GF Chocolate Oreo Cupcakes

Rich and moist gluten free chocolate cupcakes topped with silky smooth and fluffy GF Oreo Swiss Meringue Buttercream.

Man, do I love Oreos. And the thought of being gluten free and not being able to eat Oreos was just tragic. So, now that we have gluten free Oreos, I figured I better hop to developing some recipes with them so that we can share the Oreo love with our gluten free friends.

Now, I personally am not gluten free. Although, I probably should be. But, that’s a story for another day. However, I think having a few awesome gluten free options in your recipe arsenal is pretty much essential these days. And let me tell you these chocolate cupcakes are perfection. You’d never know they’re gluten free if I didn’t tell you. They so rich and chocolatey, soft and moist, and have that perfectly domed top we love to see in a cupcake.

You could top these chocolate cupcakes with any frosting you like, but this Oreo Swiss Meringue Buttercream (SMBC) is a dream. If you’ve never tried SMBC, it’s made with an egg white meringue and granulated sugar rather than the powdered sugar you’ll find in American buttercream. The egg whites give this type of frosting the silkiest texture and cloud-like fluff factor. It’s amazing. Don’t be intimidated by it, it’s a lot easier than you might think.

How to Make GF Chocolate Oreo Cupcakes

Make the GF Chocolate Cupcakes

Preheat the oven to 350 and line 2 cupcake pans with 18 total liners.

In the bowl of your stand mixer with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugars for 3 minutes, until lightened in color and fluffy. Add the egg and vanilla and mix to combine. In a separate bowl, whisk together the GF flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt.

Add 1/3 of the dry ingredients to the mixer and mix on low, slowly pour in 1/2 of the buttermilk. Repeat so that you start and end by adding the dry ingredients. Do a final mix with a rubber spatula to make sure everything at the bottom of the bowl is well incorporated.

Use a large ice cream scoop with a trigger to portion the cupcake batter into the liners. You can also spoon it in or use a 1/3 C measuring cup. Just make sure the liners are 2/3 of the way full. Bake at 350 for 18-20 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out mostly clean with a few moist crumbs attached. Let cool completely.

Make the GF Oreo Swiss Meringue Buttercream

Place the bowl of a stand mixer over a saucepan filled with a couple inches of water. Just make sure that the bottom of the mixer bowl isn’t touching the water. Add the egg whites and sugar to the mixer bowl. Heat over medium while whisking until the mixture reaches 165 degrees and the sugar has dissolved. You can use a candy thermometer to test it, but that’s not necessary. You can instead just rub a little of the egg white mixture between your fingers. If it’s grainy at all, it’s not ready. If it’s completely smooth, you’re good to go.

Once the sugar is dissolved, remove the mixer bowl from the heat and place it on the stand mixer with the whisk attachment. Whisk on medium high until stiff peaks form and it cools to room temperature. It should take about 8-10 minutes. While that’s going, slice the softened butter into TBSP size chunks – doesn’t need to be perfect. Also, separate the Oreos. Save the cream centers in a small bowl, and crush the cookies in your food processor or blender. You can crush them by hand as well, just make sure they’re super crushed and small, or you’ll have trouble with the cookies clogging up your piping bag.

Once the egg whites have formed medium stiff peaks, switch to the paddle attachment and add the vanilla, pinch of salt, and the Oreo cream centers, then mix to combine. Then, with the mixer on low, start adding the butter 1 TBSP at a time, waiting until it’s incorporated before adding another. Once all the butter is incorporated, continue mixing until the buttercream thickens and is silky smooth. If it starts to look curdled, don’t panic! Just continue mixing and it will come together. If it seems soupy – it might have been too warm when you added the butter, but again don’t panic! Just pop it in the fridge for 15-20 minutes, then whip it again. When the buttercream is thick and silky, use a rubber spatula to stir in the crushed Oreos.

Decorate & Serve

Fit a large piping bag with your favorite piping tip – I used Wilton 8B here – and fill the bag with the Oreo SMBC. Pipe buttercream swirls onto each cupcake by starting in the middle of the cupcake, then lifting up and making a circle around the edges. Do a quick flick of your wrist at the end to get that point at the end. Sprinkle with extra crushed Oreos. These GF Chocolate Cupcakes will keep up to 2 days on the counter, or up to a week in the fridge.

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If you loved this recipe, make sure to check out these other Gluten Free options – GF Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars & Triple Chocolate Macarons