Vegan Gluten Free Chocolate Cupcakes (V, GF): an easy recipe for deliciously moist chocolate cupcakes topped with silky smooth chocolate frosting. Vegan, Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free.
”Make one, eat one. Make one, eat one. It’s the ideal work situation!” That’s exactly what Erik said to me while “helping” me frost these cupcakes. Ahh… Erik. Without him, I’d have so much more leftover dessert in the house.
What can I say, Erik has his uses. 😉
So… it’s my birthday!!! Okay, technically, it was my birthday a few days ago (but I wanted to share the incredible frosting recipe to this recipe first before these cupcakes… plus Mondays REQUIRE cupcakes, duh). I also apparently wanted to say recipe like 500 times in 1 sentence.
What can I say, the birthday girl gets what she wants!
Am I still technically a “girl” since I’m safely nestled in my 30s? Eh, whatever!
Who’s excited to celebrate with me? Just me? Dang it. No matter, I’m quite used to typing/talking to myself as I’ve been doing this whole blogging thing for a little while.
Erik would now say it’s time to cue the tiniest violins. Bugger! Then I would be like, “no more chocolate cupcakes for you, dear sir!”
Take that, Erik!
Anywho, it’s been my goal ALL year (plus last year) to share the ultimate vegan gluten free chocolate cupcakes with you on my birthday. But alas, I was never quite satisfied with how to even approach a birthday cake recipe. And I was also too busy sassin’ Erik to apparently work in this recipe. 😉 Update: I’ve finally shared my Gluten Free Vegan Chocolate Cake Recipe! It’s moist, easy to make, and has already received rave reviews from around the world!!
Why, you may or may not be asking? (Not about Erik, but about the cupcakes.) A few reasons: refined sugar (ahhh!!), refined flour (flour-y ahhh!!), perfect dense/light/fluffy/not-too-fluffy cake texture (double ahhhh!)
Even though those don’t sound like actual, fully-formed reasons, I assure you, they were. Erm… basically, how could I make the perfect vegan chocolate cupcakes—nay, the perfect Vegan Gluten Free Chocolate Cupcakes, without refined sugar, without that fluffy refined flour… and without messing up the whole perfect-texture birthday cake thing?
Well, I started with the frosting. Why wouldn’t we start with frosting, right? You can read all about the stunningly thrilling and shocking cliffhanger-ending process in my How to Make Homemade Chocolate Frosting post.
Ooooh, okaaaaay, the cliffhanger is these chocolate cupcakes!!! Did I just spoil that? 🙂
Anyway, as for the amazing, dessert-fantasy-worthy chocolate cake part of the cupcakes, I wanted to make sure it was as low on the sugar content as possible (will let you know if I somehow make a fruit-sweetened/zero-carb/space/science-fiction-only-existing cake.)
But this cake. THESE CUPCAKES. They are so perfectly fluffy and just the right amount of dense to hit that satisfying sweet spot. You know what I mean right? I’ve had cakes that are way too light… that I end up eating way too much of and feeling like I didn’t eat much of anything at all.
But then I’ve had cakes that’ve been way too dense and just feel… undeliciously heavy. That’s right. Undelicously. You know what I mean. Like a heavy poundcake!
So I wanted to hit the right spot in between: just a bit fluffy, just a bit dense and rich. And it’s just that. 🙂
The cake is just sweet enough, and deliciously chocolatey… but not too sweet that the frosting needs to be scooped off (yeah, I know some of you folks do that out there. No judgements!) 2nd totally relevant update… hehe: I’ve recently shared an amazingly easy recipe for chocolate ganache cupcakes that you’ll absolutely love! (They’re topped using the dreamy ganache from my How to Make Chocolate Ganache Recipe post.) ????
The frosting + the cake: oh, SO good.
