Gluten-Free Vegan Red Velvet Cupcakes

These Gluten-Free Vegan Red Velvet Cupcakes are moist and fluffy, naturally coloured and slathered in a deliciously tangy "cream cheese" frosting! They're refined sugar free, come together in one bowl and make an adorable dessert for birthdays, Christmas, Valentine's Day, Mother's Day, baby showers and bridal showers!

These were inspired by my Gluten-Free Vegan Red Velvet Cake recipe, and they have all the same characteristics: a mixture of salty-sweet, sour and chocolatey flavours, finished off with a sweet and tangy "cream cheese" frosting.

How to make the cupcakes

Scroll down to the bottom of the post for the full recipe.

• Mix together all the ingredients in a glass mixing bowl.

• Transfer the mixture into cupcake cases in a muffin/cupcake tin.

• Bake in the oven for around 15 minutes.

How to make the vegan "cream cheese" frosting

• Place coconut cream, lemon juice, maple syrup and vanilla in a bowl and use an electric whisk to whip up until fluffy.
• You can apply the frosting with a palette knife for frosting, a spatula, or a piping bag depending on how fancy you want to be.

Tips for making the frosting

• For super fluffy frosting, make the frosting fresh and top the cupcakes with it just before serving - the frosting does set well, however, and frosted cupcakes will keep their shape and texture for up to a few days in the fridge.
• Make sure the cupcakes have cooled completely before applying the frosting, otherwise it will melt!
• The recipe below yields a medium-sized amount of frosting per cupcake. However, if you do want to apply a generous amount of frosting (like in my photos), I’d recommend doubling the amount of frosting.

To decorate, I like to scatter over some freeze-dried raspberries for a little colour, but you can use whatever you want!

How long do these keep for?

These cupcakes are best enjoyed fresh, but they do keep covered in the fridge for up to a few days.

Substitutions you can make

• You can use any type of oil: coconut oil, olive oil or vegetable oil.
• You can use any type of plant-based milk: almond milk, rice milk, soy milk, cashew milk, oat milk etc.
• You can use any type of liquid sweetener: maple syrup, agave syrup, brown rice syrup etc.
• You can replace the vinegar with lemon juice.
• You can replace the ground almonds (almond meal/almond flour) with ground walnuts.
• For a nut-free version: replace the ground almonds (almond meal/almond flour) with ground sunflower seeds or use 30g (¼ cup) coconut flour instead of 150g (1 ¼ cup) ground almonds.
• You can use plain flour instead of the gluten-free flour if you’re not gluten-free.
• You can omit the beetroot powder - it's used for adding red colouring but the recipe still works without it.

More gluten-free vegan cupcakes

• Carrot Cake Cupcakes
• Chocolate Cupcakes
• Lemon Blueberry Cupcakes
• Coconut Cupcakes
• Lemon Cupcakes

If you try out this recipe or anything else from my blog, I’d really love to hear any feedback! Please give it a rating, leave a comment, or tag a photo @rhiansrecipes #rhiansrecipes on Instagram! Thank you.

Watch how to make it

Gluten-Free Vegan Red Velvet Cupcakes

These Gluten-Free Vegan Red Velvet Cupcakes are moist and fluffy, naturally coloured, and slathered in a tangy "cream cheese" frosting! 

4.25 from 8 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Keyword: gluten-free red velvet cupcakes, vegan gluten-free cupcakes, vegan red velvet cupcakes

Prep Time: 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes minutes

Total Time: 35 minutes minutes

Servings: 12

Calories: 267kcal

Author: Rhian Williams

Ingredients

For the cupcakes:

• ▢ 200 ml (⅘ cup) unsweetened almond milk (or any other plant-based milk)
• ▢ 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar (ensure gluten-free if necessary)
• ▢ 60 g (¼ cup) coconut oil (or sub olive or vegetable oil)
• ▢ 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar (ensure gluten-free if necessary)
• ▢ 8 tablespoons maple syrup (or sub any other sweetener)
• ▢ 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ▢ Pinch of salt
• ▢ 150 g (1 ¼ cup) ground almonds (almond meal) *
• ▢ 150 g (1 ¼ cup) gluten-free flour blend (or sub plain flour if not gluten-free)
• ▢ 2 heaped teaspoons baking powder (ensure gluten-free if necessary)
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
• ▢ 1 tablespoon cocoa powder
• ▢ 3 teaspoons beetroot powder (adds red colour but not completely necessary for the recipe to work)

For the frosting:

• ▢ 400 g (14 oz) tin of full-fat coconut milk **
• ▢ 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• ▢ 2 tablespoons maple syrup (or sub any other sweetener)
• ▢ ½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

For the cupcakes:

• Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius (350 degrees Fahrenheit).
• Measure out the milk and, leaving it in the measuring container, add the tablespoon of vinegar and stir - leave to sit for around 10 minutes, while you make the rest of the cupcakes.
• Place the coconut oil in a large bowl and melt over a saucepan of boiling water or in the microwave (skip this step if using any other oil).
• Once melted, add the teaspoon of vinegar to the same bowl along with the maple syrup, vanilla, salt and ground almonds.
• Sift in the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, cocoa powder and beetroot powder.
• Add the milk and vinegar mixture and mix well, adding a tiny splash more milk if it’s looking too dry.
• Transfer mixture between 12 cupcake cases in a cupcake tin.
• Bake in oven for around 15 minutes until risen and an inserted skewer comes out clean.
• Once out the oven, transfer cupcakes onto a wire rack to cool completely before applying the frosting.

For the frosting:

• You’ll need to keep your tin of coconut milk in the fridge overnight for the rich creamy bit to separate from the watery bit at the bottom. Make sure it is full fat coconut milk, otherwise this separation won’t happen and you won’t be able to make this cream!
• Open the tin upside down – the coconut cream will be at the bottom and you can just pour off the watery liquid (save this for adding to soups or smoothies).
• Place the thick, creamy part into a bowl.
• Add the lemon juice, maple syrup and vanilla extract.
• Use an electric whisk (or a manual one and a lot of elbow grease) to whip up the coconut cream until light and fluffy.

To frost and decorate the cupcakes:

• Once the cupcakes have cooled completely, use a knife or spatula to apply an even amount of frosting to each of the cupcakes.
• Decorate with freeze-dried raspberries if desired.
• Best when fresh but keeps covered in the fridge for up to a few days.

Video

Notes

*You can alternatively use almond flour.

**You can alternatively use 200g (7oz) coconut yogurt.

• For super fluffy frosting, make the frosting fresh and top the cupcakes with it just before serving - the frosting does set well, however, and frosted cupcakes will keep their shape and texture for up to a few days in the fridge.
• Make sure the cupcakes have cooled completely before applying the frosting, otherwise it will melt!
• The recipe below yields a medium-sized amount of frosting per cupcake. However, if you do want to apply a generous amount of frosting (like in my photos), I’d recommend doubling the amount of frosting.

Nutrition Facts

Gluten-Free Vegan Red Velvet Cupcakes

Amount Per Serving

Calories 267 Calories from Fat 171

% Daily Value*

Fat 19g29%

Saturated Fat 11g55%

Sodium 52mg2%

Potassium 138mg4%

Carbohydrates 24g8%

Fiber 3g12%

Sugar 11g12%

Protein 5g10%

Vitamin C 1.3mg2%

Calcium 85mg9%

Iron 2mg11%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

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