When you need a simple but scrumptious spring dessert, look no further than these easy gluten-free vanilla cupcakes! Thank you to my friends at Bob’s Red Mill for sponsoring this post. Their gluten free 1-to-1 baking flour makes this recipe a snap!
It’s snowed twice in Chattanooga in the past three days, but I’m channeling spring with the blush tones of these easy gluten-free vanilla cupcakes. Now that we’ve sprung forward, the warm weather can’t be far behind, right?
Whether or not you’re buried under piles of snow this week, now is a great time to whip up a batch of these babies. They’re easy as can be and made with pantry staples, and are going to be on repeat around here for Easter, Mother’s Day, my birthday (hint HINT), and any old day that needs a sweet ending.
I use Gluten Free 1-to-1 Baking Flour from Bob’s Red Mill for these cupcakes. Bob’s Red Mill’s flours have always been my go-to. I usually bake with a mix of their super finely ground almond flour and tapioca flour, but this flour blend has won me over recently because it’s so convenient. You only need to measure one kind of flour, and it works as a cup-for-cup replacement for wheat flour in all sorts of recipes.
Bob’s has also recently come out with a paleo flour blend that I can’t wait to try in this recipe. And if you don’t follow a gluten-free diet, you can just use their regular flour here!
For these easy gluten-free vanilla cupcakes, I took an old family recipe for “little one-egg cakes” and made just a couple of substitutions: Gluten Free 1-to-1 Baking Flour instead of regular flour and butter instead of shortening. Boom! Easy and delicious vanilla cupcakes. No one will know that these are gluten free!
Vanilla cake with vanilla frosting has always been my favorite. It’s such a classic combination that you really can’t go wrong. To give these cupcakes a springy hue, though, I dyed the vanilla buttercream with just a little bit of blood orange juice. It’s not enough to make the frosting taste citrusy, but gives it a perfect subtly pink hue without the need for artificial coloring.
Cranberry, pomegranate, and beet juice are also viable options for tinting frosting pink once blood orange season is over. If you want to leave the frosting white or use food coloring instead, then just use milk or cream in the frosting. For Easter, top each cupcake with a candy egg if desired.
I plan to keep my pantry stocked with Gluten Free 1-to-1 Flour Blend so I can always whip up a batch of these cupcakes at a moment’s notice! Care to join me in optimistically welcoming spring with a few of these?
Easy Gluten-free Vanilla Cupcakes
When you need a simple but scrumptious spring dessert, look no further than these easy gluten-free vanilla cupcakes.
Ingredients
For the cupcakes:
- 1/4 cup (4 tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 2/3 cup raw sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 1/3 cups Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free 1-to-1 Baking Flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- Pinch of sea salt
- 1/2 cup milk
For the frosting:
- 1/2 cup (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- Pinch of sea salt
- 2 tablespoons blood orange juice, cream, or milk
For decorating:
- Candy-covered chocolate eggs
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and line a muffin tin with paper liners.
- To make the cupcakes, cream the butter and sugar in a large bowl with a fork. Stir in the egg and vanilla.
- In a separate bowl, mix the flour, baking powder, and salt.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir briefly, then add the milk and stir until smooth.
- Divide the batter between the muffin cups, filling each one a little over half full. Bake for 18-20 minutes, or until the cupcakes are domed and light golden. Transfer the cupcakes to a rack and cool completely before frosting.
- To make the frosting, beat the butter by hand or in a stand mixer until smooth. Sift in the powdered sugar. Add the vanilla, salt, and juice and beat until smooth.
- Transfer the frosting to a piping bag fitted with a star tip (I use a 1M) and pipe a large swirl onto each cupcake. Alternately, you can just spread the frosting on with a spatula. If desired, top each cupcake with a candy egg. Serve right away or store covered at room temperature for up to two days.
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How could I make these chocolate?
I haven’t made these chocolate–I would just use a recipe for chocolate cupcakes. Here are a couple that look good using this same flour blend: https://www.bobsredmill.com/blog/recipes/buttermilk-chocolate-cupcakes/ and https://www.glutenfreepalate.com/easy-gluten-free-chocolate-cupcakes/
These look super easy and I’m trying to make gluten free cupcakes for a friend who is GF. Can I use Cup4Cup flour and get the same result?
Thanks!
Hi Alison! I’ve never baked with Cup4Cup flour so I don’t know how it would work here. Sorry I can’t be more helpful!
These taste good but didn’t come out like cupcakes for me. The batter was more like dough and the cupcakes more like bread. Not if sure if I did something wrong 🙁
Made these cupcakes about a month ago – they were divine!!! Couldn’t even tell they were gluten free.. the texture was so light and fluffy… and not dry at all!!
Have you made this recipe as a cake before?? I’d like to try it to make an 8″ round cake, multi-layer so to fill 2 or 3 cake pans… not sure if I’d just have to double the recipe to ensure I have enough batter?? or make any other modifications to the recipe?? Any insight would be appreciated 🙂 thank you!!
So glad you enjoyed the cupcakes!
I haven’t tried this as a cake, but I think one recipe (10-12 cupcakes) would be about the same amount of batter needed for one 8- or 9-inch round cake, so you’d need to double or triple it. Baking time should be at least a little longer, but I’d still check the cakes starting at around 20 minutes. Even though it’s for converting cake recipes to cupcakes and not vice versa, this resource may be helpful: http://www.thekitchn.com/heres-how-to-convert-a-cake-recipe-to-make-cupcakes-instead-tips-from-the-kitchn-219545
Let me know how it goes!
