Gluten-free Chocolate Cupcakes with Fudge Frosting
Requested at almost every family birthday party, these gluten-free chocolate cupcakes are topped with an amazing fudge frosting! This might just become your go-to gluten-free birthday cupcake recipe too!
After my diagnosis with celiac disease several years ago, one of the first desserts that I knew I was going to have to make gluten-free was chocolate cupcakes. I adore cookies and brownies, but if I HAD to pick my favorite dessert, it would be these gluten-free chocolate cupcakes with fudgy frosting. They’re my favorite gluten-free cupcakes!
This is the only thing I bake that I have zero self-control around. I will usually eat 3 of these gluten-free chocolate cupcakes per day until they are gone, which is definitely not good for the waistline! It’s definitely best if I make them when I have somewhere to bring them!
I’ve been sharing these super chocolaty, moist cupcakes with their fudgy frosting with people for years. They always receive rave reviews from everyone that tries them, whether they eat gluten-free usually or not. No one can tell that they are gluten-free!
These gluten-free cupcakes have the best texture on the day AFTER baking them, which I think is a big plus! I can whip these up the day before a birthday party, holiday get-together, or BBQ and save myself the work on the day of the event. Sometimes I’ll frost these the first day, sometimes I’ll wait to frost them until a few hours before I need them. You can store these at room temperature if your house isn’t overly warm, or keep chilled until an hour before serving.
This versatile recipe comes from my favorite recipe for gluten-free Texas Sheet Cake. If you’re looking for a potluck friendly dessert, go check that one out!
Notes on ingredients for gluten-free chocolate cupcakes:
- Flour: As always, I recommend using a good quality gluten-free flour blend that isn’t made of bean flours. I have had great success with the texture of these cupcakes when I use Gluten free Mama’s Almond Blend or Gluten free Mama’s Coconut Blend, King Arthur Measure for Measure Flour, and also with Cup4Cup flour.
- Baking cocoa: In this recipe, I like to divide the total amount called for and use about 1/2 of dutch-processed, Hershey’s regular or Saco blend cocoa and 1/2 Hershey’s special dark cocoa. That is how I achieve a deep, dark brown to my cupcakes and icing.
Here’s a look at how full to fill the cupcake liners before baking and what the cupcakes look like after baking. You’ll notice the cupcakes are mostly flat, making them perfect for frosting!
This frosting – you MUST make this fudge frosting! You will totally want to just eat the frosting with a spoon. My hubby and I will fight over who gets to lick the beaters when I make it. Thanks to my friend Steph for sharing this frosting recipe with me back in my college days!
No matter what new cake recipe I try out, I always use this frosting as it is simply the best chocolate fudge frosting there is!
Now I often do the frosting like I do the cake – with half regular cocoa and half dark cocoa. This pic shows you what the frosting looks like made with all regular cocoa (the lighter colored frosting) or with the blend with dark cocoa and regular together (the darker colored frosting). It’s completely delicious either way, or to make it fun, make a batch of each like I did here if you want the pretty assortment to offer.
If you use this frosting while still warm, it is easily spreadable and has a glossy finish when dried like you see in the photo of my gluten-free Chocolate Love Cakes but can slide off of whatever you are frosting. If you let the frosting cool completely before using, then it firms up and can be placed into a pastry bag for piping for decorating cupcakes like I did in these photos.
The chocolate fudge frosting can also be refrigerated to use later; just microwave 10 seconds at a time, and stir, until you get to the right consistency for piping or spreading. If you like a lot of frosting on each cupcake (or if you eat too much of it with a spoon!), then you might need to make another batch of the frosting to have enough. If you have any frosting left over, I put it in a freezer bag and put in the freezer to pull out the next time I need some extra frosting (or need a pure chocolate fudge fix!) For piping the icing on these to make a fun swirl, I used a tip from this Ateco Decorating Set on Amazon.
You can also switch up your cupcake liners and add sprinkles to make these work for whatever holiday or party you’re bringing them to. Here I used red/white/blue liners and sprinkles to make gluten-free patriotic cupcakes for a Fourth of July potluck:
For gluten-free Halloween treats, I simply found some Halloween cupcake toppers and used them, along with some Halloween cupcake liners. I usually find these Halloween cupcake toppers at Hobby Lobby – but other stores like Michael’s and cake/party decor places should have them too. I took these easy Halloween cupcakes to a Harvest Party our church was having. The gluten-free kids in attendance were so excited to have gluten-free Halloween cupcakes to win in the cake walk game.
My personal favorite way to enjoy the best gluten-free chocolate cupcakes is to pull them out of the refrigerator and put in the microwave for 12 seconds. With a glass of cold milk as a chaser, I am in heaven as I enjoy chocolate overload! I hope you can make this soon and enjoy chocolate overload with me!
