Gluten-Free Rainbow Cupcakes with vanilla frosting will make everyone swoon! Brightly-colored vanilla cupcakes with the perfect tender crumb, topped with a fluffy vanilla bean frosting. Whether you bake them up for the little leprechauns in your life or serve at a birthday party for the young-at-heart, they are sure to be a hit.
I wrote this recipe for Ryze and was compensated for developing it. Because I loved the recipe, I wanted to also share it with you here. As always, all opinions are entirely my own. Thank you for supporting Flippin' Delicious™ and the companies I work with.
Dairy free Gluten Free Vanilla Cupcakes
There is something magical about biting into an allergy friendly rainbow cupcake. This particular cupcake is gluten free and dairy free, so everyone in my family could enjoy it. The cupcakes rise into perfectly smooth domes, it has a tight, yet tender crumb, and is topped with a perfectly fluffy vanilla bean frosting.
The rainbow colors stay bright and vibrant, creating a very colorful blank canvas.
Whether you decorate these cupcakes to be the rainbow and pot o’ gold in one, make them into whimsical unicorns, or simply top them off with a swirl of fluffy frosting, they are sure to take the center stage.
I have a pretty strong feeling that I’ll be making these gluten free rainbow cupcakes again...and again. Nothing makes a better celebration cupcake!
If you want a stunning layer cake, you have to try my gluten free rainbow cake. 4 rainbow cake layers (or 6 if you bake the cake using a 6 inch round pan instead of a 9 inch round pan.) I’ve made that cake with and without the pinata effect, and it is a fan favorite both ways. I actually adapted my gluten free rainbow layer cake recipe to make these gluten free rainbow cupcakes.
I made these dairy free rainbow cupcakes for a party at work, and they were a huge hit. Did I mention my day job is in the corporate office of a pizza company? Everyone there eats gluten with a side of extra gluten. If that doesn’t demonstrate how bomb-diggity these gluten free rainbow cupcakes are, I don’t know what will.
I’ve been experimenting with a new-to-me Gluten-Free Flour, Ryze. (You’ll find my Gluten Free Red Velvet Brownies on their website.) What is special about Ryze is that is is just rice flour.
I know, when I say “rice flour” you immediately think of cupcakes that taste like “grit” and “sand,” but that isn’t the case with Ryze. It has different grinds of rice flour, that mimic regular wheat flour.
They have 2 different flour blends, a blue bag for recipes that need more structure or “chew” like cookies and bread and a yellow bag that is perfect for donuts and cakes (which is what I used in this recipe.)
I heard about Ryze from my good friend Chrystal from Gluten-Free Palate. She is the donut queen and recently wrote several Gluten Free Donut recipes in an article (and COVER RECIPE!!!, I am a very proud friend) for Gluten-Free and More Magazine (formerly Living Without.) I visited Chrystal last October and she baked me her phenomenal Gluten Free Cinnamon Sugar Donuts using Ryze’s yellow bag. After one perfect bite, followed by the rest of the donut, I was excited to try Ryze’s flour for myself. I used Ryze’s yellow bag in this recipe and was very happy with the results. If you don’t have Ryze flour, you may use my gluten free cake/cookie flour blend, and add ¼ teaspoon of xanthan gum to your recipe.
What oil should I use for gluten free cupcakes?
Any liquid oil with a neutral flavor will work fine. I usually use a canola/vegetable oil, but really almost any oil will work.
If you want to use coconut oil, I'd recommend a refined coconut oil to prevent your cupcakes from having a coconut taste.
Gluten Free Rainbow Cupcakes
Gluten free rainbow cupcakes! Brightly-colored vanilla cupcakes with the perfect tender crumb, topped in a fluffy vanilla bean frosting. Whether you bake them up for the little leprechauns in your life, or serve at a birthday party for the young-at-heart, they are sure to be a hit.
Ingredients
For the Rainbow Cupcakes:
- 2 cups white sugar
- 1 cup oil
- 4 eggs
- 3 ¾ cupRYZE Yellow Flour Blend
- ¾ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 ½ cups buttermilk (or 1 ½ cups of your favorite dairy-free milk mixed with 1 ½ tablespoons of white vinegar)
- Food coloring, as desired
For the Vanilla Bean Frosting:
- 1 cup palm shortening
- ½ cup vegan butter
- 4 cups powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 teaspoons vanilla paste
- 1-2 tablespoons dairy-free milk
Instructions
For the Rainbow Cupcakes:
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and line your cupcake pans with cupcake liners.
- Using a stand mixer, or electric beaters and a bowl, beat the sugar and oil together until well combined. Add the eggs one at a time, beating until completely incorporated before adding the next. Whip until very smooth and slightly fluffy.
- In another bowl, whisk together the RYZE Yellow Flour Blend, baking soda, and salt.
- Add approximately ⅓ of the flour mixture to the sugar/oil/egg mixture and mix until incorporated. Beat in half of the buttermilk, and mix until smooth. Follow that with another ⅓ of the flour mixture, mix until smooth. Then the rest of the buttermilk, mix until smooth. Finally add the rest of the flour mixture, and mix until smooth.