My four-year-old nephew Dylan aka “PB” happily ate a Vegan Gluten Free Chocolate Cupcake, stopped midway to give me a thumbs up on one hand, then precariously juggled said cupcake to other hand, then gave me another thumbs up on the other hand. Then, he said, “Mmmmm!! Frosting tastes like chocolate and ice cream!!!! Want more!!! Thank you Mama!!!”
*Throat clearing from me.*
Followed up a “Thank you E Mimi!!!” E = Vietnamese for Aunt (with our own special spelling lol). Mimi = my nickname because Demeter was too hard for him to say when he was itty bitty. 🙂
So whaddya say, are you ready to raise a cupcake? Toast and all celebrate our birthday?? 🙂 Regardless of whether or not it is today…because: CUPCAKES!!! Make that Vegan Gluten Free Chocolate Cupcakes! It’s always fun to just celebrate a birthday (even if one is not actually happening, amiright??) Okay, maybe I’m just weird. Either way. 😉
And just in case you’re not yet convinced, allow me to quickly bulletpoint the most awesome aspects of these Vegan Gluten Free Chocolate Cupcakes. They’re:
- perfectly moist and sweet
- rich, decadent and satisfying
- topped with silky smooth, room temperature-stable frosting (woot woot!)
- in fact… they can be stored at room temperature for up to 3 days!
- vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, refined sugar-free
- made with the simple, whole, healthy ingredients you love
- just the perfect basically semi-healthy vegan gluten free chocolate cupcake recipe you’ve been looking for
- great as a birthday cupcake recipe
- … make that a plant-based and allergy-friendly chocolate birthday cupcake recipe
- and also legit for any occasion (regardless of it being a birthday!! ;))
You grab the cocoa powder, I’ll grab the vegan chocolate chips! U ready? Let’s bake this! As always, I’m so happy that you’re here, baking and experiencing all the kitchen adventures with me. 🙂 I can’t wait to hear what you think of this recipe! In the meantime, tell me:
What’s your favorite birthday dessert?
Sending you all my love and maybe even a dove, xo Demeter ❤
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If you enjoyed these plant-based, allergy-friendly Vegan Gluten Free Chocolate Cupcakes, then you’ll just love these chocolate dessert recipes:
☀︎ More Gluten Free Vegan Chocolate Recipes ☀︎
- 5 Ingredient No Bake Chocolate Coconut Bars
- Gluten Free Vegan Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies (V, GF, Dairy-Free)
- Ultimate Fudgy Paleo Vegan Brownies
- Vegan Peppermint Mocha Cupcakes
- Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies Recipe (one of my favorite vegan cookies to date!)
- Vegan Chocolate Cake Recipe (just in case ya feel more like making a showstopping two-layer cake!)
- 1 ½ cups gluten free oat flour
- ⅔ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup + 2 tablespoons water
- ½ cup non-dairy milk
- 3 tablespoons melted coconut oil
- ¼ cup coconut sugar
- ¼ cup pure maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a 12-cup muffin pan with cupcake liners. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, sift together the dry ingredients: oat flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt.
- Add water and milk to a microwave-safe bowl. Heat in 10-second increments until just warm. This will prevent the melted coconut oil from solidifying once mixed with these liquids.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together all wet ingredients: water, milk, coconut oil, sugar, maple syrup and vanilla. Whisk until well incorporated.
- Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients. Whisk until just incorporated, making sure no flour patches remain.
- Pour batter evenly into prepared muffin pan—filling each cup about ¾ of the way. Bake for 16-20 minutes. Mine took 18 minutes. Test for doneness with a toothpick. The toothpick should come out with a few dry bits of cake on it, but no liquidy batter.
- Place muffin pan on a cooling rack to cool for 30 minutes. Remove cupcakes from muffin pan and continue cooling on rack until completely cool before frosting.
- Frost using this Chocolate Frosting recipe, or your preferred frosting. Enjoy! Storing instructions below.
Try this decadent 'n moist Vegan Chocolate Cake Recipe!
