Valentine’s Day plans? These vegan and gluten free raspberry almond cupcakes are definitely on my list. Topped with a creamy, tart, sweet raspberry vegan buttercream, these are seriously delicious!
This post is sponsored by Bob’s Red Mill. All opinions are our own.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. Cupcakes are SO much easier to make than cake. Even with the most rudimentary decorating skills (definitely me!), you can make cupcakes look absolutely gorgeous.
Cakes? Not so much. Most of the cakes I’ve made in the last five years have ended up lopsided, uneven and very much lacking in the aesthetic department.
Look, I’m telling you, if I can make these cupcakes look good, you can, too! They’re the perfect recipe to impress your Valentine. Or to simply enjoy on your own, because let’s be honest: Valentine’s Day is a bit overrated.
You certainly don’t need a special occasion to make these, but we always love sharing homemade baked goods with friends and family. Deliver some of these cupcakes to a loved one and you’ll be sure to make their day!
How to make vegan and gluten free cupcakes
Vegan and gluten free baking is not always easy. In fact, it’s taken us years to understand the science behind allergy-friendly baking, which is not at all similar to regular baking.
When we first went dairy and gluten free, we thought we could just substitute ingredients one for one. While that does work in some situations, more often than not, it doesn’t work at all.
Through lots of experimentation, we’ve found that vegan and gluten free baking often requires a few extra steps, but it’s absolutely worth it. Plus, once you experiment a bit on your own with different recipes, you’ll totally get used to it!
Over the years, when it comes to sourcing high quality baking ingredients, we have always relied on Bob’s Red Mill products. They have an incredible range of products, including everything from granola, to grains like buckwheat and teff, to every type of flour imaginable (and so much more!).
We use their products in SO many of our recipes. No kidding, we grab something new almost every time we’re at the grocery store. To be fair, recipe development is our job, so we go through a lot more than the average person!
What we love most about Bob’s Red Mill is that we know the quality can always be trusted. We haven’t tried a single product of theirs that we didn’t like. I’m seriously obsessed with their new line of granolas. My new favorite!
In this vegan and gluten free cupcake recipe, we use their gluten free 1-to-1 baking flour, almond flour and oat flour.
We’ve found that using a mixture of gluten free flours, including almond, helps bring back some moisture that’s often missing from vegan baked goods. Oat flour also helps bring some protein back into the mix that’s typically missing without any eggs in the batter. Gluten free baking is one thing, but gluten free and vegan baking is a whole other beast!
The result is a tender, moist cake with plenty of flavor and richness. If you do a lot of baking, we suggest stocking up on some of the classics. We most often use their GF flour, almond flour, oat flour, rice flour, oats and baking soda/baking powder.
You can find Bob’s Red Mill products at just about any grocery store across the country. If you’d prefer, you can also order online! Stay tuned for more recipes featuring our favorite Bob’s Red Mill products later this year.
Raspberry cupcakes
We incorporate raspberries in two ways: fresh raspberries folded into the batter, and freeze-dried raspberries in the frosting.
Fresh raspberries are an optional, but encouraged ingredient. I love fresh fruit in baked goods; it helps break up the sweetness a bit. Raspberries add a refreshing tartness, and they also make these cupcakes look gorgeous.
We suggest washing your raspberries, drying them very well with a paper towel, then tossing in a tablespoon of gluten free flour to coat. This helps them from getting too mushy in the batter.
When it comes to the perfect vegan raspberry buttercream frosting, we found that freeze-dried raspberries were by far the best option. We tried this recipe twice with fresh raspberries, but both times, the frosting separated. It was not pretty.
Freeze dried raspberries are available at most specialty grocery stores, like Whole Foods. Pulse them into a fine powder using a spice grinder or food processor, then sift through a fine mesh sieve. The end result? Lots of concentrated raspberry flavor and a gorgeous pink color!
More Valentine’s Day Recipes
- Valentine’s Day Cocktail – the perfect complement to these cupcakes!
- Vegan Dark Chocolate Mousse
- Vegan Chocolate Pie with Chocolate Cookie Crust
- Brownies with Chocolate Ganache Frosting
- Chocolate Cashew Butter Cups with Raspberry Chia Jam
If you make these raspberry almond cupcakes, we’d love for you to leave a comment and rating below! We also love to see your creations on Instagram – tag us at @crowded_kitchen so we can see what you’ve been cooking.
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Valentine’s Day plans? These vegan and gluten free raspberry almond cupcakes are definitely on my list. Topped with a creamy, tart, sweet raspberry vegan buttercream, these are seriously delicious!
Ingredients
Cupcakes:
- 1/2 cup vegan butter
- 1 cup cane sugar
- 1 1/2 tsp almond extract
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
- 1 cup cashew milk (brought to room temp)
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 2 cups Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free 1-to-1 Baking Flour
- 3/4 cup Bob’s Red Mill Almond Flour
- 1/2 cup Bob’s Red Mill Oat Flour
- ½ tbsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 2 cups firm raspberries, divided
Frosting:
- 1 cup vegan butter, softened to room temp
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- ¼ cup freeze-dried raspberries
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1½ tsp almond milk
- Pinch of salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 335˚F and line a muffin pan.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together gluten free flour, almond flour, oat flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon.
- Using an electric hand mixer, cream together butter, sugar, almond extract and vanilla.
- Stir lemon juice into cashew milk and set aside.
- Add half of the dry ingredients to wet and blend well. Add applesauce and continue mixing. Add remaining dry ingredients, then add in cashew milk + lemon juice mixture and continue mixing until smooth batter forms. Let the batter sit for 15-20 minutes (we have found this helps with the texture of gluten free/vegan baked goods).
- Meanwhile, gently rinse raspberries and pat dry with paper towel. Optional: coat them in 1 tbsp of gluten free flour, then gently fold 1 ½ cups into the batter. Using a cookie dough scoop, add batter to lined muffin tins, filling about ¾ full.
- Bake for 28-30 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool completely before frosting.
- To make frosting, beat softened butter until creamy.
- In a spice grinder or food processor, pulse freeze-dried raspberries until they form a powder. Sift powdered sugar and raspberry powder into butter mixture and beat until light and creamy. Add vanilla, milk and a pinch of salt.
- When cupcakes are completely cool, top with frosting and a fresh strawberry. Store any leftover cupcakes in airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Keywords: vegan cupcakes
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