Red velvet cupcakes…gluten free, dairy free, and perfectly decadent! These little beauties are perfect for any event that requires an elegant dessert or when you want to impress someone. This version was converted to gluten free from a Martha Stewart recipe. I added an extra egg, more vanilla and cocoa to offset the blandness that is sometimes a problem with gluten free flour, and switched the buttermilk for coconut milk. Guess what? You’ll never know the difference! After photographing these, I sent them to my son’s Super Bowl party. They were definitely a win!
Gluten Free Dairy Free Red Velvet Cupcakes:
Makes 12 cupcakes
1 1/4 cups Gluten Free All Purpose Flour*
1 1/2 TBS Dutch process cocoa
1/2 tsp salt (scant)
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup vegetable oil
2 eggs
3/8 tsp red paste food color
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup + 2 TBS coconut milk* with 1/2 tsp apple cider vinegar
3/4 tsp baking soda
1 tsp distilled white vinegar
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a small bowl combine the flour, cocoa and salt. In a large bowl combine sugar, oil, eggs, food color and vanilla. Combine the coconut milk and apple cider vinegar in a separate smaller bowl. With a hand mixer on medium high speed, alternately add the flour mixture and coconut milk to the sugar and oil mixture, beating with each addition until thoroughly combined. Mix the baking soda and white vinegar (it will foam), add to the batter and beat another 10 seconds. Divide the batter evenly between 12 paper lined muffin cups. Cups should be about 3/4 full. Bake 18-20 minutes, or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Remove from pan and cool thoroughly before frosting.
Red velvet cake is typically topped with a cream cheese frosting. But to make this version dairy free, I created a dairy free vanilla frosting that is just as yummy!
Dairy Free Vanilla Frosting:
1/4 cup butter flavor shortening
1/4 cup dairy free margarine*
1 tsp vanilla
1 – 1 1/2 TBS coconut milk*
2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
2 dashes salt
Combine shortening, margarine and vanilla and whip until fluffy. Add coconut milk, powdered sugar and salt. Whip again until fluffy and smooth. Frost cupcakes and decorate as desired. I used a pastry bag fitted with a 1M Wilton dessert tip, then decorated with pink candy hearts, red sugar, and Valentine picks. For a more elegant presentation, dust with cocoa powder and top with a Maraschino cherry.
*Use coconut milk from a carton, not the full fat variety in a can (which is more like dairy cream) in both the cake and the frosting recipes.
*I used Earth Balance dairy free margarine for the frosting.
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