- Freezing Instructions: Store frosted cupcakes in an airtight, freezer-friendly container for up to 1 month. Allow to thaw at room temperature for 15-40 minutes before enjoying.
- More Chocolate Baked Goods (all V, GF): Fudgy Paleo Maple Pecan Brownies, Chocolate Banana Nut Bread, Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies.
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KitchenAid Hand Mixer | Wilton 1M Piping Tip | Parchment Cupcake Liners | Muffin Pan | Glass Mixing Bowls | Silicone Spatulas | Cooling Rack | OXO Mixing Bowls | Hand Mixer Whisk Attachment
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Is there a substitute for oat flour. We do not eat grains. The cupcakes look delicious.
Hi Loreen, unfortunately I’m not sure about a grain-free flour that can be substituted for oat flour. My apologies!
Try cassava ????
Great idea! I’ve been meaning to try that in this recipe. 🙂
Almond Flour
Almond flour is a great one, but I’m not sure about the exact proportions. Oat flour is a lot more absorbent. Thanks for the input! 🙂
Try almond flour! It’s just made of almond
Happy belated birthday!! These cupcakes and frosting look divine! Absolutely birthday perfect
Thanks Regina! That’s so sweet of you to say! 🙂
These cupcakes look so decadently delicious!
Thanks Melanie! They’re a family favorite already! 🙂
Hi, I just tried these and am pretty happy with them. Yours are a bit more polished than mine were, but with a little practice I am sure they will improve. I am vegan and gluten free, so I used gluten free rolled oats. These were not the instant kind and left a bit of the chewy grain in the finished product. I used a Ninja food processor and read different articles about which was best blender verses processor. The later won out because the blades are sharper according to what I read. Blenders are more for liquid and smooth products, like hummus. Next time I will try instant gluten free oats to see if they grind up better. I used carob chips instead of chocolate for the icing, and used Trader Joe Coconut Cream. I put it in the freezer three hours to thicken it enough to get the cream out, only less than a third of liquid was left…mostly cream, and it took only one can to get enough for the recipe. I put the bowl of icing in the freezer less than an hour and it was already set. I was afraid it wouldn’t turn out good because even going in it looked like crumbs, not smooth icing. The oil and chocolate separated. So I was worried about having used carob. But I took it out of the freezer and used a hand mixer to whip it up. It was too thick, more like play dough. So, I added about two tablespoons of cashew milk to get it thin enough to whip up. Feeling it was too drippy to pipe, I put about two tablespoons tapioca to make it hold shape better. Perfect, and tasted good too! I am wondering about adding applesauce to the muffin part to give a little moisture and binding to the crumb. Maybe next time. All in all I really like it and thank you for putting this online for us all to enjoy! Hopefully my trials, and worries, will help someone else who is using carob chips like I did. ????
Hi Jane, so glad to hear that you enjoyed my recipe! I really was wondering how they’d turn out with carob chips, so I was pleased to see your notes! I’m sure your cupcakes looked amazing. Enjoy!
These cupcakes look absolutely DELICIOUS! I’m still drooling over that frosting! 😉
I hope you had an awesome birthday, Demeter! 😀
Thanks so much, Marsha! Hugs! xo
We are GF and made these delicious cupcakes for our friend who has an egg allergy…We were all very impressed by how yummy these were. I have made lots of GF cupcakes and I have to say this pretty much tops them all!
Hi M, it’s so wonderful to hear that you and your friend enjoyed these! “I have to say this pretty much tops them all!” <-- This just makes my entire week! 🙂 Thanks for taking the time to tell me how they turned out for you! Enjoy. 🙂
These look amazing! I was just wondering if you could use almond flour instead of oat flour?
Thanks so much, Bella! Unfortunately, that’s gonna be a difficult swap. Almond flour is much less absorbent than oat flour. I’ll make a note to look into making an almond flour cupcake in the future. Hugs!
What about a mixture of coconut flour and almond flour since coconut flour is so absorbent? Just a thought… you think it could work?
