Are you looking for a simple and delicious gluten free vanilla cupcake recipe? These gluten free vanilla cupcakes are absolutely delicious, moist, and tender. They serve as a great base for your favorite cupcakes, and look great decorated with your favorite colors.
The Best Gluten Free Vanilla Cupcake Recipe
Gluten free Vanilla Cupcakes are anything but boring.
I thank people for turning another year older or achieving something that causes celebration. Firstly because they deserve it but also because it's a great excuse to eat cake. For those who aren't fans of Chocolate cake I have an amazing Vanilla Cake recipe too.
This recipe has deceived gluten eaters and they've come back for more without knowing their favorite new treat is in fact gluten free. Is it bad that I really enjoy that? I've run into so many people that completely change their attitude about a food once they discover that it's gluten free.
Like they mention how amazing it looks, their hand is reaching out to grab some, and then someone says it's gluten free, they stop and recoil. 'Oh, eww, I like gluten so these must taste horrible'. It just blows my mind that people can be so prejudice towards food.
So when I create a recipe or find a gluten free product that is as good, if not better, than it's gluten filled counterpart, I LOVE feeding it to gluten eaters (especially without telling them)....does that count as a guilty pleasure?
How to Make Gluten Free Vanilla Cupcakes
Rant over, back to these simple delicious Gluten free Vanilla Cupcakes.
These cupcakes are unbelievably soft and moist. There texture is amazing and the buttercream I've paired them with complements them perfectly without being overpowering. I'm known for scraping off the frosting (yes I'm that horrible person), but it's often too sweet and overpowering for me. Not so with this buttercream. Its creamy and sweet without becoming too much.
Both the cake and the frosting have just the right amount of Vanilla extract, so these often perceived as boring cupcakes have good flavor and just the right amount of sweetness.
These gf vanilla cupcakes and icing just have a few simple, wholesome ingredients:
- Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free 1-1 Flour
- Sugar
- Butter
- Eggs
- Milk
- Half and Half
- Vanilla Extract
- Baking soda and salt
Nothing weird here. This gluten free vanilla cupcake is super moist, and won't crumble like so many other cakes.
It is great paired with as simple buttercream that is made with
- Butter
- Powdered Sugar
- Vanilla
- Half and Half
Really, that's it! It can't get any simpler and more delicious than this.
Can you freeze the gluten free cupcakes?
Yes! You can freeze these gluten free cupcakes. Simply take them out of the freezer and allow to come to room temperature before serving. Allow them to come to room temperature approximately six to eight hours, or put them in the refrigerator the night before you plan on using them.
This makes it easy to have a gluten free treat whenever you would like!
Do gluten free cupcakes taste “different”?
I've been gluten free for well over a decade, before it was easy to find gluten free flour mixes, and I had to make my own concoctions of flour. Let me tell you, most of it tasted horrible.
Today you really can't go wrong when it comes to a cup for cup replacement like either Bob's Red Mill or King Arthur Flour. I've used them both with success - so much success that people have no idea they are eating something gluten free.
This recipe is a great base for all your vanilla cake dreams. Try them as is first, then go hog wild. Add chocolate chips before baking. Spread a layer of jelly on the cupcakes before frosting. OR even add orange zest to the batter and frosting for a creamsicle cupcake. The possibilities are endless.
Gluten Free Vanilla Cupcake
Ingredients
The Cake Batter
- 2 ½ cups cups Bob's Red Mill's gluten free 1 to 1 flour or your preffered gluten free flour blend *results will differ*
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 cups sugar plus extra for optinal garnish
- ½ cup butter
- 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs
- 1 ½ cups milk
- ½ cup half & half can sub for milk
Buttercream Frosting
- 1 cup butter softened
- 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
- 4 cups powdered sugar
- 1 to 2 tablespoon half & half
Instructions
- Pre-heat the oven to 350F and line the cupcake tins.
- In a large bowl combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. Then set it aside.
- In a stand mixer on medium low cream together the butter and sugar. Then add the eggs and vanilla extract. When this is all combined slowly add the milk and half & half and mix until it is fully incorporated.
- Turn the mixer to the lowest speed and slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet. Once it's all added you can turn the mixer speed up for a minute to beat out any lumps that have formed.
- Divide the batter into the muffin tins, fill at least ¾ of the way (this batter will not rise as much as traditional cake batter), let them sit for a few minutes and tap the try lightly on the counter to dislodge any bubbles in the batter. Bake cupcakes for 25-30 minutes, until a toothpick can be inserted into the center and comes out clean.
- While the cupcakes are cooling make the frosting.
- In a stand mixer combine the butter, vanilla and half the powdered sugar. Mix this until it comes together, then slowly add the remaining powdered sugar ½ cup at a time (or you will have powdered sugar dust everywhere). When all the sugar has been added check the frosting consistency. Add a TBS or two of half & half to thin the frosting reach the desired consistency.
- Allow cupcakes to cool completely before frosting, otherwise the frosting will melt and slide off the cupcakes. Use a metal spatula, the back of a spoon, or a piping bag to apply the frosting as desired. Sprinkle with optional white sugar or sprinkles to decorate.
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