Gluten-Free Vegan Chocolate Cupcakes with Oat Flour
Rich and decadent, gluten-free vegan chocolate cupcakes have the best chocolatey flavor and moist texture. They’re easy to make and are the perfect dessert everyone can enjoy!
For years I’ve always told everyone that I don’t like cake or cupcakes. But that wasn’t entirely true. I just didn’t like cake that was dry, overly sweet with little flavor, or tasted fake (which is honestly most cakes and cupcakes).
And because of that, I never tried to make cupcakes. I always thought I would fail and they would be just like all of the other cupcakes I had tasted.
But when I saw this vegan chocolate cake, it inspired me to create my own cupcakes for my daughter’s 2nd birthday. They blew my expectations out of the water!
These cupcakes are exactly what a cupcake should be – amazing flavor, balanced sweetness, and moist texture. They have become a new birthday (and any other day) favorite in our home that I’ll be making again and again!
Why You’ll Love this Recipe
Rich chocolate flavor – This recipe doesn’t skimp on the flavor! It’s paired with my 3 ingredient frosting for even more chocolatey goodness!
Simple recipe – You don’t need unusual ingredients or complicated techniques to make this recipe.
Healthier cupcake – These cupcakes are made with oat flour and coconut sugar so they don’t have to be such a splurge.
Crowd-pleaser – Even those who aren’t gluten-free or vegan will love these delicious cupcakes!
Allergy-friendly – Made without gluten, dairy, eggs, or nuts, these are truly cupcakes for everyone.
Perfect for kids’ birthdays – Kids of all ages love cupcakes, and you’ll be glad they’re not getting lots of junk ingredients in these!
How to Store
These cupcakes should be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-5 days. Keep in mind that they will begin to dry out a little bit the longer they are stored.
Prep in Advance
To make this recipe in advance, bake the cupcakes the day before serving and store in an airtight container in the fridge overnight. You can either frost them as soon as they are fully cooled or wait until the day you want to serve them.
How to Freeze
You can freeze the cupcakes and frosting separately in airtight containers for 2-3 months. Before serving, let them both thaw in the fridge overnight and then frost the cupcakes.
Tips for Success
Make sure all of your ingredients are at room temperature – Cold ingredients won’t blend together as well and can lead to a gummier texture.
Don’t skip letting the batter sit – This is super important when baking with oat flour! While it’s sitting, the oat flour will absorb some of the liquid which helps to create the cupcakes’ moist texture.
Grease your pan well – Or use cupcake liners. Either way will make sure your cupcakes pop out of the pan perfectly.
Let the cupcakes cool in the pan – Don’t remove them from the pan until they’ve cooled for 10-15 minutes. The cupcakes will continue to cook slightly preventing gooey centers, and they will pop out of the pan better as well.
Let the cupcakes cool completely before frosting – If there’s even a little bit of warmth to them, this can cause the frosting to soften or melt.
FAQs
The vinegar in the “buttermilk” reacts with the baking soda to help the cupcakes rise. Don’t worry, you won’t be able to taste it.
No, this recipe is specifically for oat flour. Other flours such as almond, coconut, or regular flour will produce a different result.
The applesauce is the egg substitute in these cupcakes. Don’t skip it!
Violet’s Tips for Serving
Make sure to remove these cupcakes from the fridge half an hour before serving! While they keep best in the fridge, they taste better at room temperature.
Tools You May Need
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Ingredients
Cupcakes
Frosting
For more details on making this frosting, see Vegan Chocolate Frosting.
How to Make Gluten-Free Vegan Chocolate Cupcakes
Frosting
The frosting needs to chill overnight in the fridge, so you should make it the day before frosting the cupcakes.
Step 1: First, in a small saucepan over low heat, melt together the chocolate chips, coconut cream, and vanilla. Make sure to stir the mixture constantly to avoid burning.
Step 2: Once it’s melted, cover and place in the fridge for at least 2 hours, but preferably overnight to set.
Step 3: Once the chocolate mixture has fully set, it’s time to whip it! You can use either a stand mixer or a handheld mixer with a whisk attachment.
Beat it on medium speed until it’s fluffy and has a good consistency for piping.
