Gluten Free Black Magic Cupcakes
Get ready for the spooky season with these moist gluten free black magic cupcakes! Exceptionally dark and perfectly eerie.
These black magic cupcakes are the treat you need to make for Halloween this year! They are made with a black velvet cupcake base then topped with a black chocolate buttercream. So spooky!
These cupcakes are very similar to red velvet cupcakes, they’re made with buttermilk and apple cider vinegar which gives you a fluffy texture. Instead of being dyed with red food colouring, they’re dyed with black food colouring.
When it comes to Halloween, creating recipes with an eerie twist is a must. Turning these decadent velvet cupcakes a deep jet black is simple and can easily be done.
The secret to black buttercream.
Use Cocoa Powder – Turning white buttercream black is incredibly hard. Starting off with a darker coloured frosting base makes it so much easier.
Use Black Gel Food Coloring – Now i’m not talking about generic, black liquid food colouring. Gel food colouring is more concentrated than liquid food colouring so you can add less and still get the dark colour you’re after!
The Microwave Method – Scoop 1/2 cup of the finished buttercream into a microwavable bowl. Then microwave the frosting for 5-10 seconds. The frosting should be runny but deeper in colour. Mix this back into the full bowl of frosting and you should achieve a deep black colour. Let your frosting sit for about 30 minutes before you use it to allow it to thicken back up.
Stir well – As buttercream sits it usually gets tons of tiny air bubbles in it! Don’t worry, you’ll be able to make your buttercream smooth again. All you need to do is give the frosting a really good stir with a rubber spatula. Focus on spreading it across the sides of your bowl for a few minutes. It’s definitely an arm workout. But after working the frosting around the bowl and pushing out the excess air, you’ll be left with silky smooth frosting.
If you like chocolate, like me, you must give this cupcake recipe a try. The batter is quite thin, but don’t let that throw you off, they bake up beautifully. The chocolate flavour is deep and rich and the cakes are tender and so moist. I use Sugarflair Black Extra Maximum Concentrated Food Colouring Paste
The black chocolate buttercream icing is the perfect topping to these over-the-top cupcakes! Now what are you waiting for, get busy baking up a batch of these beauties for all your favourite guys and ghouls!
- CUPCAKES
- ¾ cup/94g gluten free self raising flour
- ½ cup/41g unsweetened natural cocoa powder*
- 1 tsp espresso powder
- ¾ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp gel black food colouring
- 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- ¼ tsp salt
- 2 large eggs
- ½ cup/100g granulated sugar
- ½ cup/100g packed light brown sugar
- ⅓ cup/80ml vegetable oil
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- ½ cup (/20ml buttermilk
- BUTTERCREAM
- 1 Cup/226g unsalted butter, room temperature
- 3½ Cups/420g icing sugar
- ½ Cup/60g cocoa powder
- 4 tbsp whole milk, room temperature
- 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
- ¾ tsp black gel food colouring
- Preheat the oven to 350°F/180°C
- Line a 12 cup cupcake pan with cupcake liners.
- Whisk the flour, cocoa powder, espresso powder, baking powder and salt together in a large bowl until thoroughly combined. Dont add the baking soda yet. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs, granulated sugar, brown sugar, oil, and vanilla together until completely smooth. Ad the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients. Gently whisk until combined.
- Add the food gel followed by the vinegar and baking soda. Stir until combined. Your batter should now be a deep black colour. The batter will be thin.
- Pour or spoon the batter into the liners. Fill only halfway to avoid spilling over the sides.. Bake for 18-21 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow to cool completely before frosting.
- BUTTERCREAM
- In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, whip the butter on medium speed until creamy and light in colour, about 4 minutes. Scrape down the bowl and paddle, then add the icing sugar, cocoa powder, milk, and vanilla extract. Turn the mixer to low until all ingredients start to come together.
- Add the black food colour gel, increase the speed to medium and beat for two full minutes. The colour will resemble wet concrete at first, but will darken as time goes on.
- To darken further Scoop ½ cup of the finished buttercream into a microwavable bowl. Then microwave the frosting for 5-10 seconds. The frosting should be runny but deeper in colour. Mix this back into the full bowl of frosting and you should achieve a deep black colour. Let your frosting sit for about 30 minutes before you use it to allow it to thicken back up.
- As the buttercream sits it usually gets tons of tiny air bubbles in it! Don’t worry, you’ll be able to make your buttercream smooth again. All you need to do is give the frosting a really good stir with a rubber spatula. Focus on spreading it across the sides of your bowl for a few minutes. It’s definitely an arm workout. But after working the frosting around the bowl and pushing out the excess air, you’ll be left with silky smooth frosting.
- Frost your cupcake using a piping bag and piping tip of your choice. Sprinkle the tops with halloween sprinkles.
PIN FOR LATER
