You’ll love these simple gluten free lemon cupcakes! Made from scratch, they are also dairy free making them a great treat for anyone with intolerances or allergies. These cupcakes are soft and light with a delicious lemon flavour through the cupcake and the sweet lemon buttercream frosting.
If you’re looking for more gluten free cupcake recipes, make sure to also try my gluten free vanilla cupcakes.
Do you know someone who is celiac or just gluten intolerant and really want to make their day? If so then you’ve come to the right place because this recipe for lemon cupcakes is both gluten free and dairy free, but more importantly so sweet, tangy and delicious!
While yes, this recipes focus is on what this cupcake recipe is NOT, let’s take a moment to talk about what it IS. It is a soft and light cupcake that isn’t overly sweet itself so that its perfectly balanced with the generous swirl of buttercream frosting.
It’s a delicious cupcake, bursting with vibrant lemon flavour. It’s the kind of cupcake you can happily serve to the whole party and know everyone is going to be happy, not just those who ticked yes on the food allergies card.
I absolutely love citrus in cakes and these are super soft with the perfect balance of sweet and tangy. Honestly if you’re like me and love anything lemon flavoured, then you’re definitely going to love these.
Key Ingredients
These lemon cupcakes are both gluten free and dairy free, meaning that the ingredients used all play a key role in not only the taste but also the structure of the cake.
Note all ingredients and their quantities are laid out in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
- White sugar – the sugar not only makes these cupcakes sweet and therefore delicious, but it also helps with keeping them moist so don’t be tempted to reduce the amount as your results will not be the same.
- Lemon – to ensure these cupcakes have a strong lemon flavour, we’re using both the lemon zest and the juice in the cupcake batter.
- Dairy free butter – adds richness and flavour to the cupcakes.
- Canola oil – adds moisture and helps keep the cupcakes tender. The combination of both oil and butter is essential to getting the perfect texture crumb (one that isn’t dense and heavy) which can be more challenging without gluten.
- Eggs – providing structure to these cupcakes ensuring they won’t fall apart but also helping keep them light and fluffy thanks to the process of beating them with the sugar and fats.
- Vanilla extract – ensures these cupcakes have a delicious flavour and helps enhance the lemon taste.
- Gluten free plain flour – you want a good quality 1-1 baking flour for these cupcakes like Bob’s Red Mill for best results.
- Baking powder – helps the cupcakes rise and keep them light and not dense.
- Bicarbonate of soda – also known as baking soda in the US, this is going to react with the acidity of the lemon juice to help create a light and soft cupcake.
- Dairy free milk – I like to bake these using almond milk, but oat milk or soy milk will also work with similar results so use what you normally have on hand.
Equipment and Tools
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- Cupcake / muffin tin – I always recommend using light coloured baking pans as they allow for a much more even heat distribution. My favourite is this USA Pan muffin pan.
- Paper muffin liners – these are the ones I use and honestly they are expensive but they are the best paper liners I’ve used. They will not stick to your cupcakes and are the perfect size giving your cupcakes that professional finish.
- Stand mixer – I find that a stand mixer is really the best kitchen tool to create a super creamy buttercream frosting. My KitchenAid is a workhorse and is definitely worth the investment.
- Piping bags – I prefer to use disposable piping bags just to keep clean up super easy.
- Piping tip – you can use any piping tip you like to decorate your cupcakes. I have used the Wilton 6B for the cupcakes shown here.
Step-By-Step Instructions
The first step of making these cupcakes is combining the lemon zest with the white sugar in a large mixing bowl. The best way to do this step is to actually rub the lemon zest into the sugar using your fingers. This process helps to infuse the sugar with the lemon’s flavour, creating a more vibrant, citrusy flavour throughout the cupcakes.
Next, add the dairy free butter and canola oil to the bowl and use an electric mixer to combine them well. Add in the eggs, one at a time, and beat really well until the mixture is slightly paler in colour and really light and fluffy.
This step is going to be essential in ensuring your cupcakes are light in texture and not dense. Finally, add in the vanilla extract and mix to combine.
In another bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients to ensure the bicarb soda and baking powder are evenly distributed throughout the flour.
Gradually add the dry ingredients to the butter, egg and sugar mixture in three additions, alternating with the almond milk and lemon juice, mixing gently until just combined.
Divide the batter evenly between the cupcake liners, filling each about two-thirds full. Place the cupcakes in a preheated oven for about 20-22 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Allow the cupcakes to cool in the tin for 5 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.
