Gluten Free Vanilla Cupcakes Recipe - Bakery-Style Cupcakes at home! (2024)

These never-fail bakery-style gluten free vanilla cupcakes are incredibly moist and tender. They can even easily be made dairy free, too! And don't forget that creamy frosting — cupcakes like these are made for an incredible frosting.

Why you're going to love this gluten free cupcake recipe

I like a cupcake with a nice, flat top, so it’s easy to pile on a nice, fluffy frosting. You can see for yourself that this recipe for gluten free vanilla cupcakes is the perfect frosting delivery system.

My recipe for the very best gluten free vanilla cakeis truly perfect in every possible way—and it does happen to make very nice cupcakes. But it requires some sifting and other fussiness in the method, and the cupcakes don’t bake up as flat.

These easy gluten free vanilla cupcakes effortlessly rise into a flat top, and they don’t require any sifting of the dry ingredients.

And then the tenderness… let's talk about that tenderness. These gluten free vanilla cupcakes are so light, fluffy, and moist, they really do taste like something you'd pick up at a fancy bakery. But alas, that fancy bakery is your kitchen; isn't it grand?!

They're also perfect for nearly any occasion. Birthday party? Game night? Wednesday night? Celebrate events big and small with cupcakes. You can even freeze these delicious little treats, so you can enjoy them later.

Seriously, who needs an expensive gluten free cupcake mix when you can make them from scratch in about the same amount of time?

Do gluten free cupcakes taste “different”?

No! Well, they certainly shouldn’t have a strange aftertaste or a gritty mouthfeel. They should have a moist and tender crumb, just like you’d expect from a cupcake in a bakery. A good bakery!

If you’ve had gluten free vanilla cupcakes in the past and found them to be “good, for gluten free,” you weren’t eating the right cupcake, made with the right recipe and ingredients.

A gritty mouthfeel is from an all purpose gluten free

made with a gritty rice flour. A strange aftertaste or mouthfeel likely means the flour wasn’t good quality and well-balanced.

A dry cupcake might be made with the wrong recipe, so the ingredients were poorly balanced. Or, again, the flour blend wasn’t good quality.

Cupcakes: mini cakes or not?

Did you know that not all cake recipes make good cupcakes? It's true! Just like not all muffin recipes can be made as quick breads (or vice versa).

When you bake cake batter in miniature portions, even if it bakes flat in a round or square cake pan, it may dome quite a bit when portioned into the wells of a cupcake tin.

Gluten free vanilla cupcake ingredients

The best gluten free flour for cupcakes

The best gluten free flour blend for cakes and cupcakes is a combination of Better Batter gluten free flour, which can be replaced in all cases with my mock Better Batter all purpose gluten free flour, and cornstarch. All cake flour, including gluten free cake flour, contains cornstarch.

In conventional cake-baking, cornstarch is used to reduce the amount of gluten formation in baked goods. In that way, it makes for a lighter, more tender result.

In gluten free cake-baking, cornstarch is used to soften the blend because, once combined with liquid, it becomes gelatinous. It helps create a flour blend that expands during baking and creates a more tender crumb.

Properly measuring gluten free flour

When people tell me that they've had problems with gluten free baking, I can typically trace their problem back to the gf flour they're using. Sometimes, it's simply not appropriate for the recipe. But many other times, it's because they haven't used the right amount, despite using a measuring cup.

That's because a measuring cup isn't a reliable way to measure flour. I know what you're thinking: “how can that be?!” Let me explain.

Think about how you measure flour. If it's by sticking the measuring cup into the bag or storage container, you're already off to a bad start. When you do that, you pack the flour into the cup. This means you're going to end up with more than the recipe calls for.

Plus, dry measuring cups aren't standardized in size. So your “cup” might be different from mine, even if we were both to measure perfectly right every time (which, of course, we can't).

The best way to measure gluten free flours is to use a kitchen scale. You'll notice that all my recipes also include ingredients in grams, so use that to ensure you're baking cupcakes precisely the way I have.

More gluten free vanilla cupcake ingredient notes

• Baking powder and baking soda – these ingredients help your cupcakes rise and give them that light, airy texture that's just perfect
• Salt – the ultimate flavor enhancer, salt really brings out the taste of the sugar and vanilla
• Butter – also helps with the texture and aroma of the cupcakes, but also adds richness and serves as a flavor delivery system
• Granulated sugar – these cupcakes are sweet thanks to the sugar, but this ingredient also works as a tenderizer
• Eggs – egg gives the cake structure and contributes a bit of moisture and rise
• Vanilla extract – this is what gives the cupcakes that awesome flavor that reminds you of birthdays, summer afternoons, and pure happiness
• Milk – use regular milk or buttermilk, though I find that the latter results in the most tender cupcakes with the crumb you want to press into the tines of a fork

Tips for making these gluten free vanilla cupcakes

Do use room-temperature ingredients

Room-temperature ingredients just mix better, so do yourself a favor and pull out the cold ingredients about an hour before you're ready to bake. If you haven't planned ahead, try immersing your eggs in warm water for 10 minutes to increase their temperature gently, and chop up your butter so it warms faster at room temp.

