These gluten-free ginger cupcakes start with a simple base of a vanilla cake recipe and then add plenty of fresh ginger for a light, fluffy, dairy-free cupcake with ZING!
Be sure to check out more of my gluten-free, dairy-free cupcake recipes, including my healthy, grain-free banana cupcakes, gluten-free carrot cake cupcakes, gluten and dairy-free vanilla cupcakes, and gluten-free strawberry cupcakes.
Gluten-Free Flour Blends
I tested this recipe with King Arthur Measure for Measure Flour and it works extremely well. Be sure to check out my collection of King Arthur Gluten-Free Flour recipes. Several other gluten-free flours for baking will work. Cup4Cup (contains dairy) and Pamela’s All Purpose Artisan Flour Blend are similar to King Arthur’s and will work well. Omit the xanthan gum in the recipe if your flour blend contains xanthan gum, guar gum, inulin or other binders,
My DIY gluten-free flour blend is my favorite. It has several different flours for excellent flavor and can be a more affordable option. See the notes in the recipe for a more simple DIY gluten-free flour blend or my post on gluten-free flours and flour blends.
Fresh Ginger
In developing this recipe, I found that the flavor of the ginger would disappear. So with 1 tablespoon of grated fresh ginger, the flavor finally came through in these dairy-free cupcakes. I know a lot of bakers use powdered ginger in their recipes but I prefer to use fresh. If you haven’t worked with fresh ginger before, here is my blog post that will show you a really easy way to peel and grate it. How to use Fresh Ginger All you need is a spoon and a microplane to make quick work of it.
I have provided my favorite vanilla cake recipe. It is super simple and one of my favorite cakes of all time. But if you are in a rush or don’t want to bake from scratch, feel free to use your favorite gluten-free vanilla cake box mix. This recipe makes about 1 dozen so if your box mix makes 2 dozen, be sure to double the amount of fresh ginger.
Frosting Options
Ginger goes great with lemon so, top these gluten-free ginger cupcakes with a lemony buttercream frosting. This is my idea of a perfect, sophisticated sweet treat. Use lemon zest and 2 teaspoons of lemon juice instead of milk in your favorite buttercream frosting. Here’s my recipe for vanilla buttercream frosting. The tang of cream cheese frosting is another great option.
If you want to double up on the ginger flavor, top the cupcakes with ginger frosting. Use the same buttercream frosting as the base and add 1/2 tsp ground ginger.
My absolute favorite tool for cupcake making is this Wilton Perfect Fill Batter Tip. It’s a tip that fits into a piping bag and allows you to fill cupcake liners with out the messy drips and glops of batter all over the pan. It has a silicone tip that opens and closes with pressure on the piping bag. I NEVER make cupcakes without it.
If you prefer a cake, this recipe will make an 8″ or 9″ round, single layer. The recipe doubles very well to make a 2 layer cake.
Gluten-Free Ginger Cupcakes (Dairy-Free)
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Ingredients
- 1ΒΌ cups gluten-free flour blend*
- 1Β½ tsps baking powder
- Β½ tsp xanthan gum
- ΒΌ tsp salt
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup sugar
- Β½ oil sunflower, canola, vegetable
- Β½ c milk or milk substitute
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 Tbsp fresh grated ginger
Instructions
- Pre-heat the oven to 350Β°F and prepare a muffin tin with paper liners.
- Place the flour, baking powder, xanthan gum and salt in a large mixing bowl and whisk to combine.
- Place the eggs, sugar, oil, milk, vanilla and ginger into a mixing bowl. Beat until foamy. Add to the dry ingredients and mix until smooth.
- Fill the liners about 3/4 full
- Bake for 18-20 minutes. Cool in the pan for 5 minutes. Transfer the cupcakes to a wire rack to finish cooling.
Notes
2 cups brown rice flour,
2/3 c potato starch
1/3 c tapioca starch.
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