NOt sure what raw sugar is but I have coconut sugar can use that ? and if making in advance how do these freeze ? Si happy to find this recipe …we have 1 celiac in the famil and another who is gluten free and usually dairy free but think this can pass…
Hi Lyne! Raw sugar is just unbleached/unrefined cane sugar. It’s sometimes also called turbinado sugar. Coconut sugar would probably work okay as a substitute, although its density and sweetness level are a little different. If you try it, let me know how it goes!
I have not tried freezing these since they’re so simple to whip up in the moment.
If you want to make these dairy free, try using palm shortening or vegan butter in place of the butter and almond milk for the milk.
Hope you enjoy these!
Thank you. I will let you know about the sugar used. 🙂
These are glorious! Would be also wonderful topped with a strawberry, I think. 🙂
Oooh, yes! Or a cherry! Love the way you think.
My birthday is coming up soon too!! Maybe someone will make these for me, haha! Or we can just make them for ourselves 🙂
Definitely make them for yourself–baking the cake is half the fun!! 🙂
Oh my dear, these look simply amazing! Despite your current weather conditions, I hope these little golden jewels put a much brighter glow in your heart and soul.
Thank you so much, Kelly! 🙂
OMG these are the cutest looking Easter buns I have seen in a while – and that blood orange frosting sounds utterly divine <3
Thank you so much, Georgie!
You just gave me ideas of what to make for Mother’s Day! Thanks for that!
Enjoy, Hannah! 🙂
These look like the perfect Easter treat, thanks for sharing!
Thanks, Carrie!!
Gorgeous! And the perfect Easter treat; I may have to make these for my kids’ classroom parties.
They would be great for a kiddo party!! 🙂
Amazing! I am ready for spring, and cupcakes, these look gorgeous.
These are the cutest, Becky! So perfect for spring!
Thank you so much, Jessica!
Beautiful little Easter cupcakes, great for baking with the little ones over the holidays.
Yes! This would be a great recipe for kids to help out with!
These cupcakes look simply amazing ! That light pink color is so gorgeous. Totally in love here !
Thank you, ChihYu!!
I’m pretty sure I have said it before, but your desserts amaze me! They just look so perfect!!
Thank you so much, Mark!
So beautiful! Perfect to Easter. I can’t have this flour b/c of the potato… but I still use it to bake for my family. The results are always amazing.
Thanks, Cristina! Have you tried Bob’s new paleo flour blend? It’s almond, coconut, tapioca, and arrowroot. I can’t have it because of my coconut allergy but am still planning to try it out to bake for others.
These are lovely and so perfect for Easter. The frosting looks like a rose!
Thank you, Stacey! Hadn’t noticed but you’re right, they do look like roses!
These are so beautiful, and that frosting looks so creamily decadent!
Thank you, Kari!
Love these beautiful spring-inspired cupcakes. But that frosting!!! The color is gorgeous, I love that you used blood oranges in the frosting for the color, that’s such a great idea!
Thanks so much, Emily! I just love pink so I was really excited that this worked out so well.
I’ll have to keep my eyes open for this flour. Looks like it’s such a gem to work with.
It is, Anya! Super easy to work with. 🙂
These are so cute! Love the little eggs. Perfect for Spring!!
Thanks, Katja!!
I keep seeing this gluten-free baking flour in the store and think about picking it up, but now I definitely have to. We also have an Easter event coming up and I think these might be the dessert of choice that I’ll make so we can enjoy it while everyone else is eating their stuff!
It’s a great blend–hope you give it a try! Bob’s Red Mill also just came out with a paleo flour blend that looks amazing. I can’t use it because it has coconut flour and I’m allergic to coconut, but I bet it would work perfectly here, too. One day when I’m feeling selfless I’ll make a batch with that to share with others! 🙂
They look so pretty and delicious! A definite for our Easter celebrations.
Thank you, Donna! Hope you enjoy them!
Still swooning over these, honestly. Top contenders for my Easter treat!
Thank you, Allison! Let me know how it goes if you decide to try them!
These look like the perfect treat for Easter, sweet friend! Thank you so much for sharing! xoxo
Thanks so much, Kelly!
Wow – that really is easy! Looking forward to trying these! Where did you get the candy eggs? They are so cute!
They are just from the drugstore! Not paleo or anything but I’m okay with having a few once in a while.
As probably the only person among your readers who remembers what Little One Egg Cakes tasted like … I think I definitely need to try these! They’re so pretty with the icing and the mini Easter egg on top!! I can’t wait to make them! I’m thinking I might put some orange rind in the icing, and then somehow force it through a sieve if that’s possible. What do you think?
Thank you so much! I think if you grate the orange rind finely you wouldn’t need to worry about sifting it out. You could also just mix orange rind and sugar and sprinkle that on top of the frosting instead of decorating with a chocolate egg!
This looks delicious! Do you think it would work as a cake (thinking about Easter)? Also, was thinking of replacing the sugar with dates. Thoughts? Love your recipes 🙂
You could definitely make it into a cake! I’d try doubling it if you want to make a two-layer cake in 9-inch pans, and it’ll probably need to bake for a few more minutes.
As for the dates, I’m not sure because they will change both the texture and the taste of the recipe. If you want to try blended dates instead of sugar, maybe also try reducing the milk since the batter will have more liquid? Let me know how it goes if you end up giving it a try!
Thank you so much for your answer, Becky!
You’re so welcome!!
With this recipe would substituting the unbleached sugar with pure cane sugar have any effect on the quality of taste?
No, that should be fine! 🙂