Gluten-free Chocolate Cupcakes (vegan option)

These gluten-free chocolate cupcakes are incredibly moist and just as delicious as traditional cupcakes! Vegan and dairy-free options are included in the recipe.

Ingredients

For the chocolate cream cheese frosting:

▢ 16 ounces (450 grams) cream cheese softened
▢ 1/2 cup (113 grams) butter softened
▢ 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
▢ 2/3 cup (74 grams) Dutch-process cocoa powder regular cocoa powder also works
▢ pinch salt
▢ 1/2 to 1 tablespoon milk
▢ 2 cups (240 grams) powdered sugar

Instructions

To make the cupcakes:

Preheat your oven to 350 °F (175 °C). Line 2 muffin pans with 24 liners.
In a large bowl, stir together the sugar (if using honey, don’t add it yet), flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
2 cups (400 grams) granulated sugar, 1 3/4 cups (236 grams) Bob's Red Mill Gluten-Free 1-to-1 Baking Flour, 3/4 cup (85 grams) Dutch-process cocoa powder, 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder, 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda, 1 teaspoon salt
Add eggs, milk, honey (if using), olive oil and vanilla. Mix until combined and then stir in the boiling water. The batter will be almost as thin as water.
2 large eggs, 1 cup (240 ml) milk of choice, 1/2 cup (120 ml) olive oil, 2 teaspoons vanilla extract, 1 cup (240 ml) boiling water
Fill each liner just a little more than halfway full.
Bake for 18 minutes or until a toothpick comes out with some moist crumbs, but no liquid.
Let cool for 5 minutes in the pans, and then turn out onto a rack to cool. Let cool completely before frosting.

To make the cream cheese frosting:

In a medium mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese and butter together with an electric hand mixer at medium speed until well combined. It's okay if it looks a little crumbly. Add the vanilla, cocoa powder, salt and 1/2 tablespoon of milk and beat until well combined. If the mixture is very thick now, add the other 1/2 tablespoon of remaining milk.
16 ounces (450 grams) cream cheese, 1/2 cup (113 grams) butter, 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract, 2/3 cup (74 grams) Dutch-process cocoa powder, pinch salt, 1/2 to 1 tablespoon milk
Gradually beat in the powdered sugar until totally combined. Frost the cupcakes with 2 1/2 tablespoons of frosting per cupcake. Refrigerate frosted cupcakes in an airtight container for up to 4 days. Store unfrosted cupcakes in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.
2 cups (240 grams) powdered sugar

For the vegan versions:

If making the first option in the notes (the vegan fudge frosting), this yields about 1 cup of frosting, which is enough for a thin smear of frosting – about 2 teaspoons. If you want a tablespoon of frosting for each cupcake, then do 1.5x the recipe. For 2 tablespoons (which I think is a lot as that frosting is very rich, then do 3x the recipe).
If making the second recipe in the notes (the vegan chocolate frosting), it yields 2 cups of frosting, which is enough for 4 teaspoons of frosting per cupcake. I think that's just the right amount.

Notes

For the vegan frosting, use vegan fudge frosting or vegan chocolate frosting.
If you use canned coconut milk, water it down so it's about as thin as dairy milk. Maybe half coconut milk and half water?
To make the chia eggs for this recipe, mix together 2 tablespoons of ground chia seed with 6 tablespoons of water until well combined. Let sit for 1-2 minutes until goopy like regular eggs.
Adapted from my Whole Wheat Chocolate Cupcakes, which were adapted from Hershey’s One Bowl Chocolate Cake.
I know that sounds like a lot of water but I promise you, you need 1 cup!
The nutrition information provided is calculated as a courtesy and is only an estimate. I am not a licensed nutritionist or dietitian. For the most accurate nutritional data, consult a professional or use your preferred calculator.
The nutrition information was calculated using 2% milk.

Gluten-free Chocolate Cupcakes (vegan option)

Ingredients

For the cupcakes:

For the chocolate cream cheese frosting:

Instructions

To make the cupcakes:

To make the cream cheese frosting:

For the vegan versions:

Notes

Nutrition