Rich chocolate cupcakes with a smooth and creamy peanut butter frosting. Great for birthdays and get-togethers, you won’t believe they are gluten free!
Happy New Year!
I’m a little late (how long do you have to keep saying Happy New Year?), but I always say better late than never.
We had family over during the holiday season in December, so I used it as an opportunity to make some more cupcakes!
These Gluten Free Chocolate Peanut Butter Cupcakes are light, fluffy, and chocolatey and are topped with a smooth and creamy peanut butter frosting. For those who like candy, they taste like a peanut butter cup.
You’ll start with my favorite chocolate cupcake recipe. This is the basic recipe I use for all my chocolate cupcake variations… It never fails me and always turns out delicious!
After making the cupcakes, frost them with my peanut butter buttercream frosting for the ultimate chocolate peanut butter dessert.
WHAT FLOUR TO USE FOR GLUTEN FREE CHOCOLATE PEANUT BUTTER CUPCAKES
For all my cupcake and cake recipes, I use Bob’s Red Mill 1:1 gluten free baking flour. This is the flour that I have been using since my Celiac diagnosis and seems to work the best for me! Not all gluten free flour mixes absorb moisture the same way, and they all have different proportions of ingredients used, so keep in mind that this recipe was designed specifically for this flour mix.
I haven’t tested this recipe with other flours, so I can’t guarantee that your cupcakes will turn out the same if using a different flour mixture. If using a different gluten free flour mixture, I recommend using a 1:1 mix that contains xanthan gum and measure by weight.
If not measuring by weight, I highly recommend spooning the flour into your measuring cup and then leveling it off before weighing. This helps to prevent you from using too much flour, which could result in a different texture cupcake.
I truly hope you enjoy these cupcakes as much as we did! If you make them, be sure to comment below, add a Pinterest review, or tag @zestandlemons on Instagram.
Gluten Free Chocolate Peanut Butter Cupcakes
Rich chocolate cupcakes with a smooth and creamy peanut butter frosting. Great for birthdays and get-togethers, you won’t believe they are gluten free!
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, at room temperature
- ¼ cup plain yogurt or sour cream (either works great!)
- ¼ cup hot water
Peanut Butter Frosting
- ¾ cup unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 cup creamy peanut butter (see notes below)
- 1 ½ tsp vanilla extract
- 2-3 cups confectioners sugar, more if needed
- 2-3 Tbsp heavy cream
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 2-4 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 bow, whisk together eggs, granulated sugar, brown sugar, and oil until combined. Add the vanilla extract, milk, and yogurt (or sour cream) 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 carefully whisk until smooth. The batter will be fairly thin.
- Fill each of the cupcake liners ½ full (a little over is ok) and bake for 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. They will rise a lot in the oven, then may 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
- Combine butter and peanut butter In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (you can also use a large bowl and a hand mixer), and beat on medium-high speed until creamy and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. You may need to scrape down the sides of the bowl a few times in between.
- With your mixer running on low speed, add in ½ cup of confectioner’s sugar at a time until combined, stopping to scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed. This frosting will start to break and crumble if you add too much sugar, so only add a little at a time until it reaches a good piping consistency (mine was perfect at about 2 ½ cups) If the frosting is still too thin after 3 cups, add another ⅓ cup at a time as needed.
- Add in the vanilla extract and 2 Tablespoon of heavy whipping cream, and gradually increase your mixer to medium-high speed for 20-30 seconds until the frosting is light and fluffy. If your frosting is too thick, beat in the additional Tablespoon of heavy whipping cream.
- Frost your cupcakes, drizzle with a little melted chocolate chips if desired and enjoy!
Notes
Frosting: Make sure to use room temperature butter. The amount of confectioners sugar you use can depend on the type of peanut butter used. I used a thick and creamy peanut butter, but you may find you need additional sugar to thicken if you use a drippy/thinner natural peanut butter.
Flour: I used Bob’s Red Mill 1:1 gluten free baking flour for this recipe, which already contains xanthan gum, so I cannot guarantee that your cupcakes will turn out the same if using a different flour mixture. Not all gluten free flour mixes absorb moisture the same way, and they all have different proportions of ingredients used. 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.
Dairy: I generally use plain yogurt for my chocolate cupcake recipes, but did use sour cream when testing this one since I ran out of yogurt. They still tasted absolutely delicious and the texture was perfect, so you can use either plain yogurt or sour cream!
Storing: If making cupcakes a few hours ahead of time, store the cooled cupcakes in an airtight container at room temperature and wait to make the frosting when you are ready to frost and serve. Once frosted, store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
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