’s smooth.

Once the chocolate buttercream ingredients are well mixed and smooth, add the powdered sugar and slowly beat it in. Add milk, as needed, to get the frosting to your desired consistency.

If you want your frosting to have a brighter pink color, you can add 1 to 2 drops of red food coloring and blend until the coloring is well mixed.

Once you’re satisfied with the color of your frosting, transfer it to a piping bag fitted with a star tip and pipe the frosting onto the top of each cooled cupcake. You can add some fresh strawberries to the top of each cupcake, if desired. Then, your party treats are ready to serve!

Gluten Free Strawberry Cupcake Recipe Ideas

See how easy these strawberry 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 pink and red 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 strawberry 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.
• Add some fresh strawberries. If you want to add even more flavor to your cupcakes, try mixing some finely chopped fresh strawberries into the batter. You can add up to one cup of chopped strawberries before baking.

More Gluten Free Party Food:

Gluten Free Strawberry Dump Cake with Cheesecake

Best Gluten Free Vanilla Cupcakes with Chocolate Buttercream

Easy Gluten Free Strawberry Donuts

Gluten Free Chocolate Cupcakes with Fudge Buttercream