Gluten-free Coronation Butterfly Cakes Recipe

Gluten-free coronation butterfly cakes recipe - super easy to make and decorate! Wheat-free and Coeliac-friendly. See the FAQ section above for advice on adapting this recipe to be dairy-free or vegan.

Keyword baking recipe, gluten-free vanilla cupcakes recipe

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 20

Servings

Calories 500kcal

Author Becky Excell

Equipment

1M piping nozzle I use this for piping buttercream onto all my cupcakes
12-hole cupcake tray

Ingredients

For the cupcakes:

225 g gluten free-self raising flour
1 tsp gluten-free baking powder
1/4 tsp xanthan gum
225 g butter softened
225 g caster sugar
4 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract

For the buttercream:

300 g icing sugar
150 g butter softened
1 tsp vanilla extract
6-8 tbsp strawberry or raspberry jam for decorating

Grams - Cups

Instructions

For the cupcakes

Preheat your oven to 160C Fan / 180C and prepare a cupcake / muffin tin with cases.
Place all your sponge ingredients into a large mixing bowl and whisk until well combined and thoroughly mixed (1 minute should do it).
Divide the mixture between the cases. I fill mine just over 2/3 full.
Place in the oven for between 20-25 minutes until cooked through. To check if the cupcakes are cooked, insert a skewer and if it comes out clean, it's done!
Allow the cupcakes to cool completely on a cooling rack.

For the buttercream

For the buttercream, ensure your butter is soft and at room temperature. I find it takes a good hour out of the fridge to soften, but never let it go too soft! Place your butter into a stand mixer and mix on a medium speed for about 5 minutes until the butter has gone a lot more pale in colour. Of course, you can do this in a large mixing bowl with an electric hand whisk too.
Add your icing sugar gradually. I add it in 2-3 stages and beat for about 3 minutes between each addition. Start your mixer slowly to save your kitchen from a real icing sugar mess, but then increase the speed to medium / high for each of your 3 minutes.
Add your vanilla extract and mix once more - it should now be done. Ensure it's the right thickness - it should be if you've beaten it for long enough. However, if it's too thick you can add a tiny amount of milk. And if too thin, sieve in a little extra icing sugar - this might be the case for dairy free buttercream using hard margarine.
Spoon your buttercream into a piping bag with a large star nozzle. Then pipe your buttercream on top. If you don't want to pipe it, you can spoon it on top too!

For the decoration

Once the cupcakes have cooled, carefully slice the risen tops of the cupcakes off using a small serrated knife and cut the tops in half.
Pipe a swirl of buttercream onto each cupcake or spoon a generous amount on instead.
Push the two halves of the cake top in at an angle to look like butterfly wings / a crown. Spoon a little jam in the middle and finish with a flag if you fancy!

Nutrition