Gluten-Free Chocolate Cupcakes

This weekend I decide to make some chocolate cupcakes with buttercream frosting for a friend’s birthday. Why not a cake? Well, because another friend decided to make a carrot cake, so I wanted some variety, but still wanted something with chocolate since birthdays are incomplete without chocolate! Since this friend’s a celiac, I decided to look for a gluten-free recipe that did use flour. This is because whenever I’ve made flourless chocolate cakes/brownies on previous occasions, I’ve found them to be quite heavy and therefore, not fit for everyone’s taste.

What kind of flour should I use?

I used Hodgson Mill’s Gluten-Free All Purpose Flour, but similar flour from King Arthur or Bob’s Red Mill will also do. My only suggestion would be to look for a mixture of flour that doesn’t have a high amount of chickpea flour, since that can make cakes have a slight garbanzo taste. And that’s weird.

Is using vegetable oil necessary?

No, vegetable oil can be substituted with canola oil since it is actually a healthier substitute for vegetable oil. It doesn’t affect the taste at all.

What if I don’t have buttermilk?

You can always create substitutes by using a combination of milk or yogurt with some lemon juice or vinegar. For suggestions on how to substitute buttermilk in recipes, follow this link.

Recipe adapted from 52 kitchen adventures. It makes around 20 cupcakes.

Ingredients

1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 cups gluten-free all purpose flour
1 tsp guar gum
1 3/4 cups sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
1/2 cup warm water
3/4 cup buttermilk
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a muffin tin with paper liners. Additionally, you may spray a light coating of cooking spray over the surface of the pan, or use a paper towel to wipe a thin film of cooking oil over the top. This will help keep the tops of your cupcakes from sticking to the pan if they rise above their liners.
In a large bowl, combine cocoa powder, flour, guar gum, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
In a different bowl, add eggs, warm water, buttermilk, oil, and vanilla. Mix this and add it to the dry ingredients. Mix the batter until it is smooth, but do not overbeat it. (Note: The batter will be quite liquidy as compared to other cupcake recipes)
Fill the cupcake trays somewhere between 1/2 to 2/3 full of batter, as this mixture expands a lot in the oven. Bake for around 25 minutes, but keep a check after 20 minutes to see if it’s done. Stick a fork or a knife into the cupcake and if it comes out without any crumbs, your cupcake is ready!