Get ready for this fun new Gluten Free Black Cupcake recipe! This simple cupcake recipe is perfect for any special occasion. They are full of deep chocolate flavor in every bite. Perfect for a fancy black-tie party, Halloween, or anytime you want to dare to be different!
Today, I wanted to do two things with this post. First, I wanted to do something different. My daughter got me addicted to a new Netflix series called Sugar Rush. It is a dessert baking competition for professional bakers. Talk about droolishious desserts…it takes baking and cake decorating to an insane level!!
My daughter loves to decorate things I bake, so when we saw a team create a black cupcake recipe…we were both intrigued. These cupcakes are so versatile!
You will be hooked with one bite of these decadent black velvet cupcakes! Top with my Black Buttercream Frosting. From fancy black roses to frosting swirls, add a white chocolate bow tie!
Why these gluten free black cupcakes are so fun:
These black cupcakes are not only delicious, but their dark black color lends themselves well to fancy parties, Valentine’s Day, and Halloween. You can darken them in a couple of different ways.
How do you make cupcakes black?
These black cupcakes are tricky to make…to get that deep black color, you can do it a couple of ways. You can use black cocoa powder, activated charcoal, coconut charcoal, or lots of black food dye. We have charcoal on hand as it is a good detoxer if you accidentally get glutened, but it takes a LOT of charcoal to get a dark black color.
My daughter and I decided combining a little charcoal and black dye would be better. Many bakers use charcoal, but it has a few things you should know before you decide to use it. It is considered a binder, and it binds everything in your gut.
For this reason, I recommend using a good gel black food dye for the cupcakes and frosting.
These gluten free black velvet cupcakes are so easy to make. If you love cupcakes as much as we do, you will want to try all of the Best Gluten Free Cupcake recipes on this blog!!
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Ingredient Notes:
For the full list of ingredients and amounts, please go to the recipe card below.
- Gluten free flour blend – I have tested this recipe with King Arthur Measure for Measure GF and Bob’s Red Mill 1 to 1 GF blend. That doesn’t mean others will not work, I just have not tested other flours.
- Xanthan gum – If your gluten free flour blend doesn’t contain Xanthan Gum or Guar Gum, please add 1 teaspoon.
- Butter – To make this recipe dairy-free, substitute the butter for vegan butter and use non-dairy milk.
- Eggs – Use size large eggs.
- Black food dye – I prefer to use gel food dyes or black cocoa powder; they are less messy and don’t splash. This prevents the risk of staining your clothing.
- Milk or non-dairy milk – I used almond milk, but other types of non-dairy milk also work.
Step-By-Step Photos and Directions:
Step 1: Add your dry ingredients to a large mixing bowl.
Step 2: Whisk the ingredients together. You will note the dry ingredients are not really dark black yet.
Step 3: Pour your wet ingredients over the dry ingredients. Add your black food dye now and mix. (*This photo is before I added the black food dye.)
Step 4: If you are not using cupcake liners, spray coconut oil in a muffin tin and add your gluten free cupcake batter. Bake at 350º F for 20 minutes until done.
Step 5: Remove the black cupcakes onto a cooling rack. While the black velvet cupcakes are cooling, it is time to make the frosting.
How to Make Frosting Rose Petals:
Step 1: Add the frosting ingredients to a standing mixer. Mix on low speed, gradually increasing the speed. Whip until the frosting is light and fluffy!
Step 2: To make the rose frosting decoration, you will want to use a tip like this. Depending on petal size, you can use a small or larger tip.
Step 3: Squeeze the frosting bag with the fat side of the tip pointing outward and the skinny side towards the cupcake. Squeeze and make petals.
Continue to swirl around with the petals until you reach the base of the cupcake.
Frequently Asked Questions:
You must use good cocoa powder to avoid your cupcakes turning greyish! I recommend Anthony’s or Ghirardelli.
These cupcakes will last up to 4 days in an airtight container or up to 4 months in the freezer.
Mixing your batter by hand is the secret to light and fluffy cupcakes. Mix the wet and dry ingredients until they are just barely mixed. Overmixing can break up the air bubbles, making your cupcakes denser.
Dairy-free milk will work, but I do not recommend canned coconut milk.
Add googly candy eyes, and you have the perfect Halloween cupcakes!! This recipe makes 12 gluten free black cupcakes. Need more cupcakes???
My Best Cake Baking Tips:
Baking the perfect gluten-free cake can be tricky. The most important parts are choosing the right flour, not overmixing the batter, and ensuring the recipe liquid ratio works for the flour blend you choose.
Why did my gluten-free cupcakes turn out dense or crumbly?
There is nothing more frustrating than having your gluten free cake turn out dense. This can be caused by a few potential issues.
- I always tell my readers not to use a stand mixer when they mix cake batter. They tend to overmix your batter, leaving you with a denser cake. Mix the gluten free cake batter only until the ingredients are combined, and avoid overbaking by checking the cake a few minutes before the suggested baking time.
- Another reason for a dense cake is that every gluten-free flour blend has a high starch-to-grain ratio. This will greatly affect the moisture level of the cake. If you are using a flour blend I didn’t test, you may need to adjust the liquid or flour amount to get the right batter consistency.
- The same answer for #2 goes for if your cake is crumbly. Chances are you need to add more liquid to your cake batter to compensate for the grain-to-starch ratio of your flour blend.
Why did my gluten-free cupcakes sink in the middle?
