Easy and delicious gluten-free lemon cupcake recipe made with only brown rice and sorghum flour. Flavorful and zesty cupcakes topped with a fluffy dairy-free buttercream.
I used to strictly be just a chocolate cake person but as I have gotten older, I have fallen in love with citrus cakes. Particularly, lemon cake!
This recipe took me about 4,875 tries but I finally NAILED it and couldn’t be happier to share the recipe with you all.
These lemon cupcakes are also topped with an incredibly delicious dairy-free and vegan buttercream made with palm shortening and powdered sugar. YUM!
So let’s get baking.
Ingredients you need for the cupcakes
- Brown Rice Flour
- Sorghum Flour
- Avocado Oil
- Sugar
- Coconut Yogurt
- Lemon Juice/Zest
- Vanilla Extract
- Almond Extract
Equipment You Need
- Large Bowl
- Sifter
- Whisk
- Muffin Pan
- Muffin Liners
- Mixer with Whisk Attachment (for buttercream)
Lemon Cupcakes with Coconut Yogurt
Yogurt is one of my favorite additions to gluten-free cakes. It helps give the batter some rise and fluffiness that gluten-free cakes can lack sometimes.
I chose to make this recipe 100% dairy-free and used coconut yogurt in these cupcakes.
I highly recommend using a coconut yogurt that has very few fillers. My recommendation is Culina and Coyo. Culina is widely available at sprouts and whole foods.
If you are fine with eating dairy you can also just use any plain yogurt in these lemon cupcakes.
Dairy-free, Vegan Buttercream
I’ve been wanting to work on a dairy-free buttercream for a while because I know so many people who don’t eat dairy and I usually eat it sparingly. My goal was to create a very simple recipe that mimicked a classic buttercream.
So this recipe has
- Palm shortening
- Powdered Sugar
- Vanilla Bean Paste
- Oat Milk (or another non-dairy milk)
….and it is SO GOOD! I’m not even much of a frosting person and I could eat this ALLLLL day.
How to Make Delicious Lemon Cupcakes
- Start by preheating oven to 350 and fill muffin pan with liners.
- Sift the brown rice flour, sorghum flour, baking soda and salt into a medium bowl and whisk to combine. Set aside.
- In a large bowl add the lemon zest and sugar and whisk together until fragrant. This should take approximately 30 seconds.
- Then add the eggs, avocado oil, coconut yogurt, lemon juice, vanilla and almond extract to the sugar mixture. Whisk to combine all the ingredients.
- Add the dry, flour ingredients to the wet and mix until combined.
- Fill each muffin liner about ½ way full of batter.
- Bake for 18-20 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.
- Let cool for a couple minutes and then move cupcakes to a cooling rack. Let cool completely before frosting.
For Dairy-free “Buttercream”
- In a large bowl or stand mixer combine the palm shortening, powdered sugar, vanilla bean paste, almond extract, salt and milk and with the whisk attachment beat the frosting on medium-high speed for 3-4 minutes or until frosting is light and fluffy.
- Place buttercream in a piping bag and pipe the lemon cupcakes as desired.
I like to use the Spectrum Palm Shortening. It is pretty readily available at most grocery stores and online.
My two favorite brands right now are Anthony’s and Authentic Foods
Most health food stores carry it but it is also readily available online. I use THIS one.
Yes, you can use regular dairy yogurt or oat milk yogurt. I would just try to find one with as few fillers and gums as possible.
Looking for more Gluten-free Desserts? Check these out!
The Best Gluten-free Vanilla Cupcakes
Sorghum Banana Cake with Peanut Butter Glaze
Oat Flour Chocolate Zucchini Cake
Vegan Lemon Mousse with Berries
Gluten-free Lemon Cupcakes with Dairy-free Buttercream
- Prep Time: 25
- Cook Time: 20
- Total Time: 45
- Yield: 18–20 cupcakes 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: North American
- Diet: Gluten Free
Description
Easy and delicious gluten-free lemon cupcake recipe made with only brown rice and sorghum flour. Flavorful and zesty cupcakes topped with a fluffy dairy-free, vegan buttercream.
Ingredients
Gluten-free Lemon Cupcakes
- 1 cup brown rice flour (164g)
- ½ cup sorghum flour (66g)
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- 2 tablespoons lemon zest
- 1 cup granulated cane sugar (I used organic) (230g)
- 3 eggs, room temperature
- ¾ cup avocado oil (160g)
- ½ cup plain coconut yogurt (see notes)
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon almond extract
Dairy-free Buttercream
- 1 cup palm shortening
- 3 cups powdered sugar, sifted
- 1.5 teaspoons vanilla bean paste (or 2 teaspoons vanilla extract)
- ¼ teaspoon almond extract (optional)
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- 3–4 tablespoons non-dairy milk (I used oat milk)
Instructions
- For Lemon Cupcakes: Preheat oven to 350 and fill muffin pan with liners.
- Sift the brown rice flour, sorghum flour, baking soda and salt into a medium bowl and whisk to combine. Set aside.
- In a large bowl add the lemon zest and sugar and whisk together until fragrant. Approximately 30 seconds.
- Then add the eggs, avocado oil, coconut yogurt, lemon juice, vanilla and almond extract. Whisk to combine all the ingredients.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet and mix until combined.
- Fill each muffin liner about ½ way full of batter.
- Bake for 18-20 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.
- Let cool for a couple minutes and then move cupcakes to a cooling rack. Let cool completely before frosting.
- For Dairy-free Buttercream: In a large bowl or stand mixer combine the palm shortening, powdered sugar, vanilla bean paste, almond extract, salt and milk and with the whisk attachment beat the frosting on medium-high speed for 3-4 minutes or until frosting is light and fluffy.
- Place buttercream in a piping bag and pipe the lemon cupcakes as desired.
Notes
- I highly recommend using a coconut yogurt that has very few fillers. My recommendation is Culina and Coyo. Culina is widely available at sprouts and whole foods. If you are fine with eating dairy you can also just use any plain yogurt in this recipe.
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Keywords: gluten-free lemon cupcakes, sorghum flour, brown rice flour, dairy-free buttercream, vegan buttercream, palm shortening, lemon, vanilla bean paste,
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