Looking for some other yummy chocolate recipes? Try my flourless chocolate cookie recipe for a real chocolate fix. Next try this skinny flourless dark chocolate cake recipe – it looks so decadent!
Recipe for Gluten-free Chocolate Cupcakes with Chocolate Fudge Frosting:
Gluten-free Chocolate Cupcakes with Fudge Frosting
These super chocolaty gluten-free cupcakes are even better made the day before eating, making them a great choice for birthdays.
Ingredients
Cupcakes:
- 2 cups good quality gluten-free flour blend
- 1 tsp. xanthan gum *see note
- 2 cups sugar
- 1 tsp. baking soda
- ¼ tsp. salt
- 1 cup salted butter (2 sticks, 16 Tbsp.)
- â…“ cup cocoa powder *see note
- 1 cup water
- ½ c. buttermilk
- 2 eggs
- 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
Fudge Frosting:
- ½ cup salted butter (1 stick)
- ½ cup cocoa powder *see note
- 3 â…” cup powdered sugar
- 6-7 Tbsp. milk
- 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
Instructions
Cupcakes
- Line a muffin pan with paper liners and set aside.
- In your mixing bowl, combine gluten-free flour, xanthan gum, sugar, baking soda, and salt and set aside.
- In a medium saucepan, combine butter, cocoa, and 1 cup water. Bring just to boiling, whisking constantly. Remove from heat and add to dry ingredients, beat until combined.
- Add buttermilk, eggs, and vanilla and beat for one minute on low-medium speed.
- Pour batter into cupcake liners. I use a large scoop that measures about 1/3 cup batter into each opening.
- Bake at 350° for 17 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean or with a few crumbs (no wet batter).
- Let cool in pan for 4 minutes, then remove cupcakes. Wait to frost until completely cool.
Fudge Frosting:
- Using a medium glass bowl, melt the stick of butter in microwave. Whisk in cocoa powder, then heat for 1 minute. Add powdered sugar and milk alternately, beating with a hand mixer until creamy. Add vanilla last, beating in until mixed well.
- If you use this frosting while still warm, it is easily spreadable and has the glossy finish when dried like you see in the photo but can slide off of whatever you are frosting. If you let it cool completely, then it firms up and can be placed into a pastry bag for piping for decorating cakes or cupcakes. The icing can be refrigerated to use later; just microwave 10 seconds at a time, and stir, until you get to the right consistency for piping or spreading.
Notes
*If your flour blend already contains xanthan gum or guar gum, omit the xanthan gum called for in this recipe.
As always, be sure to double-check your ingredients for gluten.
For the cocoa powder, I like to use about 1/2 of dutch-processed or Saco blend cocoa and 1/2 Hershey's special dark cocoa. That is how I achieve a nice dark brown to my cupcakes and icing.
*You can also bake this as a cake in a 9x13" pan for ~35 minutes or in two 8" cake pans for 22 minutes. Make sure to spray the pans well with non-stick cooking spray.
Pin these to your gluten-free desserts board here!
I hope you and your family enjoy these and think they’re the best gluten-free cupcakes like my family does!
I am looking forward to trying this recipe this weekend. Recent switch to gluten and dairy free; I had no idea where to begin and your website is a wealth of knowledge. I love to cook/bake and my heart was broken as I tried to decide how to do this. You made it easy for me and I will reference your site often. THANK YOU!!! You saved the day and Im sure will put smiles on a lot of little faces (including mine 🙂
Maria,
Thank you for your sweet comment! This is exactly why I share here. I really do hope these recipes help you with your transition.
OMG the icing is AMAZING.
Kristina,
I hide and eat this frosting with a spoon sometimes! Glad you liked it too!
These cupcakes are fabulous! Can I make them without the cocoa powder for white cupcakes?
Suzanne,
It would take a little more tweaking than that, since then they would be overly sweet without that unsweetened cocoa. You could sure try it with also cutting the sugar a bit. Let me know if you give that a try!
I made these cupcakes today and I am very impressed. There were so light and fluffy. I can’t wait to see how they will be 2 or 3 days later. I used my “homemade” flour blend, which is rice flour based. Tomorrow I’ll be making the batter again to make a cake.
Asia,
I’m so glad you made them and enjoyed them! I think they are still great for several days. Enjoy them this weekend!
I used Bob’s Redmill gluten free flour and the cupcakes turned out just fine. Not sure why everyone had such a problem with it. I also made sure to use xanthan gum. Next time, I will use less sugar. Though the cupcakes are amazing, they are too sweet and gave me a bit of a stomach ache. I also used coconut sugar in place of regular sugar and it worked out just fine. Next time I will use half the amount.
