These fudgy gluten free chocolate cupcakes decorated with a swirled buttercream are so decadent you won't even miss the gluten!
These gluten free chocolate cupcakes are soft, fudgy, moist - aka everything you hope and dream a homemade cupcake tastes like. Don't let the lack of gluten fool you! These cupcakes are so decadent, you won't even miss the gluten.
I highly recommend fancying this easy cupcake recipe up with a vanilla, chocolate, and espresso swirled Swiss Meringue Buttercream!
For more cupcake recipes, try Small Batch Vanilla Cupcakes and Lemon Meringue Cupcakes.
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Why you'll love these gluten free chocolate cupcakes
- Fudgy, Moist Texture: No one likes dry cake, and these are anything but that!
- Flat Cupcake Tops: These cupcakes bake up perfectly flat, so there's no need to trim the tops.
- Scale-able: If you'd like you can absolutely cut this recipe in half to get about 7-8 cupcakes or double it for 30 cupcakes!
Ingredient Notes
Ingredient quantities are listed in the recipe card below. Here you'll find notes on why I chose certain ingredients, as well as ingredient substitutions.
- GF 1:1 Flour: I recommend using Bob's Red Mill or King Arthur Flour's gluten free 1:1 flour.
- Cocoa Powder: I used a combination of dutch process and black cocoa powders for an extra rich chocolate experience.
- Baking Powder: Be sure your baking powder is fresh by testing it some water.
- Butter: Use high-quality butter, such as European-style butter for best flavor.
- Sugar: You'll need about 1 ¼ cups of granulated sugar.
- Eggs: Be sure your eggs are at room temperature before adding them to the batter.
- Sour Cream: You can also use plain whole milk greek yogurt.
- Oil: I recommend using light-tasting extra virgin olive oil, but any neutral oil will work.
Kitchen Equipment
- Kitchen Scale
- Electric Mixer
- Rubber Spatula
- Cupcake Pan
- Cupcake Liners
- Piping Bag & Tip
Step by Step Instructions
This is an almost one-bowl recipe, but I'm afraid you do need to whisk the dry ingredients together in a separate bowl. It's a basic cake method, involving creaming the butter & sugars together, adding the eggs & vanilla, and alternating the dry & wet ingredients. Fill the cupcake pan carefully, and that's it! Fifteen gorgeous chocolate cupcakes 🙂
Step 1: Make the cupcake batter by creaming together the butter & sugars, then mixing in the eggs & vanilla, and alternating adding the dry & wet ingredients.
Step 2: Fill the cupcake pan with 5 tablespoons of batter in each cup. Smooth out the batter and tap on the counter to release any air bubbles. Bake for about 24 minutes.
Step 3: Allow the cupcakes to cool completely on a wire rack.
Step 4: Decorate as desired!
Expert Baking Tips
- If you do not have black cocoa powder, you can use an equal amount of dutch process cocoa powder, making it a total of 63g or ¾ cup.
- Use a neutral oil, such as vegetable or canola oil. I recommend using light-tasting extra virgin olive oil.
- It can be difficult to tell exactly how much to fill a cupcake pan, so to make it easier I recommend adding 5 tablespoons of batter to each. I used a 2 tablespoon & 1 tablespoon cookie scoops.
FAQ
Yes! You can swap an equal amount of regular all-purpose flour or even cake flour for the gluten free 1:1 flour.
Dutch process cocoa powder is THE best cocoa powder for baking. Because it's neutralized with an alkalizing agent, it has a smoother flavor and creates the most fudgy and chocolatey baked goods! Black cocoa powder is similar to dutch process, but richer in flavor and darker in color. It is typically used in small amounts alongside another cocoa powder to enhance the color and flavor of the baked good. It smells like actual chocolate cake and is just magical to bake with!
If your cupcakes are fully baked, but they sank after you took them out of them oven, it is likely because they were filled with too much batter. It can be difficult to tell exactly how much to fill a cupcake pan, so to make it easier I recommend adding 5 tablespoons of batter to each. I used a 2 tablespoon & 1 tablespoon cookie scoops.
Yes, these cupcakes stay moist for about 3 days stored in an air-tight container at room temperature, so you can bake them a day or two ahead of time and frost when ready to serve!