Once cooled, make a batch of my dairy free lemon buttercream and fill a piping bag with your favourite piping tip attached. Pipe swirls of the buttercream on top each cupcake and decorate with a wedge of fresh lemon if you like.
Storage Instructions
Store the cupcakes in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days depending on your climate. I live in a very hot and humid environment so I prefer to store my cupcakes in the fridge in summer.
If stored in the fridge, they’ll last for up to 4 days, however gluten free cucpakes will dry out faster than regular cupcakes so they are best enjoyed in the first couple of days. For the best taste and texture, allow them to come to room temperature before serving.
If you want to freeze these cupcakes, I recommend doing so unfrosted and then frosting before serving for the best results. Place completely cooled cupcakes in a freezer-safe container or wrap them individually in plastic wrap and then aluminium foil. Freeze for up to 3 months.
Defrost the cupcakes in the fridge overnight or at room temperature for a few hours before frosting and serving.
Recipe FAQs
Yes, you can substitute the gluten free plain flour with regular plain flour if you don’t need the cupcakes to be gluten free. Keep the measurements the same.
While I haven’t tested this myself, you can try replacing the eggs with flax-eggs or a commercial egg replacer. The texture may vary however. I do however have a vegan lemon cupcake recipe that was developed specially to be egg free.
If you do make this recipe, please be sure to leave a comment and ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ rating below! And tag any of your creations on Instagram with @eightforestlane as I would love to see.
More gluten free desserts:
Almond and Raspberry Cake (Gluten Free)
Gluten Free Raspberry Muffins
Vegan Brownies
Blueberry Almond Cake (Gluten-Free)
Chocolate Torte (Gluten-Free)
Gluten Free Lemon Cupcakes
Ingredients
- 1 cup white sugar
- zest of 1 lemon
- 60 grams dairy free butter
- ¼ cup canola oil
- 2 eggs
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 ¾ cups gluten free plain flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
- ¼ cup almond milk or any dairy free milk
- ¼ cup lemon juice from 1-2 lemons
- 1 batch dairy free lemon buttercream
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F). Line a 12-hole muffin tin with cupcake liners.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the sugar and lemon zest. Use your fingers to rub the zest into the sugar until fragrant and combined.
- Add the dairy free butter and canola oil to the sugar mixture. Beat with an electric mixer until light and fluffy.
- Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Mix in the vanilla extract.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the gluten-free plain flour, baking powder, and bicarbonate of soda.
- Gradually add the dry ingredients to the creamed butter mixture in three additions, alternating with the almond milk and lemon juice, mixing gently until just combined.
- Divide the batter evenly between the cupcake liners, filling each about two-thirds full. Bake for 20-22 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
- Allow the cupcakes to cool in the tin for 5 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Once cooled, make a batch of lemon buttercream and fill a piping bag with your favourite piping tip attached. Pipe swirls of buttercream o n top each cupcake and decorate with a wedge of fresh lemon if desired.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information is provided as a guide only and is calculated using automated online tools, therefore we cannot guarantee the accuracy. We encourage you to make your own calculations based on the actual ingredients used in your recipe.
This post was originally published on the 24th April 2017. It has been republished to include a slight change to the recipe, more helpful information and new photos.
Tina says
Hi sally! Thank you for sharing these recipes! I made the icing and absolutely LOVED, LOVED, LOVED the texture. I used it for a cake, which took my family about 3 -4 days to eat. It was left out of the fridge and still held its shape and consistency very well. Unfortunately, it was too sweet, which I think was because I used Pyure confectioner sugar (a stevia blend). It is supposed to be better for you, but it seems much sweeter to me.
FYI: I am from the US, and I use “Smart Balance Original Buttery Spread” for any and everything that calls for butter. It is free of dairy, soy, nuts, gluten, and eggs. It works and taste wonderfully! 🙂
Sally says
Thanks so much for your comment Tina, so happy you enjoyed it! You can also try adding about 1/4 teaspoon of salt to the buttercream to try and cut through the sweetness. Thank you for the US brand allergy friendly butter recommendation as well!
Lisa says
Thank you so much! I’m going to try this soon. Will post results 🙂
Sally says
Look forward to it, thanks Lisa 🙂
Lisa says
I’m not sure what Nuttelex Lite is because we don’t have it where I live. Do you know if there is anything else that can be substituted for this?
Sally says
Hi Lisa. Nuttelex is an Australian product but if you are US based, Earth Balance is the best alternative as I understand and will give you similar results. Otherwise any non-dairy spread can be substituted.