I made this recipe for a lady at my church who has been home-bound for many years since she was diagnosed with MS. On one of my recent visits to her home, she requested a chocolate cake. I am fairly new to gluten free baking and after reading tons of blogs, recipes, tips, etc. I decided on this recipe. Before I forget Michelle is correct the icing recipe is absolutely the best! Now for the cake, it did not turn out as I would have expected, but I contribute that to some of the substitutions I made and I didn’t make cupcakes, but rather 2 – 9 inch cake pans. The cake came out almost to moist – wet and dense. I used Mama’s Almond Flour Blend, but didn’t have any buttermilk on hand, so I made my own, with almond milk and white vinegar. I also subbed the white sugar for coconut sugar and instead of butter I used coconut oil. The flavor of the cake was great, but it was more like a brownie consistency and it didn’t rise very much. I will use this recipe again I just need to work on perfecting my substitutions. Thank you for the recipe and inspiration Michelle!
I was thinking about making these for people at my mums work because some people are gluten free but I don’t shop online for flour so I wondering if Orgran gluten & wheat free flour?
Also if I could even use white wings gluten free plain flour or macro gluten free plain flour?
Bridget,
I looked all of those up online and it looks like their ingredients are all pretty much the same, so I think you could try either of them. Make sure you buy xanthan gum as well. I obviously haven’t used any of those varieties, but you should have pretty good results with those.
These chocolate cupcakes and frosting were the Best! Now, do you have a good lemon gf cupcake recipe? Thank you.
Linda,
I’m so glad you liked these! Yes, I do have a good lemon cupcake recipe. I just need to make them again so I can get some good photos! Should be coming this spring! I’ve got a backlog of posts to write right now! I need to clone myself a couple of times to get everything done!
Thanks so much for your comment and support!
I’d love to make these for a birthday party, but the one who really NEEDS the GF also has a nut allergy. What would be a suitable substitute for the almond flour blend?
Thanks!
Liz, I would recommend you use Jules Gluten-free flour blend or King Arthur’s all-purpose gluten-free flour blend. It is so sweet of you to make these for the birthday party! Enjoy!
Hi Michelle,
Am planning on trying this recipe out tomorrow! Can I use Almond flour instead of Almond blend or Coconut flour instead of coconut blend as I can’t purchase Mama’s in Ireland (unless I get it online of course, but don’t think it will be here by tomorrow! )
Thank you
Natasha
Natasha,
No, defiitely don’t just substitute almond or coconut flour. This blend I recommend is an gluten-free version of all-purpose flour that has either a little almond flour or a little coconut flour in it. I would see what you have available there as a gluten-free all-purpose flour blend, or make your own blend using any of the recipes widely available on the internet. Good luck to you!
I personally do not eat nor make gluten free cupcakes but as I am going into baking as a side job I decided to give gluten free cupcakes a try. I am a fan of gluten free now! I was worried how the texture and taste would be but it came out just as light and fluffy as my regular chocolate cupcakes and the taste was amazing! This was a great recipe and I would definitely use again for my gluten free friends! Thanks for the recipe!
Kristen,
Good for you for giving these a try! I’m so glad that they turned our just as light and fluffy as you are used to! Your gluten-free friends will love it when you make these for them! What a great friend! Happy baking to you! ~Michelle
I made these and the batter is yum…but the fell in the middle of baking. I checked on them have way through and they were huge! But when I pulled then out the were flat! I am new to this gf stuff….and suggestions?
Megan,
I’m so sorry that happened. If you try them again, I’d recommend:
Make sure you use one of the good flour blends (Gluten Free Mama, Jules, King Arthur Flour, Cup4Cup).
Make sure you beat them thoroughly so it is mixed well.
Don’t open the oven at all during baking. You can view them through the window with the light on if you want to check on them. Opening the oven will reduce the oven temperature and could cause them to fall.
Check them at the early side of the baking time listed above and do the check for doneness. They likely needed a little longer to bake so they wouldn’t sink. Also though, these should end up pretty flat since that is desired for decorating them. If you want them to have a dome, you’d need to do some tweaking to the recipe for that. I prefer the cupcakes to be flat so I have a nice flat surface for decorating! I hope you’ll try them again and that they turn out perfect!
Hi! I looked all over the Internet for a good gluten free chocolate cupcake recipe. I have my first gluten free order due in 2 weeks so I wanted a test run. This one just seemed like the perfect combination Of ingredients. However, after 17 minutes, the cupcakes were still like soup. After 27 minutes, there was still some wet batter but the edges were turning crispy so I took them out of the oven. At about minute 12 in the oven, they completely collapsed and look more like tart cups instead of cupcakes? Any ideas what I might have done wrong? Thank you! The taste is yummy, but there was no rise at all. I couldn’t find mamas almond flour so I used a brand called uncle bobs red mill.
Cathi,
Unfortunately there can be a huge difference in results depending on what “all-purpose” gluten-free flour blend you use. In my opinion, the Bob’s Red Mill all-purpose blend is the worst one out there and does not yield good results at all.
