I’d like to say, life just got better with these gluten-free, refined sugar-free, dairy-free, egg-free cupcakes! Despite all the traditional ingredients these cupcakes lack, these are uncomplicated and easy to make… making them the perfect cupcake for any holiday or weekend!
Every so often, we like to revisit old recipes and give them a different spin fitted for different diets.
When these vegan dark chocolate cupcakes were made, they were so good and so moist that we thought to make another version that would let even more people enjoy them. Gluten free!
These healthy cupcakes were a total hit! Moist and cake-like, yet nice and dense. The batter itself is like a delicious chocolate pudding (egg free, so technically, you are supposed to have a few tastes!). Then top these luscious bites with this vegan buttercream frosting and chopped chocolate chunks. Chocolate on chocolate on chocolate.
Can you say mouth-watering?!
Gluten Free Vegan Chocolate Cupcakes Â
Print Recipe
1 cup White Rice Flour
1/2 teaspoon Xanthum Gum
3/4 cup Cocoa Powder
1/4 teaspoon Baking Soda
2 1/4 teaspoons Baking Powder
1/4 teaspoon Sea or Pink Salt
1 1/4 cups Coconut Sugar
3 Tablespoons Earth Balance Butter, softened
1/4 cup Applesauce
2 Tablespoons Flax
2 teaspoons Pure Vanilla Extract
1 cup canned Coconut Milk*
In a small bowl, mix the applesauce and flax together. Set aside. Line a cupcake pan with liners. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a mixing bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, salt and coconut sugar in a medium sized bowl. Set aside.
Yields 12 large cupcakes
These cupcakes will stay moist and delicious for up to 3 days if stored in an airtight container at room temperature.
*Canned coconut milk is a little thicker than other milks and helped create a really dense cupcake while helping to hold the cupcakes together. Do not substitute this with carton coconut milk or coconut water.
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Willow says
Hi there:)
I Loooove this recipe and have made it several times in the last year since I discovered it! So, thank you:)
I use 1 1/2 tbsp whole chia seeds instead of the 2 tbsp flax seed and this works great!
Also, for icing, I use a simple coconut frosting that I make by chilling canned coconut milk in the fridge, and then using the thick dense part of the coconut milk and mixing in maple syrup, coco powder and vanilla extract to taste…yum:)
Annie says
Thank you for your comment, Willow! We really appreciate hearing the other adaptions and feedback! It’s nice to know other substitutions work. That frosting recipe sounds great!! We hope you will continue enjoying them! :)
Swati says
Can i substitute coconut sugar with something else like agave? It’s not available here in Norway :)
Annie says
Hi Swati, You will need a dry sweetener in this recipe. I’m sorry! I buy my coconut sugar online, so you could try that. If you have access to amazon.com, that’s where I buy mine. Other dry sweeteners that would work would be maple sugar or maybe erythitol.
Monica says
I’m preparing these for my son who cannot have apple or flax, but can have eggs. Will you suggest how many eggs to add? Thank you for all the great recipes especially those using coconut sugar.
Annie says
Hi Monica,
You will need 2 eggs to substitute. Thank you for the comment. Hope you enjoy these! :)
Tara says
Any suggestion for the coconut milk? We cannot have that.
Thanks!!
Annie says
There are a few vegan cream products made of soy or rice that may work. The only other substitute apart from those is regular cream, if you don’t mind making these not vegan. Thanks!
Stevie says
I can’t have vanilla… would it still be okay if I left that out?
Chelsea says
Yes, they will be okay with out it. Hope you enjoy!
liz says
there’s really only one cup of flour in this? doesn’t seem like enough dry…? but i’ll take your word for it, or please write me if i need to add something else! Thanks!
Chelsea says
Yes, these cupcakes are nice and moist! :) Also, the coconut sugar is dry so that helps out the dry/wet ratio. We will be happy to help where we can. Hope you enjoy them!
Fabs says
Have you ever tried this recipe as a cake (single or double layer)? Also the flax, is it the whole seed or ground (I’m new to the vegan, gluten free diet)?
Chelsea says
We have not tested this recipe out in a cake. Besides a difference in baking time, we don’t see why it couldn’t work though! We use ground flax seeds. You can buy whole flax seeds but you’ll want to grind them up if doing so. The ground flax dissolves flawlessly in liquid and acts as a great egg replacer in vegan baked goods. Thank you for the questions!
Fabs says
I made these cupcakes and they were delicious and that’s a lot coming from a person having a huge sweet tooth and being a choco-holic. This is the first dessert I have tried baking with my new diet restrictions. I had no idea vegan, gluten free, and sugar free desserts were worth eating. I am definately making these again, and soon! I love the dense quality of the cake. The icing is really delicious and gives it that extra chocolate boost and sweetness. I thought about perhaps grinding the coconut sugar so that the granules are less noticable in the icing. Have you tried this in the past?
Chelsea says
Hi Fabs, we are so happy you are able to enjoy our desserts! Glad you liked theses cupcakes! The buttercream frosting recipe states to blend up the coconut sugar in a blender until it is a smooth powder before adding it to the other ingredients. We always do this step to ensure perfectly creamy icings. If you had troubles getting your coconut sugar to be a really smooth powder, you can try using a food processor. The great thing is if your coconut sugar was still grainy, the frosting will still taste delicious! Hope it turns out better next time. Thank you for the comment!
John Trevorford says
What are the nutrition facts?
Annie says
Hi John,
Each cupcake without the frosting has 151 calories, 2 grams of fat, 24 grams of sugar and 2 grams of protein. For about 2 tablespoons of frosting added to each cupcake, the buttercream is an additional 147 calories, 7 grams of fat, 15 grams of sugar and 1 gram of protein. Thanks!