Gluten-Free Horchata Cupcakes, a Unique Flavor for Cinco de Mayo

Name: Gluten-Free Horchata Cupcakes
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 45 min
Ingredients: 180 grams gluten-free flour; 15 grams corn starch; 1 teaspoon baking powder; ½ teaspoon baking soda; ½ teaspoon salt; 16 grams buttermilk powder; 1½ teaspoon ground cinnamon; 130 grams horchata (room temperature); ½ teaspoon vanilla extract (or horchata emulsion); 70 grams butter (room temperature, non-salted); 28 grams canola oil (or other light tasting oil); 175 grams sugar; 1 egg (room temperature); 1 egg white (room temperature); 174 grams salter butter (room temperature); 349 grams powdered sugar; 1 teaspoon horchata (as needed); ½ teaspoon vanilla extract (or horchata emulsion); 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

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My first experience with horchata was a few years ago when my husband bought horchata ice cream. I could not believe how delicious it was! It's refreshing, full of cinnamon and best of all, it's creamy without the richness of dairy milk. I loved it and turned it into a unique cupcake flavor for my cottage bakery. Yep, now my gluten-free Cinco de Mayo horchata cupcakes are one of my best most unique cupcake flavors!

a gluten-free Cinco de Mayo horchata cupcake on a cooling rack, still in its liner. The frosting is a triple swirl with cinnamon speckled in.

Horchata is a traditional Mexican drink made of rice milk and cinnamon and it's super popular around Cinco de Mayo. This gluten-free horchata cupcake is the perfect addition to your Cinco de Mayo treats.

I sell this unique cupcake flavor all year round at my cottage bakery though! It's that good. This recipe is based on my gluten-free cookies and cream cupcakes but makes use of buttermilk powder to replace some of the fats lost by using horchata.

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Ingredients
Instructions
Substitutions
Equipment
Storage
Top tip
FAQ
Related
Gluten-Free Horchata Cupcakes

Ingredients

To get authentic horchata flavors, you'll need to use freshly ground cinnamon and horchata of course. You can buy horchata, I used the brand Rice Dream, but you can also step it up and make your own! Take a look at this authentic dairy-free horchata recipe.

on a brown counter, an overhead shot of the ingredients for the buttercream: powdered sugar, salted butter, Mexican vanilla and horchata emulsion.

Gluten-free all-purpose flour (please click through for my recommendations, as not all blends are created equal)
Corn starch
Baking powder
Baking soda
Salt
Buttermilk powder
Butter
Canola oil (using oil AND butter gives a great texture and keeps cupcakes moist)
Horchata
Sugar
Eggs
Vanilla extract
Powdered sugar
Horchata emulsion (optional but recommended to make a shelf-stable buttercream - not an affiliate link, just showing what I use for my bakery)
Cinnamon (I like Saigon cinnamon)

See recipe card for quantities.

Instructions

Making the batter

The first step in making this unique cupcake flavor is to mix all the dry ingredients in a bowl. I recommend sifting, which is a step you can do even a day ahead of time. It aerates the dry ingredients and prevents clumps. Set aside.

a plastic bowl with dry ingredients. There are varying shades of white, beige and browns.

a hand cranked sifter full of dry ingredients, above a bowl. A hand is on the handle.

Next, mix the horchata with the vanilla extract and optional horchata emulsion. Add the oil, butter and sugar to a bowl, and cream. You can use an electric mixer or mix by hand, as shown below. Add the egg and egg white, fully cream. Next, alternate between adding dry and wet ingredients.

a metal bowl with butter, sugar, oil, and a hand mixer resting on the side.

a homogeneous mixture of butter and sugar on the hand mixer, with eggs added on the side.

Hint: If you are using an electric mixer for your gluten-free horchata cupcake batter, don't be tempted to overmix! Overmixing is a much bigger problem in gluten-containing batter, but it can still affect the gums in gluten-free batter, which leads to a goopy bake.

Baking the cupcakes

Preheat the oven to 325 F. The batter can rest while the oven preheats. Line a muffin tray with cupcake liners, and when the oven is preheated, scoop the batter evenly. Bake for ~15-17 minutes, until the top of the cupcake bounces back when a finger is pressed, without leaving an indentation.

an overhead shot of a muffin pan with gluten-free Cinco de Mayo horchata cupcake batter in 10 of the 12 holes.

a side shot that shows the liner is about ⅔ to ¾ full of batter

Making the frosting

For the horchata buttercream, please review my buttercream post which contains an instructional video showing the correct texture. You simply cream the butter in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment for 5 minutes, adding hot water for consistency if needed. Add flavoring, sifted powdered sugar, and mix 5-10 minutes to get rid of air bubbles. I added a little cinnamon in the horchata buttercream as well, yum!

When ready to frost, transfer the buttercream in a piping bag. I used a 1G tip, but you can certainly use your favorite piping tip. With this horchata buttercream, you can also make gluten-free carrot cake cupcakes!

Substitutions

The allergens for this recipe are: milk, eggs. I would not try replacing the eggs here. If you're looking for an egg-free recipe, check out my vegan strawberry cupcakes. If you'd like to make this recipe dairy-free, here are my recommendations.

Dairy-free alternative

Buttermilk powder: omit (or if you have it on hand, replace with 6 grams of coconut milk powder)
Butter: replace with a high saturated fat vegan butter, preferably coconut based
Horchata: check ingredients, but traditional horchata should be naturally dairy-free

a gluten-free Cinco de Mayo horchata cupcake on a cooling rack. It's cut in half, revealing an airy crumb and cinnamon speckled in the buttercream.

Equipment

To make these yummy Cinco de Mayo cupcakes, you'll need basic kitchen staples:

Muffin tray
Bowl & mixer (electric or hand mixer)
Piping bag & nozzle (I used a 1G)

Storage

You can store these Cinco de Mayo treats at room temperature. If it's hot outside, definitely keep them in the shade or inside, as buttercream does melt around 90 F. Refrigerating them will dry them out, so I would not recommend.

They are shelf stable on the counter for up to 3 days. Beyond that, you should freeze them. To freeze decorated cupcakes, place them in the freezer for 10-15 minutes uncovered, so that the frosting hardens. Then, wrap in plastic and store in an airtight container in the freezer for up to a month. Thaw to room temperature when ready to enjoy.

Top tip

If you want to make them ahead of time, you can bake the gluten-free horchata cupcakes, cool them completely, wrap in plastic and store in the freezer in an airtight container, for up to a month before decorating.

FAQ

What is horchata made of?

Horchata is a refreshing Mexican drink and is made out of rice, vanilla and cinnamon. It's naturally dairy and gluten-free, though when we live with allergies, we should always check the label! This is the horchata I typically use at my bakery (non-affiliate link).

Is horchata healthy?

Horchata certainly is delicious and friendly to those of us with allergies. However, keep in mind a serving of horchata contains a little over 20 grams of sugar, versus 12 grams of sugar in whole milk. Like everything else, think moderation, but you can definitely splurge a little for a Cinco de Mayo treat!

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