- Divide the batter evenly between 6 small bowls. Add food coloring to each bowl to create the colors desired for your rainbow cupcakes (for these cupcakes purple, blue, green, yellow, orange, and red were used.)
- Evenly divide the brightly-colored batter between the prepared cupcake pans. You may do this with a small spoon, or for easier clean-up transfer each color to a sandwich-sized plastic zipper bag. Starting with the first color, cut off one of the corners, then squeeze a small amount of batter into each cupcake liner. To create the cupcakes as pictured, start with purple, then blue, then green, then yellow, then orange, and finally red.
- Using a toothpick, gently swirl the batter in each cupcake to create a marbled effect.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted near the center of a cupcake comes out clean.
- Cool before frosting and decorating.
For the Vanilla Bean Frosting:
- Using a stand mixer, or electric beaters, whip the palm shortening and vegan butter until very smooth, light, and fluffy (about 5 minutes.)
- Add the powdered sugar, and beat until combined. Add the vanilla extract and paste and mix until evenly combined. The frosting will not be smooth. Add non-dairy milk one TEASPOON at a time, beating well after each addition, until you have a smooth and creamy frosting. Add up to 2 tablespoons of milk. (we used about 1 ½ tablespoons.) Be very careful to not add too much milk as that may cause your frosting to separate. If that does happen, add another ¼- ½ cup of powdered sugar and beat until the frosting comes back together.
- Frost the cupcakes as desired, and decorate with sprinkles, shamrock coins, or chocolate shamrocks. To make your own green chocolate shamrocks melt ½ cup of green candy melts according to their package directions and pipe them onto parchment paper. A sandwich bag with a tiny bit of a corner snipped off makes an easy, disposable, piping bag.
Notes
Note: If you don’t have vanilla bean paste you may add another teaspoon of vanilla extract instead. The vanilla bean paste is a less-expensive way to add authentic vanilla bean specks to your frosting.
I used Ryze’s yellow bag in this recipe and was very happy with the results. If you don’t have Ryze flour, you may use my gluten free cake/cookie flour blend or another all-purpose gluten free flour, and add ¼ teaspoon of xanthan gum to your recipe.
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Nutrition Information
Yield 30 Serving Size 1Amount Per Serving Calories 343Total Fat 19gSaturated Fat 8gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 10gCholesterol 34mgSodium 129mgCarbohydrates 41gFiber 0gSugar 28gProtein 3g
All nutrition info is a guestimate and will vary depending on the ingredients you use.
cakespy
I love these cupcakes, and so does my pet unicorn Sprinkle. 🙂
kareen
Hi Brianna,
I must say that I love your rainbow cupcake from the first sight. It reminds me about my childhood, when my grandma cooked for me color sticky rice. In my first years of life, those colorful dishes are so fairy...
If only I can have one of your rainbow cupcake, I will take a cup of tea to my balcony, reading a book with my cat on knees. So lovely... Thank you.
Cristina
These are super cute and I can't wait to try this new flour blend! Quick question - do you spoon the flour into the measuring cup? I have trouble getting consistent measurements. Thank you!
flippindelicious
Hi Cristina,
Yes, I always spoon my flour into the measuring cup, and then level it off.
Happy Baking!
-Brianna
Anne Kepner
Hi Brianna,
I like Gluten-Free Rainbow Cupcakes from the first sight. That's delicious. Thank you for your instructions. If I have one of your rainbow cupcake now, I will taste with my honey. So lovely... Many thanks.
flippindelicious
Hi Anne, I hope you and your honey enjoy them. Happy Baking! -Brianna
Eva Swain
Hi Brianna!
I'm a big fan of cupcake, too. Your recipes are propably inspired me. I'm ready to make it for Easter. Thank you!
Vong
Hi, will I be able to use rice milk as the substitute for the dairy free milk in the cake and frosting? My girl is allergic to soy and almonds. Thanks.
flippindelicious
Hi Vong, I haven't tried rice milk, but I don't see why it wouldn't work. Let us know how it turned out!
Teresa
What type of oil for cupcake ? Would coconut oil be ok
flippindelicious
Hi Teresa,
Any liquid oil with a neutral flavor will work fine. I'd recommend a refined coconut oil to prevent your cupcakes from having a coconut taste.
Happy Baking! -Brianna
Claire
Hello! Any recommendations on how to get a more cupcake like texture? I have used a few substitutions. I used Hazelnut milk with white vinegar. I used Monk fruit instead of sugar. I tried it twice, once with the 1:1 Bob's Red Mill GF flour, and the other time with the King Arthur GF flour. Couldn't get the Ryza brand.
They both came out yummy but more rubbery. Any ideas on what I can tweak?
Thank you!
Claire
flippindelicious
Hi Claire,
The sugar actually does a lot of the tenderizing in this recipe, so I strongly suspect it is using Monk Fruit instead of the sugar that is preventing your cupcakes from being tender. I've used Bob's 1 to 1 GF flour, and it should work fine in this recipe.
You could try adding more fat and more liquid if you still want to use Monkfruit, and that may help.
Best,
Brianna