Hi Danielle, that might just work! You’d have to play around with the amounts to get just the right combination. Good luck! 🙂
Unloved baking with oat flour… and chocolate! So excited to try this recipe. Do you have a similar vanilla one??
**I love**
Hi Lori! Not yet, I’m still working on a vanilla one. 🙂 I hope you enjoy these!
Loved these !
Fantastic! Happy baking, Dominique! 🙂
Ooh! These cupcakes look amazing!!
Thanks Bethany! Hope you try them and love them! 🙂
Happy birthday!! I wish I had an Erik in my house 🙂 that sure helps out a ton! seriously, these cupcakes look amazing and easy to put together, great recipe
Aw, thanks so much, Albert! 🙂 Yep, Erik sure does have his uses… 😉 Hope you get to try!
Hi! These are gorgeous. If I make them with regular sugar, will they turn out the same?
Thanks Kathleen! If you sub just the coconut sugar (not the maple syrup), it should be fine. I’m not 100% sure, since I haven’t tried it yet. Good luck! 🙂
Does it have to be non dairy milk? All I have on hand at the moment is whole milk.
Hi Stephanie, whole milk should work! Can’t wait to hear how they turn out. 🙂
What type of Non-dairy milk did you use? Soy, almond, rice?
Hi Tori! I used almond milk. 🙂 Can’t wait to hear how these turn out!
Thank you for the recipe. I hope to try it soon! One question: Can another oil, like olive or avocado oil, be substituted for the coconut oil?
Hi Denise, it’s my pleasure! 🙂 Yes, I think olive oil would work, it will just affect the taste of the cupcakes. Let me know how they turn out!
These look fantastic! I am unfamiliar with coconut sugar and am not sure if I will be able to find it. Since it is listed under the wet ingredients, can I substitute it for agave?
Thanks Tiffany! You can usually find it in the health section of your local grocery store. Give the agave a shot and let me know how it turns out. You might need to adjust depending on the moistness once they’ve cooled. Let me know!
Could this recipe be made into a cake in a pan? I’m looking for a good recipe to make my son’s first birthday cake 🙂
Hi Mizuho, yes, it can! 🙂 I’m currently in the process of turning this into a layer cake recipe. 🙂 In the meantime, here are a few approximations on how to go about it: 1 entire recipe = one 9-inch round cake pan, depending on thickness. Add on an extra 3-5 minutes in bake time. Good luck! And Happy 1st Birthday to your son! 🙂 ????
Thank you for your response! I’m excited to make a cake that I don’t feel guilty feeding my baby!
It’s my pleasure. 🙂 I can’t wait to hear what you and the little one think! 🙂
Hi there! Great recipe – just wondering could I substitute pat flour with gluten free self-raising flour – and if so what the measurement would be? Thanks!
Sorry that should say oat flour not pat flour!
Hi Demeter,
Apologies I can’t seem to post my comment here? These look fantastic! So difficult to find a good gluten free, vegan, sugar free chocolate recipe! But I was just wondering what the substitute for oat flour will be? I have gluten free self-raising flour but I don’t know what the quantity will be and whether it will work for this recipe? I look forward to your response.
Hi Suswati! No apologies needed! 🙂 I was just taking off a bit of time this weekend from the blog. You can try using a gluten free all purpose flour in a 1:1 cup ratio. In terms of the self-rising flour, I can’t say. 🙁 I developed this recipe exactly to the tee for the amount of leavener listed (which we can’t control in the self-rising mix you have). Using your flour could result in something unexpected, so I wouldn’t advise it. Hope this helps!
Hi Demeter,
Do you think honey would work as a good substitute for the pure maple syrup? Or even pancake syrup?
Thanks!
Hi Grace, I think that would work! Not sure about the pancake syrup. Let me know how they turn out! 🙂
do you think f four will work in place of oat flour?
do you think gf four will work in place of oat flour?
