We have a lot of chocolate lovers in my family. I used to be the odd ball out because I preferred all things vanilla over chocolate (I’m still not a chocolate ice cream lover), but as time went on I started to love chocolate cake more and more. Now, it’s one of my favorite deserts!
Last year, I shared a rich, dense, and very fudgy chocolate raspberry cake. Today, I’m sharing these wonderfully rich, moist, and fluffy gluten free chocolate cupcakes with one of my favorite raspberry frostings!
My family loves these cupcakes so much, I’ve made them 3 times in the past few months. These gluten free chocolate cupcakes are easy to make, and really satisfy any chocolate craving. They certainly can be paired with the frosting of your choice, but I highly recommend trying this raspberry frosting first… you don’t want to miss out on it!
Just a quick tip before you get started baking: only fill your cupcake liners halfway full. This batter rises a lot, so if you fill it any higher you will end up with either:
- Cupcakes that overflow
- Cupcakes with a large dome or mushroom top
Raspberry Whipped Cream Cheese Frosting
I seriously can’t tell you enough how amazing this frosting is. Stabilized whipped cream frosting is my favorite, and have had so much success with it. I made a strawberry-citrus naked cake over the summer that was to die for, and many more birthday cakes using the same frosting recipe.
Cream cheese frosting can sometimes get runny if you whip it too much… but if you add it to heavy whipping cream, you get a slightly thicker whipped cream frosting that’s easy to pipe and still tastes like cream cheese!
Making the raspberry purée is the most time consuming part, but it’s essentially just blend, strain, reduce, and cool!
Start by adding your raspberries, 1 Tbsp of sugar, and lemon juice to a blender and blend until smooth. Pour the mixture through a mesh strainer to remove the seeds, by positioning the strainer over a bowl and pressing down the purée with a spoon to strain the juice. Add the seedless juice to a small saucepan.
Heat the raspberry sauce over medium-high heat just until it starts to boil. Reduce to medium-low heat and let simmer gently for 8-10 minutes until very thick, stirring frequently. You will only be left with about 2-3 Tbsp of raspberry purée when it’s done, and it will thicken more as it cools! Transfer your purée to a heat-safe small bowl and let cool completely to room temperature. I get the best result by letting it come to room temperature, and then placing it in the refrigerator for at least 10 minutes to chill.
Once your puree is ready, just add the cream cheese, remaining ⅓ cup of sugar, and vanilla extract to a stand mixer and whip for a minute or two until soft. With your mixer running on medium-low speed (low speed if you are using a hand-held mixer), slowly drizzle in the heavy cream down the side of the mixing bowl. This works best if you drizzle in about ¼ cup first and let the cream cheese start to mix in, and then continue to add the rest of the heavy cream. You will need to stop your mixer and scrape down the sides of the bowl a few times to ensure the cream cheese is incorporated.
Finish by continuing to whip the heavy cream until you get soft peaks, and your frosting is thick enough to pipe. Then add in your raspberry purée and mix jut until it is totally combined!
This frosting works best if you chill it for about 10-15 minutes before piping, as it tends to thicken a little bit more when chilled. Just try not to eat it all before you frost!
Gluten Free Chocolate Cupcakes with Raspberry Frosting
Ingredients
Chocolate Cupcakes
- ¾ cup + 3 Tbsp (~136g) Bob’s Red Mill 1:1 gluten free baking flour, spooned and leveled
- ½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder (not dutch process)
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ¼ tsp salt
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup light brown sugar, packed
- ⅓ cup neutral oil
- 2 tsp gluten free vanilla extract
- ½ cup milk of choice, at room temperature
- ¼ cup plain yogurt
- ¼ cup hot water
Raspberry Whipped Cream Cheese Frosting
- 1 cup fresh raspberries
- 2 tsp lemon juice, freshly squeezed
- ⅓ cup + 1 Tbsp granulated sugar
- 8oz plain cream cheese, block style
- ½ tsp gluten free vanilla extract
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream, cold
Instructions
Make the Cupcakes
- Preheat the oven to 350℉. Line a standard 12-cup muffin pan with cupcake liners, and line a second muffin tin with 4 cupcake liners. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. I like to whisk several times at a faster speed to aerate the flour a bit (this will help create a slightly lighter cupcake). Set aside.
- In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together eggs, granulated sugar, brown sugar, and oil until combined. Add the vanilla extract, milk, and yogurt and whisk until everything is totally combined.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the dry, slowly mixing together until smooth and combined. Add the hot water and whisk for about 10 seconds until smooth. The batter will be fairly thin.
- Fill each of the cupcake liners ½ full (they rise a lot!) and bake for 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. They will rise a lot in the oven, but will deflate slightly while cooling. Remove from the oven and let them cool for 10 minutes before removing onto a wire cooling rack to cool completely.
Make the Frosting
- Add raspberries, 1 Tbsp of sugar, and lemon juice to a blender and blend until smooth. Pour the mixture through a mesh strainer to remove the seeds, by positioning the strainer over a bowl and pressing down the purée with a spoon to strain the juice. Add the seedless juice to a small saucepan.
- Heat the raspberry juice over medium-high heat just until it starts to boil. Reduce to medium-low heat and let simmer gently for 8-10 minutes until very thick, stirring frequently. You will be left with about 2-3 Tbsp of raspberry purée. Transfer purée to a heat-safe small bowl and let cool completely to room temperature. Cooling in the refrigerator for an additional 10 minutes works best if you have the time!
- In the bowl of an electric mixer or KitchenAid stand mixer with the whisk attachment (using a cold bowl), add the cream cheese, remaining ⅓ cup of sugar, and vanilla extract. Whip on medium speed until softened. You may need to stop and scrape down the sides a few times, but this should take about 1 minute.
- With your mixer running on medium-low speed (low speed if you are using a hand-held mixer), slowly drizzle in the heavy cream down the side of the mixing bowl. This works best if you drizzle in about ¼ cup first and let the cream cheese start to mix in, and then continue to add the rest of the heavy cream. You will need to stop your mixer and scrape down the sides of the bowl a few times to ensure the cream cheese is incorporated.
- Continue to whip until you get fairly stiff peaks, and your frosting is thick enough to pipe. Add in your raspberry purée and mix just until it is totally combined.
- Frost your cupcakes and enjoy! If not frosting right away, store frosting in an airtight container in the refrigerator until ready to use
Notes
- If your frosting seems a little too thin to pipe, place the bowl in the refrigerator for 30 minutes - 1 hour before frosting. I prefer refrigerating my frosting before using. Be sure to use cold heavy whipping cream, and it helps to chill your mixing bowl before starting.
- If not using the frosting immediately, refrigerate in an airtight container until ready to use.
I only use Bob’s Red Mill 1:1 gluten free baking flour, which already contains xanthan gum, so I cannot guarantee that your cake will turn out the same if using a different flour mixture. If using a gluten free all purpose flour mix, I recommend using a 1:1 mix that contains xanthan gum and measure by weight.
- Always spoon and level your flour into your measuring cups! Scooping out your flour with the measuring cup can lead to using too much.
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