Raspberry Cupcakes: Gluten Free

These raspberry cupcakes are so simple, so easy, and have so much flavor that comes from real, fresh raspberries! Soft, fluffy, gluten free vanilla cupcakes with a raspberry jam filling, topped with raspberry buttercream are the best. They're light, fluffy, and super simple to make.

Jump to:

• WHY YOU'LL LOVE THESE EPIC CUPCAKES
• WHAT YOU NEED TO MAKE RASPBERRY CUPCAKES
• MAKING THE BEST GLUTEN FREE RASPBERRY CUPCAKES
• MAKING CREAMY RASPBERRY BUTTERCREAM
• STORING AND MAKE AHEAD INSTRUCTIONS
• EXPERT TIPS FOR YOUR BEST RASPBERRY CUPCAKES
• FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
• Epic Raspberry Cupcakes
• CHECK OUT LATEST RECIPES

These raspberry cupcakes are just so, so good. The base is a tender, fluffy vanilla cake made from oat flour, that is baked then filled with a fresh raspberry compote, and finally topped off with delicious raspberry buttercream that's made from REAL raspberries! The gluten free vanilla cake is soft and fluffy, but the best part is that a simple swap of the butter can also make them vegan, so almost everyone can enjoy them! I can't say enough how much I love these cupcakes, they're absolutely incredible.

My favorite part about this epic recipe is that you only need one bowl and 20 minutes to whip up a batch of 6 healthier cupcakes. After they're baked, it's a quick chill time, then fill, frost, and enjoy! This is a simple recipe that's easy to make and even easier to eat. Perfect for Valentine's day, Easter, Mother's day, or just a weekday!

WHY YOU'LL LOVE THESE EPIC CUPCAKES

• They're super simple, only need one bowl for the batter
• Gluten free, and can easily be made vegan
• Uses frozen raspberries, so they're always ripe!
• It has a super fluffy, soft texture
• Makes 6 cupcakes, perfect for a small holiday gathering

WHAT YOU NEED TO MAKE RASPBERRY CUPCAKES

• Avocado oil: You could also use another neutral flavored oil, but I don't recommend them because they are highly processed
• Coconut sugar: Alternatively, you could substitute with regular white sugar
• Vanilla extract: The cupcake base is vanilla flavored
• Oat flour: I prefer to use Bob's Red Mill CERTIFIED gluten free oat flour to ensure there's no cross-contamination
• Tapioca flour: This adds a necessary starch element to the cupcake batter to make sure they're tender, not crumbly. You could use arrowroot starch in it's place, but I prefer the texture from tapioca flour
• Baking powder: For leavening purposes, adds the right lift to the cake. Make sure it's not expired though!
• Salt
• Almond milk: Any non-dairy milk will work in it's place
• Butter: I always use salted, but unsalted butter will work too. Just make sure it's softened to room temperature so that it get's nice and creamy
• Powdered sugar: Used to sweeten the buttercream, you could also try making it with a powdered sweetener to make it sugar-free
• Raspberry compote: I use my sugar-free one and it's DELICIOUS

MAKING THE BEST GLUTEN FREE RASPBERRY CUPCAKES

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees f and line a muffin tin with 6 cupcake liners
2. In a medium bowl combine wet ingredients, avocado oil, vanilla, and almond milk with the coconut sugar. Mix until well combined
3. Next, add in the dry ingredients- oat flour, tapioca starch, baking powder, and salt. Again, mix well
4. Now you're going to spoon batter into cupcake liners, filling them ⅔ of the way
5. Bake for 14-16 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out mostly clean
6. Let cupcakes cool completely on a cooling rack
7. Once cupcakes are cooled, use a sharp knife to cut a small hole in the center of the cake, fill with 1 teaspoon of raspberry filling, then frost

MAKING CREAMY RASPBERRY BUTTERCREAM

1. In a large bowl, beat butter on high speed until smooth and creamy
2. Add 2 tablespoons of raspberry compote and 1 cup of powdered sugar to the butter. Start on low speed and gradually work your way up to high, beat until smooth and creamy (use a rubber spatula to scrape down the sides of bowl as needed)
3. Frost FULLY COOLED cupcakes, top with fresh raspberries and enjoy

STORING AND MAKE AHEAD INSTRUCTIONS

The best way to store leftover cupcakes is in an airtight container at room temperature for up to two days. I don't suggest putting them in the fridge because the cake tends to dry out.

If you'd like to make this delicious treat ahead of time, I recommend keeping the cupcakes and frosting separate. You can make the cupcakes the day before and store the buttercream in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week. Keep unfrosted cupcakes in an airtight container until the day you're going to serve them, and take buttercream out of the fridge and let it thaw for about 30 minutes. Once the buttercream isn't so cold, spread it, decorate, and serve!

EXPERT TIPS FOR YOUR BEST RASPBERRY CUPCAKES

• Read the entire recipe first
• You can use arrowroot starch in place of tapioca flour, but I think the tapioca gives a much better texture
• Use CERTIFIED gluten free oat flour
• Fill each cupcake liner with about ¼ cup of batter
• Let cupcakes cool completely before frosting them, or else the buttercream will melt
• You can use a piping bag to spread buttercream, or an offset spatula also works great
• I prefer regular paper liners, the non-stick ones don't work as well for this recipe
• This raspberry buttercream is also delish on chocolate cupcakes!

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

1. Can I add lemon zest and juice and make lemon cupcakes? This simple recipe is designed for vanilla cupcakes, and while lemon sounds delicious, the acidity from the juice would screw with the ratios of the ingredients and I can't guarantee the results would be good. If you'd like to try lemon raspberry cupcakes, I would suggest replacing the vanilla with ½ teaspoon of lemon extract.
2. What can I use in place of the raspberry compote? I highly suggest sticking to the raspberry compote, it's super simple to make. But if you'd rather not make it, you could try using a raspberry jam instead, just watch the consistency of the buttercream isn't too runny.
3. What is the difference between raspberry puree and raspberry compote? Raspberry puree is a seedless, runny, almost syrup-like consistency, while raspberry compote uses the whole berry, and is more like a jam consistency.
4. Can I freeze these? No, this recipe will not hold up well in the freezer. The cupcakes is too delicate.

Did you make these amazing raspberry cupcakes? If you did, I would greatly appreciate you leaving a comment and star rating down below. In addition, follow me on Instagram @coleinthekitchen and tag me so I can see them!

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