Hi Megan, yes, I believe a few readers have tried it before with success. Let me know how they turn out for you! 🙂
Can I use honey instead of maple syrup?
That should work! Hope you enjoy these, Julie! 🙂
Hi Demeter! I’m excited to try out this recipe. Do you have specific ingredients to make that awesome looking frosting of yours? My son is sensitive to gluten & dairy but would love for him to try a healthy frosting as well(he’s 3)
Thanks!
Hi Maria! The ingredients are listed here: https://beamingbaker.com/make-homemade-chocolate-frosting-vegan-paleo-gluten-free-dairy-free-refined-sugar-free/ Can’t wait to hear what you two think! 🙂
Thank you so much, can’t wait to try this out!!
OK…so I was not a fan of how the cupcakes came out. I’m pretty sure it was something I did and not necessarily the recipe, or maybe a little of both. I do want to try this one more time with less cocoa, a bit more almond milk (maybe I’ll change this to coconut milk or cashew milk to see if that will add the flavor I’m looking for). The batter was almost like paste and the frosting that went with this recipe was more like caramel consistency. I whipped the hell out of it too. At one point I placed in the mixer to speed things along but it didn’t change the consistency. They were a bit bitter (much like dark chocolate tasting). I don’t really know what happened here
Hi Jess, yes I’m definitely sure that something went wrong. The batter should be much more liquidy–it should be a thick liquid, just what you’d expect from a cake batter. Based on the thickness of your batter and the bitter dark chocolate taste, I think the issue may have been with your cocoa powder (there was too much of it). Did you gently spoon and level the cocoa powder? It sounds like the cocoa powder might’ve been packed or perhaps settled in the container before using. For the frosting: it should be soft enough to frost, but not runny whatsoever. You may have overwhipped it, which would lead to the frosting overheating and becoming runny. Hope this helps!
My cupcakes came out similar, bitter. Not sure why, the batter tasted yummy. I will try again but loved how easy it was to make and in finding the ingredients.
I’m so excited to try this recipe! I LOVE that you use oat flour because vegan and paleo ingredients can be kind of expensive, and I’ve been trying to find some cheaper options. So thank you!
Woohoo!!! Oat flour is my friend! ???? It’s one of my favorite ingredients to use. I can’t wait to hear what you think, Elle! ☺️
These HAVE to be the most gorgeous cupcakes I’ve ever seen. Chocolate is the key to my heart so I’m in heaven reading this post right now. Thanks for sharing the recipe! 🙂
Aw, thanks Chris! 🙂 Chocolate is definitely everything!! Thanks for stopping by!
I am loving that these are vegan and gluten free. Delish!
Right? 😉 Thanks Jacque!
I love chocolate cupcakes! These look so decadent and chocolatey – simply delicious! Can’t wait to try this recipe!
They’re the best!! 🙂 Thanks Natalie!
Yay – chocolate cupcakes for everyone. That icing looks perfect and I could eat them all.
Oh yes!! The icing is SO good!! Thanks Danielle!
This sounds like a great cake recipe, love that it has got no eggs… It means it is scalable to smaller quantities which is perfect for me!
Thanks Brian! Good point. 🙂 Sometimes all ya need are just a few cupcakes. 😉
Hi! Do you have any nutritional facts for these?
Thank you!
Hi Maci! Not yet. I’m working on adding nutritional info across the site. It’s a huge, tedious task, so thank you for your patience. 🙂
I have to say, these cupcakes are pretty darn good! They came out a bit dense for me, but I really enjoy the flavor! It’s a relief to find a good dessert recipe for birthdays since my little brother can’t have dairy and gluten!
Awesome! So glad you liked it, Anna. 🙂 Yep, I do love me some dense cake. 😉 Happy that you little bro gets to eat this! ????
Thank you for this recipe! This is the best gf, dairy free vegan cupcake I’ve tried to make! I ground my own oat flour, so the texture was a little too course in the cupcake, but I think if I buy a finer flour they will be perfect next time. Loved them!
