Oat Flour Chocolate Cupcakes

What You'll Need

Here's the list of ingredients for these gluten free chocolate cupcakes. The full ingredient amounts are in the recipe card lower down - this is just an overview.

• Oat flour - Wonderful for baking, gluten free oat flour in this recipe creates an imperceptibly gluten-free chocolate cupcake. Grab a bag or easily make your own oat flour.
• Brown sugar - Light or dark brown sugar works interchangeably in this recipe.
• Granulated sugar - A bit of granulated sugar alongside the brown sugar brings sweetness.
• Cocoa powder - Use unsweetened cocoa powder so it doesn't overpower the cupcakes.
• Leavening - Baking soda and baking powder help the cupcakes to rise.
• Salt - I always use fine sea salt in my recipes!
• Olive oil - I like extra virgin olive oil in baking and cooking recipes.
• Egg - Most recipes are written using large eggs unless otherwise specified, so it's a good idea to keep large eggs stocked in the fridge for any occasion.
• Buttermilk - Low-fat or full-fat buttermilk helps to create tender cupcakes.
• Vanilla extract - Use pure vanilla extract to create more depth of flavor.
• Coffee - Use fresh-brewed or instant coffee. If you don't drink coffee, use hot water.

Recipe Tips & Tricks

I love the simplicity of this recipe - you just need a whisk and a spoon to make the batter! Any day I don't have to deal with the electric mixer is a good one. I've listed a few gluten free baking best practices to follow while making this cupcake recipe, plus a few other tips:

• Rest the batter: Let the batter rest for a bit before baking. Oat flour, like all gluten free flours, benefits from a rest to let it absorb liquids. Resting the batter in the tin while the oven preheats is the right amount of time for the oat flour to hydrate. Don't skip this step!
• Substitute hot water: If you don't drink coffee, you can substitute 1 cup of hot water for the coffee if needed. Or, you can use (decaffeinated if needed) instant coffee or instant espresso if you don't regularly brew coffee at home.
• Use room temperature ingredients: Whether you're making a regular cake or a gluten free cake, bringing the ingredients to room temperature is important! It helps them to better incorporate into the batter, making for a better-structured cake after it's baked.
• Cool the cake completely: Oat flour cupcakes can be softer than wheat flour cupcakes, especially when they're warm (although every baked item needs to cool a bit, regardless of whether it's gluten-free). Make sure to cool the cupcakes thoroughly before frosting them. To create ease of frosting, you can chill the cupcakes in the fridge for a few hours or up to overnight, well covered.
• Make ahead: You can bake the cupcakes up to 24 hours in advance and I recommend doing this! When a cake rests in the fridge overnight, its flavor deepens and the crumb firms up a bit. This will also make it easier to frost the cupcakes. Store the cupcakes, either unfrosted or frosted, covered with foil, or in an airtight container in the fridge.
• Any kind of frosting: I've shown cupcakes frosted with my favorite chocolate buttercream frosting but you can use any frosting you like to finish these cupcakes! Try vanilla buttercream, meringue, cream cheese frosting, or even whipped cream …
• Make it dairy-free: Choose your favorite non-dairy milk and non-dairy yogurt to use in the batter.
• Make it refined sugar-free: Substitute coconut sugar for the brown sugar and granulated sugar.

Why Use Oat Flour for These Cupcakes?

In this oat flour chocolate cupcakes recipe, the cupcakes bake up beautifully and don't have the denseness or grittiness you may find in baked goods that rely on a gluten-free all-purpose flour substitute. Oat flour is my favorite gluten-free flour to use in baking recipes because it can often be used 1:1 by weight for all-purpose flour. If you wish, you can use your favorite gluten free flour blend, although please note that the texture may not be the same. You could also try my homemade gluten free flour blend with great results in this recipe!

Storage Options

These cupcakes taste the best, in my opinion, when they've been brought to room temperature for about 30 minutes before you serve them. And, if you have any leftovers, here's how to store them:

• Fridge - To store, cover the cupcakes tightly with foil, or place them in an airtight container, and keep them in the fridge for up to 5 days.
• Freezer - Freeze the cupcakes two ways: frosted cupcakes should be stored in an airtight freezer-safe container. Unfrosted cupcakes may be wrapped in a layer of plastic wrap and placed in a sealable freezer-safe bag. Store the cupcakes in the freezer for up to 3 months, and thaw them in the fridge before serving.