- I know it is tempting to open the oven door and check on your cake, but opening the door while your cake is baking can cause it to sink in the middle. Cakes need a consistent, steady baking temperature. Opening the oven door lets cooler air into the oven, slowing the baking process.
- Always check the expiration date of your baking powder or baking soda before using it. Expired leavener will cause all sorts of issues in your baking.
- Is the cake underbaked? Know that the cake bakes from the outside in, so if you take it out of the oven too soon, the middle hasn’t had a chance to finish baking. Do the toothpick test to ensure your cake is thoroughly baked. Insert a toothpick into the center of the cake. If the toothpick comes out clean, it is done baking. If you see batter or crumbs, the cake needs to bake longer.
For more cake troubleshooting help and tips, see my Gluten-Free Cake Troubleshooting Guide.
More Gluten Free Cupcake Recipes:
Love This Recipe?
If you made and enjoyed this recipe, I would be incredibly grateful if you could leave a comment below. Please include which flour blend you used. This will help others know this recipe is delicious. Thank you!
Gluten Free Black Cupcakes {aka Black Velvet Cupcakes}
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups gluten free flour blend * see note
- ½ cup cocoa powder * see note
- 1 tablespoon coconut charcoal * see note
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- â…› teaspoon salt
- ¾ cup butter melted
- 2 eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 ¼ cup milk
- Black food dye * see note
- For Black Frosting:
- 2 pound powdered sugar
- 2 sticks butter softened
- â…“ cup cocoa
- 30 drops black food dye
- 3 tablespoons to 1/4 cup water
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350º F.
- In a bowl, add the dry ingredients and whisk to blend.
- In a smaller bowl, add the wet ingredients and mix well.
- Pour the wet ingredients over the dark ingredients and mix.
- Add cupcake batter to a greased muffin tin (or use black cupcake liners in a muffin tin.)
- Bake the cupcakes for 22 minutes until done.
- While the cupcakes are baking, add the frosting ingredients to a standing mixer.
- Mix the frosting until it is black. Note you will have to use more or less black food dye depending on the brand you use so judge the quantity by how black the frosting is.
- Remove the cupcakes from the oven and move to a cooling rack.
- Decorate with frosting (see above post for instructions to decorate these.)
Notes
- I have tested this recipe with King Arthur Measure for Measure GF and Bob’s Red Mill 1 to 1 GF blend in this recipe. That doesn’t mean others will not work, I just have not tested other flours.
- If your gluten free flour blend doesn’t contain Xanthan Gum or Guar Gum, please add 1 teaspoon.
- To make this recipe dairy-free, substitute the butter for vegan butter.
- To test for doneness, insert a toothpick into the center of the cupcakes. If the toothpick comes out clean, it is done baking. If you see batter or crumbs, the cupcakes need to bake longer.
- These cupcakes will keep up to 4 days in an air-tight container, or up to 4 months in the freezer.
- I used a combination of coconut charcoal and black liquid food dye to achieve the dark black color of these cupcakes. You may want to do a combination instead of just charcoal.
SPECIAL NOTE
Please know that every gluten free flour blend has a different starch to grain ratio. If you use a blend I didn’t test, you may need to adjust your moisture levels in your baked goods.
Nutrition
Nutrition Disclaimer
Nutritional information is an estimate provided to you as a courtesy. You should calculate the actual nutritional information with the products and brands you are using with your preferred nutritional calculator.
Just curious why you didn’t just use black cocoa for the cake and frosting. That takes away the need for charcoal and food coloring. Frosting darkens overnight, with black cocoa, so I make it the day before
Hi Anita, I couldn’t find the black cocoa when I made that recipe. It is a great idea for those who can find it.
Could you use this recipe to make a cake (with longer cooking time)?
Hi Janice, yes, you can 🙂
Beautiful!!
I have a lot of activated charcoal to use up. I bought some for a recipe and figured there were a million ways to use it but as soon as my oldest used it once for a face mask I was done with the mess in the bathroom, haha!
I think these are the best way to use some of it up, can’t wait to whip up a batch, do I have to wait for a reason? 😉
Let me know how they turn out…try to use a lot of dye as well.
These are so creative! I love them!
Thank you Kristen 🙂
OH this is such a good idea!
Thank you so much.
Instead of black food coloring why not use black cocoa. It’s a super Dutched process cocoa used by bakers to create really dark desserts. King Arthur Flour sells it.
That is a great idea. I will check this out on Amazon and see what it is. Thank you!
Hi Sandi, these look great, and I’m definitely going to try them for a bridal shower that I have to bring a dessert to. But i’m not going to use the charcoal, just the back food dye, so how much should I use then?
Also, I’m nervous about making the rose petals frosting. Could you break the process down more, or point me to a website for that?
Thanks!
Hi Feebee, I used a lot of food dye…just being honest b/c I literally squirted in dye until it was dark black. I read each brand is different. I used a gel-based dye. this is the tutorial my daughter used: https://www.wilton.com/how-to-make-icing-roses/WLTECH-129.html Good luck :-).
Those are some seriously sexy cupcakes! I remember using black gel dye for my son’s batman cake when he was little. It seriously takes a whole lot of dye. I should have started with chocolate frosting, like you suggested.
Thank you so much…and yeah, definitely a lot of dye.
These are so gorgeous and versatile. Super elegant dinner to a fun scary treat.
Thank you so much Leigh 🙂
Dang, these are fabulous! What is your favorite gf blend to use for baking?
Thank you so much Jenni. I really like the King Arthur Measure for Measure Gluten Free Blend and Bob’s Red Mill 1 to 1 Gluten Free Baking Mix best.