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These Gluten Free Chocolate Orange Cupcakes are a real treat – a rich, chocolate cupcake studded with dark chocolate chunks and topped with a dreamy, orange buttercream. Terry’s Chocolate Orange may not be coeliac-safe, but these are!
Notes On These Chocolate Orange Cupcakes
If you’re already a fan of my gluten free chocolate cupcakes then you simply have to try these! They’re rich and chocolate, with a lovely zesty twist.
These gluten free cupcakes are super easy to make and are a great baking project for beginners or for baking with kids.
If you’re making these for someone with coeliac disease, make sure to ensure you limit any risks of cross contamination with gluten in a shared kitchen.
This means taking steps like using clean equipment, wiping down surfaces, and not baking anything containing gluten in the oven at the same time.
You can find more tips for avoiding cross contamination on Coeliac UK‘s website.
Table of Contents
Ingredients and Substitutions
There’s a printable recipe card below for these gluten free chocolate orange cupcakes with the full quantities. But here are the main ingredients and ideas for any swaps.
- Caster Sugar: Or baker’s sugar in the US.
- Butter: If you want to make these cupcakes gluten and dairy free, you can use a vegan butter instead. I recommend a harder block for the buttercream frosting.
- Eggs
- Gluten Free Self-Raising Flour: I use the FREEE self raising gluten free flour blend. If you can’t find this you can use a plain or all purpose gluten free flour and add 1 tsp gluten free baking powder per 100g of plain flour instead.
- Cocoa Powder
- Xanthan Gum: The FREEE flour blend I use has xanthan gum in it already but I still add this extra. If you want to omit this you can but your cupcakes may be a little more crumbly.
- Orange Extract: This is usually gluten free. For a more subtle orange flavour, omit this and use orange zest alone.
- Milk: Use a dairy free milk of choice for dairy free.
- Dark Chocolate: I usually use the Dr Oetker baking chocolate as this is gluten free. Some chocolate has a ‘may contain’ warning so always double check.
- Icing Sugar: Or powdered sugar / confectioner’s sugar.
How to Make Gluten Free Chocolate Orange Cupcakes
There’s a printable recipe card below with the method. But here are some step-by-step photos to show you how easy this gluten free chocolate orange cupcakes are to make.
Storing and Freezing Instructions
TO STORE: Once baked, these gluten free choc orange cupcakes can be kept in an airtight container for up to a week. They do not need to be refrigerated – gluten free cakes don’t do well in the fridge!
TO FREEZE: Place the cupcakes on a flat board or tray and place in the freezer. Once completely frozen, transfer to a bag or tub. You can also freeze the cupcakes before frosting, then defrost them to decorate when ready.
And if you’ve got leftovers, use them to make my easy gluten free cake pops.
Gluten Free Chocolate Orange Cupcakes Recipe
Ingredients
For the cupcakes:
- 125 g caster sugar
- 125 g unsalted butter, (softened)
- 2 large eggs
- 100 g self-raising gluten free flour
- 30 g cocoa powder
- 1/4 tsp xanthan gum
- 1 tsp orange extract
- 3 tbsp milk
- 50 g dark chocolate, chopped into very small pieces
For the buttercream frosting:
- 175 g unsalted butter, (at room temperature)
- 350 g icing sugar
- 3 tbsp milk
- 50 g melted dark chocolate
- 1 tsp orange extract
- Orange zest, for decorating
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180’C (170’C fan) / Gas 4. Fill a 12-hole baking tin with cupcake cases and set aside while you make the cake batter.
- Add the butter, sugar and orange extract to a large mixing bowl and beat with an electric whisk until pale and creamy.
- Crack the eggs into the mixing bowl and beat again for 30 seconds to combine. Scrape down the sides of the bowl using a spatula.
- Sift in the self-raising gluten free flour, cocoa powder and xantham gum, add the milk, and then beat together with the electric whisk until everything is fully combined. You want a fairly thick batter which looks light and fluffy. Fold in the chocolate pieces until evenly distributed through the mix.
- Spoon the mixture evenly between the cupcake cases and then place in the centre of an oven and bake for 20-22 minutes. The cupcakes are done when they are well-risen, golden on top, and a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean.
- Once cooked, remove from the oven and place on a cooling rack. Cool in the tray for 10 minutes before removing the cakes from the tray to cool completely.
To make the frosting:
- Add the butter, icing sugar, milk, melted chocolate and orange extract to a large mixing bowl and beat with an electric whisk on a low speed until it becomes a smooth, pale buttercream.
- Spoon the mixture into a piping bag (see notes) and, once the cupcakes are completely cool, decorate them with a swirl of buttercream. Finish with orange zest on top.
Notes
- For the frosting, it’s important to use room temperature butter to get the right consistency. If it becomes very soft once beaten (especially likely on a hot day) then place the buttercream in the piping bag and refrigerate for 15-20 minutes until it’s an easy consistency to pipe.
Nutrition
More Gluten Free Cupcake Recipes
If you like this vanilla gluten free cupcakes recipe then make sure you check out these other gluten free cupcake recipes too…
- Gluten Free Red Velvet Cupcakes
- Gluten Free Lemon Drizzle Cupcakes
- Gluten Free Chocolate Cupcakes
- Gluten Free Oreo Cupcakes
- Gluten Free Vanilla Cupcakes
- Gluten Free Lemon Meringue Cupcakes
- Gluten Free Carrot Cake Cupcakes
- Gluten Free and Vegan Vanilla Cupcakes
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How can I make this vegan ?
I’d recommend using my vegan gluten free vanilla cupcakes as a base recipe instead, then adding the cocoa powder, dark chocolate and orange extract to make it chocolate orange flavoured. This would be much easier/reliable than trying to convert this recipe. Hope that helps!