Rich cocoa, melted chocolate, miniature chocolate chips, and a decadent homemade chocolate frosting make this the Ultimate Gluten Free Chocolate Cupcake.

This morning when I woke up I decided that chocolate cupcakes just needed to be part of my day.  I very rarely succumb to cravings like that, but today I did.  I was glad that I did because I also realized that there were no recipes at The Gluten Free Gathering for gluten free chocolate cupcakes.

Well, now there is!

As a blogger, there are typically several rounds of recipe testing that take place before a new recipe goes live on the blog.  Most bloggers work tirelessly to carefully tweak recipes to not only make them delicious but also easy to replicate.  This usually takes time.  But then there are times, when success strikes on the first attempt.  That’s cause for a happy dance for sure!

Can There Ever Be Too Much Chocolate?

That’s a good question!  I’d have to say yes and no.  I really believe that you need to have a careful plan when working with a lot of chocolate.  Recipes can easily become too sweet or too bitter if the type and amount of chocolate are not quite right.

But once you do find just the right balance, I’m not sure you can ever have too much chocolate!  This recipe has a great balance of chocolate flavor, and in my opinion, it’s just right!

Does it Matter What Kind of Chocolate You Use?

Oh, yes!  It certainly does matter.  My best advice to you is to work with chocolate products that are of a high quality.  We’ve all had chocolate that tasted cheap and just plain terrible.  It kind of ruins what should be a delicious moment!

Hands down my favorite baking cocoa comes from Rodelle.  Their Organic Baking Cocoa is the best, and it always imparts such a wonderful chocolate flavor wherever it is added.  I use their cocoa in this recipe both as part of the cupcake batter and the frosting.

I also used one of my favorite brands of chocolate chips:  Enjoy Life.  Again, their products are not only safe for so many with various food allergies, but they are also great tasting and leave you with an awesome finished product.  In my recipe, I melted some of Enjoy Life’s miniature chips right into the cupcake batter, and also, stirred some into the batter just before baking.

How to Make the Ultimate Gluten Free Chocolate Cupcakes

This recipe is a one-pot-wonder.  While I typically use my Kitchenaid Mixer for nearly every recipe I make, I opted to use one pot.  Easy clean up is a pretty great thing.  So when selecting a pot to use, keep in mind that you will be using the pot during the entire process (with the exception of baking).

Begin by placing 1 stick (1/2 cup) of salted butter and 1 cup of unsweetened coconut milk into a pan.  Heat over low heat until the butter has melted completely.  You can certainly use other milk varieties in lieu of coconut.  Almond, soy, rice, and regular milk will all work well.  Turn off the heat once the butter has melted completely.

Add 1/2 cup of Enjoy Life Miniature Chocolate Chips, 1/2 cup of Rodelle Unsweetened Baking Cocoa, and 1 cup of granulated sugar to the pot.  Stir until the chocolate is melted.  Then whisk together until the ingredients are smooth.  Allow to cool for 5 minutes.

Once the batter is cool, add in one egg at a time (2 total), whisking each egg thoroughly into the batter.  The mixture should be smooth.  PLEASE NOTE:  if you add the eggs into the still hot mixture, you will scramble the eggs.  No good.

Sift together 1/4 cup of potato starch, 1 & 1/4 cups of gluten free flour (with xanthan gum – I used Bob’s 1 to 1 Gluten Free Flour in this recipe), and 2 teaspoons of baking powder.  Add the sifted mixture into the wet ingredients and slowly stir until the wet and dry ingredients are combined.  Finally, stir in 3/4 cup of Enjoy Life Miniature Chocolate Chips.

Using a standard muffin tin (12 muffin capacity), line each spot with a parchment paper liner.  Seriously, parchment paper liners are the best.  They release every single time…no fail.  With all of the baking that I have done, I have never had a problem with sticking…EVER!

Fill each muffin spot just shy of full.  This will ensure that you have a very nice sized cupcake.  They will puff up but not spill over.

Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 25 minutes.

Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely before frosting.

Take a look at what great rise these cupcakes have.  If you wanted to, you could leave these unfrosted at this point and call them some seriously good Gluten Free Chocolate Muffins  if you’d like (I won’t judge).

But…if you are like me and love chocolate, you’ll want to add the frosting.

How to Make Homemade Chocolate Frosting

Making homemade frosting is really quite simple.  While many people prefer buttercream, I have always loved the flavor that cream cheese imparts.   It adds a bit of tang, but not too much.  The chocolate flavor really neutralizes some of the zing that the cream cheese has (but it leaves enough behind to make it oh so good!).

Begin by creaming together 2 – 8oz blocks of cream cheese until smooth.  Add in 2/3 cup of sweetened condensed milk and mix until completely smooth.  You should scrape down the bottom and sides of the bowl periodically.  Finally, add in 1/2 cup of unsweetened cocoa powder.  Starting on the lowest setting, mix the ingredients together, gradually increasing the speed of the mixer once the cocoa begins to mix into the wet ingredients.

Note to self:  If you start the mixer on a high speed, you will be wearing the cocoa powder.  Slow and steady wins this race!

Once the frosting has come together and is nice and creamy, you can scoop it into a piping bag or place it into a resealable bag.  Simply snip a small corner off of the bag and pipe.  Or, you can always simply spread the frosting on with a knife.  No matter which way you go, the frosted cupcakes will be delicious.

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This post is brought to you in partnership with Rodelle.  This post also contains affiliate links through Amazon.  Should you choose to click on a link and make a purchase, I will be paid a small commission by Amazon.  This comes at NO additional cost to you and assists with the expenses associated with this blog.  Thank you for your support!

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