Hi Stacy! It’s my pleasure. 🙂 I’m so glad you enjoyed it. Oh yes—the oat flour needs to be fine. Hope you get to try again! ????
I found your blog using the Google search engine. I’m used to enjoying cupcakes that contain typical ingredients, such as eggs, milk and butter. I’m willing to get out of my comfort zone by trying a vegan cupcake. Unfortunately, it’s a challenge to find gluten free flour in my area. Is it possible that I can substitute all purpose flour?
Hi LaTrice! So happy to have you here. ☺️ That might work—I haven’t tried it myself. Let me know how it turns out!
These were delicious! So rich! I used almond flour and they were perfect. Question…I would like to make a cake instead of cupcakes? Have you tried that? Any changes I should make? Thanks for sharing this delicious recipe!
Hi Gina! So glad you enjoyed the cupcakes. 🙂
Here’s my recipe for chocolate cake (inspired by these cupcakes): https://beamingbaker.com/vegan-chocolate-cake-recipe-vegan-gluten-free-dairy-free-refined-sugar-free/
Happy baking!
Hi Demeter! Where do you get your oat flour? I’ve seen Bob’s Red Mill oat flour, but it is not GF. Thanks, and I can’t wait to try these!
This recipe became a staple in my kitchen, thanks so much!
Woohoo! So happy to hear it Pam! ????
Hi I am making these this weekend! My son is allergic to dairy and it is difficult to find cocoa powder that is dairy free or trace free – I was wondering if I could sub the cocoa powder with cacoa powder? Has anyone done this?
I LOVE your blog – you are truly amazing <3
Hi Mich! Yes, that should be fine. 🙂 Also, THANK YOU!!! That’s so sweet of you to say. Big hugs to you! Xo
These cupcakes are incredible! I followed the recipe exactly as written and they came out fluffy, chocolate-y, and moist. No one would ever know that these are vegan, gluten-free, and refined sugar free!
Woohoo!!! I’m so pleased to hear that, Josie. 🙂 It’s amazing when people can’t tell at all—my goal with every recipe on the blog. Enjoy!
These cupcakes are wonderful. Thank you so much for the recipe.
My pleasure!! I’m so glad that you enjoyed them, Sheryl! 🙂
I made these cupcakes last weekend for my niece’s birthday dinner. We have several food restrictions to work around, but these cupcakes met them all & passed with FLYING COLORS…if your colors are yummy chocolate cake, with a good crumb & flavor & luscious, rich chocolate frosting! Amazing!! Everyone loved them, and said the cupcakes were indulgent❤️
This recipe will be a new favorite!
Hi Fani! Yay!!!! I’m so pleased to hear it. Also, LOVE the flying colors analogy! Hehe. The yummiest colors around. 😉 Thank you for taking the time to let me know how everyone enjoyed them. Hugs! ❤️
I am making this for my Fiance birthday tomorrow and so excited!!!
You have mentioned coconut sugar in the wet ingredients and you mixed it with the wet ingredients, I am not sure if this is typo mistake or I supposed to do the same!
Would you please clarify this.
thank you
Hi Monica! Yes, the coconut sugar goes into the wet ingredients. 😉 Once it dissolves, it becomes a liquid. Hope you two enjoy!!
Wow! I have made a lot of GF CF cake recipes over the last 8 years and I am in love with this one! Made the cupcakes and frosting yesterday. Cupcakes are so moist and were so easy to make! And I love the 2 ingredients frosting! How easy is that! Thank you for sharing!
Crystal
Woohoo! So happy to hear how much you enjoyed them Crystal! I know, I can’t even tell you how much time I’ve saved with had frosting recipe. ???? Thank you for taking the time to share all these kind words with me!
I made this (and the frosting) recipe last night for a dinner party I had for a group of ‘meatatarians’ and they loved them. They were pretty much gobsmacked!
Yay! No one can resist the power of this chocolate cake! ????