Step 4: It’s easy to over whip this frosting! Make sure to stop whipping it as soon as it begins to develop a firm, whipped texture.
When it’s done, place in the fridge until you’re ready to frost the cupcakes
Cupcakes
Step 1: First preheat your oven to 350 degrees and grease a muffin tin. If you prefer, you can use cupcake liners instead.
In a small bowl, stir the milk and apple cider vinegar together to make dairy-free buttermilk and set aside to rest for 5 minutes.
Step 2: Next, in a medium bowl, whisk together the oat flour, cocoa powder, tapioca starch, and baking soda.
Step 3: In a large bowl, whisk together the apple sauce, coconut sugar, “buttermilk”, and vanilla.
Step 4: Now add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and whisk together until fully combined. Let the batter rest for 20 minutes to allow the oat flour to soak up some of the liquid.
Step 5: Give the batter another quick stir and pour it into the muffin tin. Bake for 25-28 minutes until the tops of the cupcakes feel firm to the touch.
Step 6: Let the cupcakes cool for 15 minutes in the pan before placing them on a cooling rack to finish cooling. There should be no heat in them when you frost them.
Step 7: Scoop the frosting into a piping bag with the tip of your choice and frost the cupcakes.
Step 8: Enjoy your delicious chocolate cupcakes!
If you try this recipe, let me know in the comments! Tag me on Instagram @violet_rightathome
More Gluten-Free Desserts
Stovetop Candied Pecans without Egg
Gluten-Free Chocolate Almond Biscotti
Gluten-Free Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars
Blackberry Crisp Recipe without Refined Sugar
Easy Dark Chocolate Almond Flour Brownies – Without Eggs
Gluten-Free Vegan Chocolate Cupcakes
Rich and decadent, gluten-free vegan chocolate cupcakes are easy to make and have the best flavor and texture.
Ingredients
Frosting
- 1 1/2 cups chocolate chips
- 3/4 cup coconut cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
Cupcakes
- 2 1/4 cups oat flour
- 1 cup dairy-free milk
- 1 1/4 cups unsweetened apple sauce
- 2/3 cup coconut sugar
- 1/2 cup cocoa powder
- 1 1/2 tablespoons tapioca starch
- 1 tablespoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
Instructions
Frosting
- In a small saucepan over low heat, melt together the chocolate chips, coconut cream, and vanilla. Stir constantly to avoid burning.
- Cover and place in the fridge for at least 2 hours, but preferably overnight to set.
- Once the chocolate mixture has fully set, beat it on medium speed until it’s fluffy and has a good consistency for piping.
- Place in the fridge until you're ready to frost the cupcakes
Cupcakes
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease a muffin tin.
- In a small bowl, stir the milk and apple cider vinegar together to make dairy-free buttermilk and set aside to rest for 5 minutes.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the oat flour, cocoa powder, tapioca starch, and baking soda.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the apple sauce, coconut sugar, "buttermilk", and vanilla.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and whisk together until fully combined.
- Let the batter rest for 20 minutes to allow the oat flour to soak up some of the liquid.
- Give the batter another quick stir and pour it into the muffin tin.
- Bake for 25-28 minutes until the tops of the cupcakes feel firm to the touch.
- Let the cupcakes cool for 15 minutes in the pan before placing them on a cooling rack to completely finish cooling.
- Scoop the frosting into a piping bag with the tip of your choice and frost the cupcakes.
Notes
- I used almond milk for the cupcakes, but you can use whatever type of non-dairy milk you prefer. You can even use dairy milk if these cupcakes don't need to be dairy free.
- Tapioca starch is often called tapioca flour, but it's the same thing. If you prefer, you can substitute arrowroot powder or cornstarch for the tapioca starch.
- Coconut sugar is my favorite sweetener for these cupcakes, but you can use any granulated sugar including white sugar or even sucanat.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 12 Serving Size: 1 cupcakeAmount Per Serving: Calories: 331Total Fat: 12gSaturated Fat: 7gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 4gCholesterol: 2mgSodium: 338mgCarbohydrates: 54gFiber: 4gSugar: 36gProtein: 5g
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
If you love this recipe for chocolate cupcakes, please make sure to come back and leave a comment and a 5 star rating. I’d love to hear how it turned out for you!
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