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These Gluten Free Red Velvet Cupcakes are so easy to make, with a velvety sponge and tangy cream cheese frosting on top. Plus they’re completely coeliac-safe – though nobody would ever know they’re gluten free! Great for birthdays and celebrations.
Notes On This Red Velvet Cupcakes Recipe
- Why choose this recipe? This gluten free red velvet cupcakes recipe are a delicious mini version of my favourite red velvet cake! Ideal if you want to make a small batch, with the perfect ratio of frosting and cake in each bite.
- Piping Newbie? It’s great fun piping these cupcakes – but if you’re not confident piping, you can use a small palette knife to swirl the frosting on instead.
- Top Tip: Trim a little off the top of each cupcake before frosting them and crumble the pieces with your fingers to create a red velvet crumb for decoration!
- Love Red Velvet? If you love these cupcakes, make sure you try my gluten free red velvet cake, my red velvet cookies and easy baked red velvet donuts next. And don’t forget to turn these into Broken Glass Cupcakes for Halloween!
Table of Contents
Ingredients and Substitutions
There’s a printable recipe card below for this gluten free red velvet cupcakes recipe with the full quantities. But here are the main ingredients and ideas for any swaps.
- Butter: Either use unsalted butter of the Stork baking margarine also works really well. For a dairy free cake ensure you’re using a vegan margarine.
- Caster Sugar: Or baker’s sugar in the US.
- Eggs
- Vanilla Extract
- Food Colouring: I use the Sugarflair gel red food colouring for the most vibrant colour. This brand is also gluten free with no ‘may contain’ warnings.
- Plain Gluten Free Flour: I use the FREEE plain gluten free flour, but any all purpose or 1:1 gluten free baking flour should work.
- Baking Powder: Always ensure you’re using a gluten free baking powder as some products contain wheat. I have a guide to gluten free baking powders to help!
- Xanthan Gum: You can omit this if your flour blend contains it, or if you can’t tolerate it. It helps a little with the structure of the cake and makes it less crumbly.
- Cocoa Powder
- Buttermilk: Or make your own by mixing 1 tbsp lemon juice or white wine vinegar into 300ml milk (use a vegan milk for a dairy free recipe) and leaving for 5-10 minutes.
- White Wine Vinegar: Or you could use apple cider vinegar instead.
- Bicarbonate of Soda: Or baking soda in the US. This is essential to react with the vinegar.
- Icing Sugar: For the frosting – or confectioner’s sugar in the US.
- Cream Cheese: Always use full-fat cream cheese to avoid runny frosting. In the UK I use Philadelphia. For a dairy free recipe use a vegan cream cheese like Violife.
How to Make a Gluten Free Red Velvet Cupcakes
There’s a printable recipe card below with the method. But here are some step-by-step photos to show you how easy these gluten free red velvet cupcakes recipe is to make.
Recipe Tip
Before frosting your cupcakes, trim a tiny bit off the top of each one and crumble it up using your fingers. You can then use the red velvet crumb to decorate the frosting.
Storing and Freezing Instructions
TO MAKE AHEAD: If you want to get ahead you can make the cupcakes ahead of time then freeze them. Defrost at room temperature when ready to decorate with frosting.
TO STORE: These gluten free red velvet cupcakes will keep in an airtight container for up to 5 days. I wouldn’t recommend refrigerating as they can go stale quicker.
TO FREEZE: Red velvet cupcakes can be frozen – I recommend freezing them on a baking sheet before transferring them to a tub so the icing doesn’t get squashed!
Frequently Asked Questions
Here are some FAQs about this easy red velvet 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!
I use plain gluten free flour in this cupcake recipe but you can swap this for self-raising gluten free flour instead. If doing this, remove the extra baking powder from the recipe. You can also omit the xanthan gum if your flour contains this, as most gluten free self-raising flour blends do.
Yes, you can! If you would rather make a big cake for a celebration or birthday, you can make my gluten free red velvet cake recipe instead.
This red velvet cupcakes recipe uses white wine vinegar which is gluten free (see my guide to which vinegars are gluten free for more info). The vinegar reacts with the bicarb (baking soda) to create bubbles, which help the cake rise and produce a velvet texture. It also helps to make the red colouring more vibrant.
I have suggested swaps in the ingredients section above to make these red velvet cupcakes gluten and dairy free – namely using a vegan margarine and vegan cream cheese. I have not tested this recipe with an egg replacer to use it vegan and would not want to suggest one without testing it rigorously first.
Gluten Free Red Velvet Cupcakes Recipe
Ingredients
- 60 g butter, (softened)
- 150 g caster sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1-2 tsp red food colouring
- 150 g plain gluten free flour
- 1.5 tsp baking powder
- 0.25 tsp xanthan gum, (omit if your flour contains this already)
- 20 g cocoa powder
- 150 ml buttermilk
- 1 tsp white wine vinegar
- 0.5 tsp bicarbonate of soda
For the frosting:
- 85 g unsalted butter, (at room temperature)
- 350 g icing sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 165 g full fat cream cheese
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180C / Fan 160C / Gas Mark 4. Line a 12-hole cupcake tin with cake cases and set to one side.
- Add the butter and caster sugar to a large mixing bowl and beat until pale and fluffy. Add the eggs and mix again until combined.
- In a small bowl, mix the red food colouring and vanilla extract together – this will help it mix evenly into the cake batter a bit more. Pour the colouring/vanilla mix into the cake batter and beat again with the mixer until it is an even. vibrant crimson colour.
- Mix the gluten free flour, baking powder, xanthan gum and cocoa powder in a separate bowl and then sift into the mixture. It’s important to use a sieve here to ensure you don’t get any lumps!
- Pour in the buttermilk and then beat with the mixture again until you have a smooth batter with no lumps of flour.
- Add the vinegar to a small bowl, pour in the bicarbonate of soda, stir briefly to mix (it should fizz and bubble a little!) and then pour into the cake mixture. Beat with the electric mixer until combined.
- Pour the cake batter evenly between the cupcake cases and then place in the oven for 22-25 minutes. Do not open the oven door until at least 20 minutes! The cupcakes should have risen nicely. Once done, remove from the oven and cool on a rack before decorating.
- Add the butter (it’s very important this is at room temperature!) to a large mixing bowl and beat with the electric mixer for 1-2 minutes.
- Add the icing sugar and vanilla extract to the mix and beat again until fully combined.
- Add the cream cheese and beat the mixture for several minutes until it is thick, light and fluffy with no lumps of cream cheese.
- Spoon the frosting into a piping bag – I used one with a star nozzle – and pipe swirls onto the cupcakes.
Notes
- Top Tip: Cut a tiny bit off the top of each cupcake before frosting, then crumble the offcuts to make a red velvet crumb for decorating them with.
- Storage: This cupcakes will keep for up to 5 days in an airtight container. You can also make the cake part of the recipe ahead of time and freeze them – simple defrost when you’re ready to decorate them.
- Weighing Scales vs Cups: You can toggle this recipe card to convert the ingredients into cups. However, I always recommend using weighing scales – these are cheap to buy and much more accurate. And in gluten free baking, a tiny variation can make a huge difference!
Nutrition
More Gluten Free Cupcake Recipes
If you like this gluten free red velvet cupcakes recipe then make sure you check out these other gluten free cupcake recipes too…
- Gluten Free Vanilla 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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