Frosting ideas for these cupcakes
- Swiss Meringue Buttercream
- Peanut Butter Frosting
- Brown Butter Cream Cheese Frosting
- Chocolate Fudge Frosting
Storage Tips
Store these cupcakes in an air-tight container at room temperature for 3-5 days. You can also store them in a freezer bag and freeze for up to 3 months.
Baking in Grams
All of the recipes on this blog are carefully developed to create incredibly delicious baked goods that you can easily recreate in your own kitchen with success. The only way this is possible is to standardize the way ingredients are measured - by weight. Volume measurements are extremely inaccurate and leave room for significant errors. Not all measuring cups are made equally, so your one cup of flour will be different from my one cup of flour. By providing precise measurements in grams (aside from minor ingredients, which are given in tsp/tbsp), I can ensure that you can make the recipe accurately and with less cleanup! All you need is this kitchen scale.
If this still isn't enough to convince you, I have provided volume measurements in the recipe card. If you are interested in understanding the conversions, this is the best conversion chart.
But trust me, once you try baking in grams you'll never turn back!
Happy baking! x
Other cakes & cupcakes to try
If you tried this recipe, I'd love to know how it turned out for you! Leave a star rating & review below and post a picture (or video!) on Instagram and tag me so I can see your bakes! Not ready to make this recipe yet? Click the heart button on the right of your screen to save it for later 🙂
Print📖 Recipe
Fudgy Gluten Free Chocolate Cupcakes
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Total Time: 55 minutes
- Yield: 15 cupcakes 1x
- Category: Cupcakes
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
These fudgy gluten free chocolate cupcakes decorated with a swirled buttercream are so decadent you won't even miss the gluten!
Ingredients
For the gluten free chocolate cupcakes:
- 120g (1 cup) GF 1:1 flour
- 42g (½ cup) dutch process cocoa powder
- 21g (¼ cup) black cocoa powder*
- ¾ tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 198g (14 tbsp) unsalted butter (room temp)
- 250g (1 ¼ cup) granulated sugar
- 2 eggs (room temp)
- 1 tsp vanilla bean paste or extract
- 113g (½ cup) sour cream (room temp)
- 100g (½ cup) neutral oil*
For the swirled swiss meringue buttercream:
- Get the ingredients here.
Instructions
For the gluten free chocolate cupcakes:
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F and line a cupcake pan with liners.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the GF 1:1 flour, cocoa powders, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter and sugar for 2-3 minutes until light & fluffy.
- Mixing on low speed, add the eggs one a time.
- Scrape down the bowl and mix in the vanilla.
- Add half of the dry ingredients and mix until just combined.
- Mix in the sour cream and oil.
- Add the rest of the dry ingredients and mix until just combined.
- Scrape down the bowl to ensure everything is evenly incorporated.
- Fill the cupcake pan by adding 5 tablespoons of batter to each cup.*
- Smooth out the batter with a spoon and tap the pan on the counter a few times to release any air bubbles.
- Bake the cupcakes for about 22-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
- Allow the cupcakes to cool in the pan for a few minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Decorate and enjoy!
For the swirled swiss meringue buttercream:
- Get the instructions here.
Notes
- If you do not have black cocoa powder, you can use an equal amount of dutch process cocoa powder, making it a total of 63g or ¾ cup.
- Use a neutral oil, such as vegetable or canola oil. I recommend using light-tasting extra virgin olive oil.
- It can be difficult to tell exactly how much to fill a cupcake pan, so to make it easier I recommend adding 5 tablespoons of batter to each. I used a 2 tablespoon & 1 tablespoon cookie scoops.
Keywords: gluten free chocolate cupcakes, fudgy chocolate cupcakes, swiss meringue buttercream, easy cupcake recipe
Nora says
I’m not GF, but I thought these looked good so I wanted to give them a try! I was a little skeptical of using GF flour, but pleasantly surprised with how rich and fudgy they turned out. Couldn’t tell they were GF at all! Will definitely make this recipe again 🙂
★★★★★
Luiselena says
If you want to be the mom with the best chocolate cupcakes this is the recepie. They have a very intense coca flavor. The frosting gives them a delicious balanced flavor.
★★★★★