Best Ever Gluten Free Cupcakes {Dairy Free Option}
Just because you are gluten free doesn’t mean you can’t have your cake and eat it too! These super moist cupcakes my all time favorite and they are so easy to make. Don’t be afraid to go back for seconds!
Vanilla cupcakes has always been my favorite because they brings back so many good memories of my childhood. cupcakes meant celebration and it still makes me happy every time I have a mouth full of delicious cake. I mean who doesn’t cupcakes right?
When I was testing out recipes I found that most recipes turned out too dry or too dense. Finding that perfect mixture between moist and fluffy was hard to accomplish but I finally found a winner with this recipe.
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Gluten free cupcake ingredients
- Gluten Free Flour (I used Bob’s Red Mill 1:1)
- Tapioca Flour (same as tapioca starch)
- White Sugar
- Eggs
- Egg Yolks
- Unsalted Butter (vegan butter for dairy free option)
- Salt
- Vanilla Extract
- Milk (milk alternative for dairy free option)
- Baking Powder
- Xanthan Gum (even if your flour blend already contains it)
CAN I MAKE DIFFERENT FLAVORS?
Absolutely! This recipe is really versatile so feel free to add your own spin to it. You can add different extracts like almond, strawberry, lemon, or coconut to give these cupcakes a fun flavor. Adding different frosting flavors, rainbow sprinkles, or a bit of chopped fruit to the batter can also give it an interesting twist. The possibilities are endless so let us know in the comments what you did to make this recipe your own!
CAN I MAKE THESE CUPCAKES DAIRY FREE?
You bet! By replacing the unsalted butter with a vegan butter like Earth Balance and replacing the milk with a milk alternative you can easily make this recipe dairy free. I would recommend using almond, rice, or coconut milk but other milk alternatives will work too. Use the same measurements that are specified in the recipe and you are good to go!
What’s the trick to getting moist and fluffy cupcakes?
In order to make cupcakes airy and fluffy but also moist there are a few techniques and ingredients that are key. First of all you should use either a stand mixer or electric hand mixer for this recipe. Unfortunately it’s nearly impossible to get enough air into the batter and make it super fluffy beating it by hand. The perfect fluffy texture starts with a properly mixed batter which will require a stand mixer or electric hand mixer.
When it comes to the moist texture of the cupcakes one ingredient is key here, egg yolks. By using extra egg yolks in addition to the whole eggs you add more moisture to the cupcakes without making them overly dense. I found that using just the whole eggs made them crumbly and dry.
Don’t want to waste the egg whites? Save them and make yourself a delicious egg white omelet or scramble for breakfast the next day!
Best Ever Gluten Free Cupcakes {Dairy Free Option}
Equipment
- 1 stand mixer or electric hand mixer
- 1 whisk
- 2 cupcake pans standard size
- Measuring Cups
- Measuring Spoons
Ingredients
- 2 ¼ cups gluten free flour (I used Bob's Red Mill 1:1)
- 1 tsp xanthan gun
- 2 tbsp tapioca flour (same as tapioca starch)
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 ¾ cups granulated sugar
- 2 ½ tsp baking powder
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract (make sure it's gluten free)
- 16 tbsp unsalted butter at room temperature
- 2 large eggs at room temperature
- 3 large egg yolks at room temperature
- 1 cup milk at room temperature
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line 20 muffin cups with cupcake liners.
- Whisk together the flour, xanthan gum, and tapioca flour.
- In a separate bowl, use an electric mixer to beat together the sugar, soft butter, salt, baking powder, and vanilla for 60 seconds at medium-high speed, until smooth.
- Still using the mixer, beat in the eggs and egg yolks one at a time at medium high speed; the mixture should become quite fluffy.
- Continuing to use the mixer, mix in the milk, at low speed, alternately with the dry ingredients, adding about 1/3 of each at a time, and ending with the dry ingredients. Continue to mix until the batter is smooth and well combined, about 90 seconds.
- Scoop the batter into the prepared muffin cups 2/3 full. Bake the cupcakes on the center rack for about 22 minutes, until center springs back when touched and toothpick comes out clean when inserted into the center of the cupcake.
- Remove from the oven, and cool for 5 to 10 minutes before removing the cupcakes from the pan to cool on a rack.