Gluten Free Vanilla Cupcakes with Pink Ombre Frosting

These gluten-free vanilla cupcakes are incredibly moist and fluffy inside, made with olive oil instead of butter. They’re decorated with a stunning pink ombre frosting, using a 1M Star Tip. This is a small batch recipe, making 8 cupcakes, but can easily be doubled.

It’s love week.

The one that signals Valentine’s Day, heart shaped everything, red and pink having their moments, and countless reasons to be a cheesy romantic. And whether it’s with your boo, your BFF, or your best gal pals, these gluten free cupcakes with pink ombre buttercream are worth celebrating.

Over the almost 9 years I’ve been blogging, I’ve posted many desserts. My sweet tooth – she’s no secret. And can be seen in my Best Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Cookies and Cardamom Pumpkin Cheesecake, to a No-Bake Vegan Peanut Butter Cup Tart. But I have yet to share a cupcake recipe!

So during the month of January, I tested and tested different versions until the gluten free vanilla cupcakes coming out of my oven were fluffy, light, and incredibly easy to make. Yes, even that starry frosting – I swear it’s easy to do, and looks much more intimidating than it actually is. More on that later in the post.

Here’s a little insight to my recipe testing, and key components of an amazing gluten free vanilla cupcake.

1. Butter vs. oil
   • I’ve always assumed that butter was the best option for cakes, adding flavor and the fat component that makes it tender. However, after doing research, it made sense that oil is be a superior choice for cupcakes because it is 100% fat, whereas butter is usually 70-80% fat. Therefore, the cake will be even lighter, and loftier. And they stay moister, longer.
     • So I tested both to see for myself, and the cupcakes made with oil were the clear winner. I thought a nut oil, like Roasted Almond Oil would be delicious, but the flavor was too powerful. So I ended up going with olive oil, which added a buttery, fruity flavor.
2. Vanilla paste vs. vanilla extract
   • My goal was to create a vanilla cupcake that truly tasted like vanilla. Not just a faint afterthought, but rich, bold, and complex vanilla flavor. I found that this could be achieved with a combination of pure vanilla extract, and vanilla paste.
     • Look for ‘pure’ on the extract label to make sure it’s not the imitation kind – this fake substitute has a bitter aftertaste and won’t add that delicious flavor you’re looking for.
     • Vanilla bean paste is a rich, thick paste that contains a blend of the scraped-out vanilla pod seeds and vanilla extract.You still get the classic, rich vanilla flavor that the pod offers but you don’t have to prep and seed the pods yourself.
3. How much batter per cupcake
   • When I’m making gluten free muffins, I fill each cupcake liner to nearly the top, as this produces the bakery style muffins that rise high and give you that glorious muffin top. I found this technique should NOT be used with cupcakes.
   • Fill each cupcake liner a little over half full, and the cupcakes will rise just to the top and not spill out the sides, so you can frost the perfectly flat tops.
4. Gluten free flour combinations
   • I’ve written before about why it’s important to use both starches and grains in gluten free baking, to achieve a texture that doesn’t fall apart, yet isn’t gummy, but also tastes good. It can be tricky to find that sweet spot! For this recipe you’ll use almond flour, sorghum flour, and sweet rice flour.
   • Xanthan gum is often used to mimic the properties of regular all-purpose flour, but I do not use it in my kitchen, as I don’t think it’s necessary. And there are many people who react adversely to it.

How to make professional looking cupcakes when you’re not a baker:

Now, let’s talk about this mauve inspired, pink ombre frosting situation. I spent an afternoon with my friend Holly, making these cupcakes, after I had sent her a few inspo photos of cupcakes decorated using a star technique.

I decided to learn how to pipe the frosting, and gave her the green light on mixing up the prettiest 3 shades of pink.

Here’s what you’ll need:

a. Wilton 1M Open Star Decorating Tip
b. Frosting bags
c. Watkins Natural Food Coloring (no artificial dyes, made from vegetable juices and spices)
d. Rose Sprinkle Mix

I made a double batch of this simple buttercream frosting recipe, and split it into three different bowls. Holly made the three shades of rose pink by adding red food coloring, followed by a few drops of blue. With each bowl she increased the amount of red to create a deeper shade.

Then, for the piping technique, I recommend watching this Youtube video to see how to use the 1M Open Star tip. ou’ll see it at the 1:25 second mark. That’s all I did to learn! Once you’ve filled your piping bags, practice on a plate to get the hang of how much pressure you need to use, an how fast/slow to pull the tip up.

You certainly don’t have to do three different colors of frosting. Decorating with one color, using the star tip would also be very pretty!

If you make these Gluten-Free Vanilla Cupcakes, be sure to tag me on Instagram with hashtag #heartbeetkitchen, or @heartbeetkitchen!

Gluten Free Vanilla Cupcakes with Ombre Buttercream Frosting

The best gluten free vanilla cupcakes that are soft and fluffy, and don't fall apart!

5 from 3 votes

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Prep Time :15 minutes

Cook Time :18 minutes

Total Time :33 minutes

Yield: 8 cupcakes

Author: Amanda Paa

SCALE:

1x2x3x

Ingredients

• 1 large egg room temperature
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• [2 teaspoons vanilla bean paste]
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 75 grams organic cane sugar
• 1/4 cup milk I use 2%
• 1/2 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• [55 grams sweet rice flour]
• 30 grams sorghum flour
• 25 grams blanched almond flour
• 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
• [buttercream frosting]

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Instructions 

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a muffin tin with 8 cupcake liners.
• In a small bowl, whisk together egg and olive oil, vanilla extract, vanilla paste, and sugar.
• In a separate small bowl, mix together milk and lemon juice. Let sit.
• Sift flours into a medium bowl. Then add baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Whisk.
• Add milk mixture to egg mixture, and stir. Then add this liquid to the dry ingredients, and stir using a spatula, until no flour streaks remain.
• Fill each cupcake liner a little over half full, with batter.
• Bake for 17-18 minutes, until golden and toothpick comes out clean.
• Let fully cool.
• Frost as you'd like. I use this this simple vanilla buttercream recipe. In above paragraphs, I give details on how to do the star technique. Store, covered, for 2 days.