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These Gluten Free Vanilla Cupcakes are soft, fluffy and deliciously moist. These are THE easiest gluten free cupcakes ever, with a dreamy, vanilla buttercream frosting. The perfect bake for all occasions and nobody will even know they’re gluten free and coeliac-safe.
Notes On These Gluten Free Vanilla Cupcakes
This Gluten Free Vanilla Cupcakes recipe is a great beginner bake, is so quick and easy to make, and you can decorate them however you like.
Cupcakes are a great alternative to a larger celebration cake for birthdays or parties, and every time I make these the gluten-eaters love them.
In fact, Steve always requests these (and he doesn’t even like cake!) – they are so soft and you’d never know they were gluten free.
Plus the vanilla buttercream frosting is just DREAMY. That’s probably why they’ve had so many ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ ratings from readers who have tried them!
Updated for May 2026: These are still the OG, reader-favourite cupcake recipe, but now with new photos, step-by-step images and FAQs to answer your questions.
Table of Contents
Don’t just take my word for it…
Liz left a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ review after making these gluten free cupcakes and said: “Delicious flavour and texture and very easy to make.“
Ingredients and Substitutions
There’s a printable recipe card below for these easy gluten free vanilla cupcakes with the full quantities. But here are the main ingredients and ideas for any swaps.
- Caster Sugar: In the US you’ll want to look for Baker’s Sugar for this recipe. For the frosting you’ll need icing sugar (confectioner’s sugar or powdered sugar).
- Unsalted Butter: Or use a vegan margarine such as Stork Baking Block for dairy free.
- Self Raising Gluten Free Flour: If you cannot find gluten free self-rising flour then make your own by adding 1 tsp gluten free baking powder to 100g of plain or all purpose gluten free flour blend.
- Xanthan Gum: You can omit if your flour blend already contains it (see FAQs below).
- Vanilla Extract
- Eggs
- Milk: Use dairy free milk if needed.
- Gluten Free Sprinkles: Not all sprinkles are gluten free so always double check, as some contain wheat starch. A lot of own brand supermarket sprinkles are safe.
How to Make Gluten Free Vanilla 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 cupcakes recipe is to make.
Storing and Freezing Instructions
TO STORE: Once baked, these gluten free vanilla 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.
Frequently Asked Questions
Here are some FAQs about this gluten free vanilla cupcakes recipe. If you can’t find the answer to your question here or in the post above, please comment and I’ll try answer!
For dairy free cupcakes, swap the butter for a vegan margarine (in the cake and frosting) and the milk for a dairy free milk of choice. For a vegan recipe, I recommend following my gluten free vegan vanilla cupcakes recipe instead.
This recipe should produce light, fluffy and moist cupcakes. If the cupcakes come out dry it’s likely they have been over-baked.
If your gluten free cupcakes sank it’s likely that they have either been over-mixed or that the oven door was opened too soon. Never open the oven door before the minimum cooking time as the sudden change in temperature will cause cakes to sink. But don’t panic if yours have sunk – frosting hides a multitude of sins!
If your flour blend contains xantham gum you can omit this from the recipe. However, when I use the FREEE self-raising flour (which does have xanthan gum in it) I tend to add the extra anyway, as I find it makes a better texture. If you want to omit it entirely you can, but you may find the cupcakes slightly more crumbly.
Gluten Free Vanilla Cupcakes Recipe
Ingredients
For the cupcakes:
- 125 g caster sugar
- 125 g unsalted butter, (softened)
- 2 large eggs
- 125 g self raising gluten free flour
- 1/4 tsp xanthan gum
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 tbsp milk
For the buttercream frosting:
- 175 g unsalted butter, (at room temperature)
- 350 g icing sugar
- 2 tbsp milk
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- Gluten free sprinkles
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 vanilla extract to a large mixing bowl and beat with an electric whisk until pale and creamy. (TIP: If the butter is hard, zap it in the microwave for 10-15 seconds before adding it to the mixing bowl to make it easier!)
- 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 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.
- 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 and vanilla extract to a large mixing bowl and beat with an electric whisk on a low speed until it becomes a smooth, pale buttercream. (TIP: To avoid an icing-sugar dust cloud I tend to ‘mash’ the mixture with a fork until it starts to come together, then use the electric whisk).
- 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 sprinkles.
Notes
- Top Tip: 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.
- Extra Tip: Placing a few grains of (uncooked) rice under each cupcake case before you add the cake batter will stop your cake cases becoming greasy when baking.
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 Chocolate Cupcakes
- Gluten Free Oreo Cupcakes
- Gluten Free Lemon Meringue Cupcakes
- Gluten Free Carrot Cake Cupcakes
- Gluten Free Vegan Vanilla Cupcakes
- Gluten Free Chocolate Orange Cupcakes
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Is there a substitute for xanthan gum? And can I use Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free Baking Flour?
Delicious flavour and texture and very easy to make.