Don't over-beat your cupcake batter

Mixing introduces air into your batter. This is fine because the air helps these cupcakes come out light and fluffy. But when you over-mix your batter or mix it using a high setting, you're going to introduce a lot of air — and during the baking process, it's going to develop big air pockets that form holes in your cupcakes.

Don't over-fill your gf cupcake cups

Just be sure not to overfill the wells of the cupcake tin (2/3 of the way full is absolutely perfect). This prevents the dreaded cupcake explosion, where your cupcakes spill over and look like they've gone boom.

An easy way to get uniformly sized cupcakes is to use a greased ice cream or muffin scoop. It ensure a perfect portion every time.

Don't over-bake your cupcakes

I know it sounds like I'm saying things over and over again, but it's only because these tips really will help you bake the best gluten free cupcakes ever!

Bake your cupcakes at no more than 325°F, and only until the tops spring back when pressed very lightly in the center. The toothpick test is not the best test for doneness here.

Do let your cupcakes cool before frosting

I get it: It's hard to resist cupcakes, what with their softness and enticing aroma. But if you're going to frost yours, you really do have to let them cool completely first. If you don't, your frosting will melt and make a sticky mess.

The best gluten free frosting for the best gluten free cupcakes

I've included a recipe for traditional vanilla buttercream frosting, and it's always a favorite. If you'd like something a little lighter, and a bit less expected, try our “Best” Vanilla Frosting. It's a cooked flour frosting that can be made in stages.

Instead of relying upon confectioners' sugar for the proper consistency, a cooked flour frosting has significantly less sugar than buttercream. And it's soft and velvety, but still stable at room temperature.

I haven't ever tried making it with dairy-free butter, I'm afraid. I bet it would work with butter-flavored Spectrum nonhydrogenated shortening, though.

How to store your gf vanilla cupcakes

Because these gluten free cupcakes don't contain preservatives, they won't last for weeks on your kitchen counter. I generally find that they're good for a couple of days before they start to go stale.

If you make more cupcakes than you can eat in that time frame, I suggest freezing them for longer-term storage.

Whatever you do, don't put them in the fridge. That just speeds up the drying process.

Freezing gluten free vanilla cupcakes

I love the idea of having a cupcake for lunch. Sometimes alongside other things, sometimes on its own. Thankfully, I can do this whenever I'd like by freezing my gf cupcakes to enjoy whenever the mood strikes. Best of all, these cupcakes freeze up perfectly whether they're plain or frosted.

Freezing unfrosted cupcakes

It's super easy to freeze gf cupcakes. Just make sure they're completely cool, wrap them tightly in plastic wrap, drop them into a freezer-safe, zip-top bag or other airtight container, and toss them into the freezer. The cupcakes will stay good for up to three months.

Freezing frosted cupcakes

Freezing frosted cupcakes take a little more work, but the payoff is worth it. What you'll do differently is place your frosted cupcakes on a plate or baking sheet and put them in the freezer until the frosting is completely frozen, typically four to five hours.

Once the cupcakes are frozen, wrap them in plastic and put them in a zip-top bag. These cupcakes will also last about three months in the freezer.

Defrosting frozen gluten free cupcakes

Whether you've got plain or frosted cupcakes, defrosting is a cinch. Just leave the cupcakes on the kitchen counter to defrost for two to three hours. For the freshest cupcakes, cover them with a dome so they don't dry out as they defrost.

Perfect Gluten Free Vanilla Cupcakes: Ingredients and Substitutions

Gluten free, dairy free vanilla cupcakes

These cupcakes and buttercream can easily be made dairy free by using vegan butter (my favorite brands are Melt and Miyoko's Kitchen), or butter-flavored nonhydrogenated vegetable shortening in place of butter.

Any unsweetened nondairy milk works well in place of cow's milk. I like unsweetened almond milk because it has some fat and is less watery than some nondairy milks.

These cupcakes are more tender with buttermilk. If you're dairy free or don't have buttermilk, you can make a buttermilk replacement with half milk (dairy or nondairy) and half plain yogurt (dairy or nondairy) by volume.

Gluten free, egg-free vanilla cupcakes

It's a little tricky to replace the egg and egg white here than it would be if the recipe called only for whole eggs. I haven't tried it, but you can try replacing the egg and egg white with 1 1/2 chia eggs.

Be sure to use ground chia seeds, not whole seeds, though. And avoid flax eggs, particularly in a recipe as simple as this, as flax has a strong flavor.

Gluten free, vegan vanilla cupcakes

While it may be tricky to substitute the eggs in this simple gluten free cupcakes recipe, dairy is easy. And as the dairy and eggs are the only non-vegan ingredients, you can follow my substitution advice for each above to make vegan-friendly cupcakes. Just be sure your sugar isn't made with bone char, if you're a strict vegan.

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Bakery-style gluten free vanilla cupcakes