Please look around any specialty stores near you or just order online. The varieties I recommend most are: Gluten-free Mama’s all-purpose almond flour blend, Jules Gluten free flour blend, Cup4Cup (available at Williams Sonoma) and King Arthur Flour brand. All of those can be bought online. I link to the Gluten free mama one on Amazon in the little Amazon ad on the side of my blog.
Also, do make sure you are using xanthan gum. If the flour blend you buy doesn’t have xanthan gum added to it already, make sure you add the amount listed in the recipe.
Good luck to you! With a good flour blend, this recipe is very successful!
Have you ever tried the Bob’s Red Mill 1 to 1 baking mix? Its the one that’s actually meant for baking sweets like cookies, brownies, cakes, and pies, where as the BRM All purpose baking flour is actually just meant for things like breads, biscuts, and other more savory baked goods.
Mine came out soupy too. So disappointed. I’m not a baker but I had high hopes.
A very special member of our Civitan club has her 95th birthday coming up in a few days. Yes, 95 is correct!! She still drives her car, and volunteers at our local hospital as a “pink lady”, AND volunteers at our local county jail for prison ministries. She teaches the ladies behind bars that even though you’ve made a mistake, God still loves & forgives you, and has a purpose for your life. Ok, ok….enough of the bragging! Anyway she needs to be gluten free, and I bought a GF cake mix from the grocery store. I then googled GF frosting recipes and found yours. I didn’t have special dark cocoa, so I used all regular baking cocoa. I also only had almond milk in the fridge and used that. I must say you are right about wanting to eat the frosting by the spoon!! It is soooooo yummy!! I will definitely use this frosting recipe again. Thank you so much for sharing!
Lynn,
You are so sweet to make these cupcakes for such a special lady! Sounds like she is wonderful and you are blessed to know her! I’m glad that you enjoyed the frosting too! Thanks so much for the sweet comment. ~Michelle
Xantham gum is really hard to find and expensive here, any way i can leave it out?
Orla,
You really do need either xanthan gum, guar gum, or some other substitute to help bind these together. They’ll be very crumbly without. Not sure where you live, but buying from Amazon might be a good choice for getting a good price on it.
As soon as they came out of the oven, I couldn’t wait to let them cool to try one. So delicious even before the fudge frosting (or icing as we call it in Canada). Cupcakes and frosting, directly into the freezer so I do not eat more than two. For the flour, I used 2 cups of my normal GF combination: 2 c sorghum flour, 2 c potato starch, 1/2 c brown rice flour, 1/2 c coconut flour, and 1 tbsp xanthan gum, and they came out beautifully… I also added 1 tbsp of instant coffee (I use this for every chocolatey baking treat I make) which enhances the chocolate flavour. I think I would add 2 Tbsp next time. Thank you for this delicious recipe!
Suzanne,
I’m so glad these turned out well for you and you enjoyed them. The addition of a little instant coffee is a great idea, and one I just keep forgetting to try! Happy Baking to you!
These were amazing! I used 1/2 the amount of sugar, and coconut oil instead of butter, and almond milk instead of buttermilk. My kids loved them.
Robin,
So glad you liked these! Thanks for commenting and letting us know about your successful substitutions! Glad your kids loved them too!
Hi – I am in need of a really delicious gluten-free choc cupcake recipe for my son’s upcoming birthday. Your recipe sounds great. Can you tell me how many mini cupcakes this recipe yields and how much to shorten the baking time? Thanks!
Robyn,
I haven’t made these as mini cupcakes in a long time. I’ll point you to a guide for converting from cupcakes to mini cupcakes is here: https://bakingbites.com/2011/03/how-to-turn-cupcakes-into-mini-cupcakes/
That should give you all the info you need! Thanks & happy baking!
How many cupcakes does this recipe make?
ALB,
I usually get 24 cupcakes out of this batch of batter. It will depend how full you make your cupcake liners. Another commenter, Mary, got 20, just to give you an idea.
Happy baking!
There are no words to describe how yumy these cupcakes are. I love cooking and baking and these are the best choc cupcakes I have ever made. I ended up with about 20 and they were demolished in less than a day. Usually cupcakes last for a week in my house. Even my son who generally only eats the frosting, was eating the cake part. Thank you so much for such an incredible recipe.
Mary,
Thanks so much for stopping by to comment to let me know you and your son loved these! I’m so glad! These never last that long at our house either! Glad you have this recipe as a keeper now for whenever you need it! Happy baking!
Really???? I made these and they went all over my oven and never did raise.
Goodneess! That definitely shouldn’t have happened. My guess is that the batter didn’t have enough gum added and the cups were filled too full for your pan. If you want to try again, I’d add another 1/2 tsp. xanthan, be sure everything gets mixed really well, and fill the cups less full than last time.
Same happened to me!