They taste every bit as good as they look!
Best Chocolate Cupcakes with Buttercream Frosting
The easiest and yummiest gluten-free chocolate cupcakes! Based on our family's amazing chocolate cakes recipe, the cupcakes are moist, soft & fluffy and super chocolatey! Options for chocolate, vanilla or strawberry buttercream frosting.
Servings: 12 cupcakes
Ingredients
Chocolate Cupcakes
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup + 1/3 cup all purpose flour I use GFJules (affiliate link)
- 1/3 cup Hershey’s Cocoa
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 egg
- 1/2 cup strong black coffee I used decaf
- 1/2 cup buttermilk or sour milk to sour milk: use 2 teaspoons white vinegar plus milk to equal 1/2 cup
- 1/4 cup canola oil
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Vanilla Frosting (recipe halves well)
- 1 box confectioner sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- ½ stick butter or dairy free butter softened
- 4½ tablespoons milk or dairy free milk
Chocolate Frosting (recipe halves well)
- 6 Tablespoons butter or dairy free butter softened
- ¾ cup Hershey’s Cocoa
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla extract
- 2⅔ cups powdered sugar
- 4 to 6 Tablespoons milk
Strawberry Frosting (recipe halves well)
- 1 box confectioner sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- ½ stick butter or dairy free butter softened
- 1-2 tablespoons milk* For a deeper strawberry flavor, skip or use less milk and more strawberry puree
- 3 tablespoons strawberry puree I mashed strawberries, then strained out the juice with a strainer
Instructions
Cupcakes
- Heat oven to 350 degrees F and line muffin tins with baking cup liners.
- In large mixer bowl, blend sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
- Add egg, coffee, buttermilk, oil and vanilla; beat on medium speed for 2 minutes (batter will be thin).
- Pour or spoon batter into prepared muffin tins. Bake 17 mins, then cover loosely with foil and bake another 5-10 minutes or until tooth pick inserted in center comes out clean.
- Cool completely. Frost as desired.
Vanilla Frosting
- In a small mixing bowl, beat butter. Add remaining ingredients, and mix until combined and creamy. Makes 2 cups frosting.
Chocolate Frosting
- In small mixer bowl, beat butter. Add powdered sugar and cocoa alternately with milk; beat to spreading consistency. Blend in vanilla. Makes about 2 cups frosting
Strawberry frosting
- In a mixing bowl, beat the butter. Add remaining ingredients* and mix until well combined and creamy. Makes 2 cups frosting.
Tried this recipe?Mention @HealthyGFFamily or tag #HealthyGFFamily!
These cupcakes are unbelievably delicious. I’m wondering if recipe can be baked as a cake also? In an 8×8 pan perhaps? Thanks.
Yes! It is based on a cake! Here’s the link to The Best Chocolate Cake! We loooove this cake!
Thanks so much. Will make this for next family birthday.
Great! Hope you love it!
cupcakes came out great replacing the egg with a flaxseed meal
very moist and fluffy. Question: Do you let cool in pan or remove them to cool?
Thank you for your help.
So happy the adjustments worked out! Thanks for sharing. And it is always good to let things cool in the pan for at least 15 minutes as they are still actually “baking/ setting” when they first come out of the oven, then I move to a baking rack.