Gluten Free Red White and Blue Cupcakes
These classic chocolate cupcakes have a spin! Red white and blue frosting (in three flavors!)
Servings: 24 cupcakes
Calories: 350kcal
Equipment
- Two 12-cupcake cupcake pans
- Electric mixer
- Microwave safe bowls
- Piping bags and tips
Ingredients
For the cupcakes:
- 2 large eggs
- 1 Cup sour cream
- 3/4 Cup canola oil
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 3/4 Cups white sugar
- 1 1/2 Cup gluten free 1-1 flour mix with xanthan gum added (if it doesn't have xanthan gum, add 1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum) – link below to the one we use
- 1/2 Cup sweet rice flour
- 1/2 Cup arrowroot starch
- 3/4 Cup dutched cocoa powder
- 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 Cup piping hot weak coffee
For the blue buttercream:
- 1 1/2 Cups salted butter room temperature
- 3 Cups sifted powdered sugar
- blue gel food coloring
- 3 tsp vanilla extract
For the red buttercream:
- 1 1/2 Cups salted butter room temperature
- 3 Cups sifted powdered sugar
- 3-4 Tbsp powdered sifted freeze dried strawberries instructions below
- 2 tsp strawberry extract
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- red gel food coloring
For the white buttercream:
- 1 1/4 Cup salted butter room temperature
- 1/4 Cup cream cheese
- 3 Cups sifted powdered sugar
- 2 1/2 tsp clear vanilla extract
Instructions
- First, make your blue and red buttercream! These will need to chill for a couple of hours so make them before you make the cupcakes. For the red buttercream: in a medium microwave safe mixing bowl, using an electric mixer, beat the butter for 1-2 minutes then add the powdered sugar one cup at a time, beating in between each addition. Then blitza up your freeze dried strawberries in a food processor or nutribullet until they're a fine powder, and sift all of them into the buttercream. Finally, add the vanilla, strawberry extract and the red gel food coloring (quite a bit - 2-3 tsp of coloring) and beat until smooth. You can stop there, but to get a proper deep red color, you'll then need to microwave the bowl of buttercream for 15 second intervals, stirring with a spatula in between each interval. I did a total of 4-5 intervals of 15 seconds and got the color you see in the photos. The butter will start to melt and it will look terrible - don't freak out! Just stir it vigorously, then cover with plastic wrap and pop it in the fridge. Keep in the fridge for about 90 minutes, removing it every 30 minutes to stir it, until the buttercream is back to it's original consistency. Don't leave in the fridge longer or it will harden and you'll have to bring it back to room temp before piping it.
- Repeat this entire process for the blue buttercream, but without the freeze dried strawberries or strawberry extract. You're welcome to add another extract if you'd like to flavor this buttercream as well! Follow the same process once the buttercream is made - microwaving in 15 second bursts and stirring in between until the color has deepened (the color won't change until the 3rd or 4th burst of 15 seconds in the microwave so keep going!). Then chill in the fridge for up to 90 minutes, stirring occasionally, until it's back to it's original consistency.
- While your colored buttercreams are in the fridge, make your cupcakes! Preheat the oven to 300° Fahrenheit and line your two cupcake pans with paper cupcake liners. In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, sour cream, oil, vanilla and sugar until smooth, then add in the gluten free 1-1 flour, sweet rice flour, arrowroot starch, dutched cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt and whisk until fully blended (it will be fairly thick). Pour in the hot weak coffee and stir with a spoon or spatula until glossy and smooth, then spoon into the prepared cupcake pans and bake for 30-40 minutes or until the tops of the cupcakes spring back with touched or until a skewer inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean. Cool cupcakes completely to room temp before frosting.
- Finally, while your cupcakes are cooling, make the white buttercream! Beat the butter with the cream cheese for 1-2 minutes, then add your sifted powdered sugar 1 cup at a time. Finally, add the clear vanilla (doesn't have to be clear but this will give you a whiter frosting) and beat to combine.
- Lastly, frost your cupcakes! Scoop each buttercream into a piping bag with your choice of piping tip, and frost! Keep cupcakes at room temp or in the fridge until just before serving.