Gluten-Free Cupcakes

The Method for Gluten-Free Cupcakes

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1. Heat the oven to 180°C / 355°F and line a 12-hole muffin tin.

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2. Beat the 115 g butter and sugar for 4 minutes. Beat in the eggs, egg yolk and vanilla.

   Mark done Start 4 min timer

3. Fold in the flour, baking powder and salt alternately with the buttermilk. Leave to rest for 15 minutes, then stir.

   Mark done Start 15 min timer

4. Fill the cases two thirds full and bake for 22 minutes. Cool completely.

   Mark done Start 22 min timer

5. Beat the buttercream butter, icing sugar and cream until fluffy and swirl onto the cupcakes.

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Related guide: Prep, cook and total time.

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Keep an Eye on These

1. Rest the batter for 15 minutes.
2. Add an extra yolk for richness.
3. Frost only when cool.

Swaps and Variations

• Out of buttermilk? The usual stand-in is a tablespoon of lemon juice or vinegar stirred into 250 ml of ordinary milk and left five minutes; it is thinner than cultured buttermilk, so a batter may need a little less of it.

A Little Background

Cakes are in some ways easier to make gluten-free than bread, because they rely less on gluten structure and more on eggs, fat and sugar. The trick is moisture: gluten-free flours dry out quickly and produce crumbly, sandy cakes unless the batter is slightly wetter than usual. A good cupcake is soft, fine-grained and tender.

Use a gluten-free flour blend with xanthan gum, and increase the liquid by a spoonful or two compared with a wheat recipe. Buttermilk or yogurt adds tenderness, and an extra egg yolk gives richness and binding. Beat the butter and sugar for a full 4 minutes until pale and fluffy, and add the eggs gradually, since the structure of these cakes depends on well-aerated batter.

Let the batter rest for 15 minutes before baking. The starches in the flour blend need time to absorb the liquid, and a rested batter bakes into a finer, less gritty crumb. It will thicken noticeably as it stands. Give it a quick stir before spooning it into the cases, filling them two thirds full.

Bake until the tops spring back when pressed. Gluten-free cakes can dome and then sink if overbaked, so check at 20 minutes. Cool completely before frosting with vanilla buttercream, made from butter, icing sugar, cream and vanilla. Check that the icing sugar and baking powder are labelled gluten-free.

To Go With It

Cold milk · Hot tea · Fresh berries · Coffee

Keeping Gluten-Free Cupcakes

Keeps in an airtight container for 3 days.

Common Questions

What's in a Serving

Per serving, calculated from the ingredient list with USDA FoodData Central figures (SR Legacy). A calculation, not a laboratory analysis: brands, cuts and how you measure change the real numbers. How the figures are worked out.

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