Gluten Free Shamrock Shake Cupcakes | For St. Patrick’s Day

5 from 4 votes

Prep Time : 25 minutes minutes

Cook Time : 19 minutes minutes

These gluten free shamrock shake cupcakes have all the minty, green, fresh flavor of shamrock shakes, in a neat little cupcake. Make the light, creamy mascarpone frosting with or without food coloring, and celebrate St. Patrick's Day in style!

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Celebrate St. Patrick's Day with this fun and delicious gluten free shamrock shake cupcake that has all the flavors of the drink we wait for all year long!

What makes this recipe for gluten free shamrock shake cupcakes special

When I'm not sure how to celebrate a holiday, I fall back on gluten-free cupcakes. And since my children insist upon celebrating every single solitary holiday, no matter what (they're in it for the food), when all else fails I come up with a celebratory cupcake.

Enter … gluten-free Shamrock Shake Cupcakes for St. Patrick's Day. I had no choice.

Can you blame them? Every time I look at this overhead shot, I wanna take out a straw and drink it like a McDonald's Shamrock Shake.

Take that, McDonald's.

How to make gluten free mint-flavored cupcakes

The cupcakes are naturally mint-flavored by baking them with mint sugar. You make mint sugar easily by taking granulated sugar and pulsing it in a food processor with some fresh mint leaves.

Then bake the cupcakes. See the flecks of mint? I also added some peppermint oil to the batter, to boost the mint flavor. But use that sparingly. It's strong stuff. You could also leave it out altogether.

How to make this whipped cream frosting for your gf shamrock shake cupcakes

Okay, let's talk Whipped Cream Frosting. You can make fresh whipped cream and pipe it on there like frosting, but within a couple hours, it'll begin to separate.

You need something to stabilize the frosting. We could use gelatin, but I wanted something to make it a bit sturdier.

We made it into a heavier whipped cream frosting by adding mascarpone, an Italian cream cheese. You could also use an equal amount standard cream cheese, but the frosting will have more of a tangy flavor with cream cheese.

Gluten free shamrock shake cupcakes: Ingredients and substitutions

Gluten free dairy free shamrock shake cupcakes

There are many forms of dairy in this recipe. The cupcakes have butter and milk, and the frosting has mascarpone cheese and heavy whipping cream.

You can try using Melt brand or Miyoko's Kitchen brand vegan butter in place of the butter, and unsweetened non-dairy milk in place of the cow's milk.

The frosting recipe is trickier. Rather than a whipped cream frosting, I'd try making a dairy free buttermilk recipe instead using non-hydrogenated vegetable shortening in place of butter. Just add peppermint oil and some green food coloring.

Gluten free egg free shamrock shake cupcakes

There is one whole egg and one egg white in this recipe. In their place you could try using 1 1/2 “chia eggs” (1 1/2 tablespoons ground white chia seeds + 1 1/2 tablespoons lukewarm water, mixed and allowed to gel), but I'm not sure how well it would work!

How to make gluten free shamrock shake cupcakes

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Gluten Free Shamrock Shake Cupcakes | For St. Patrick's Day

These gluten free shamrock shake cupcakes have all the minty, green, fresh flavor of shamrock shakes, in a neat little cupcake. Make the light, creamy mascarpone frosting with or without food coloring, and celebrate St. Patrick's Day in style!

Course: Cupcakes, Dessert

Cuisine: Irish

Prep Time: 25 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 19 minutes minutes

Yield: 12 cupcakes

Author: Nicole Hunn

Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark

Equipment

• Mixer with whisk attachment

Ingredients

For the cupcakes

• 1 ½ cups (210 g) all purpose gluten free flour blend (I used Better Batter; click through for details)
• ¾ teaspoon xanthan gum omit if your blend already contains it
• ½ teaspoon baking powder
• ¼ teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 cup (200 g) 200 g granulated sugar
• 25 fresh mint leaves
• 8 tablespoons (112 g) unsalted butter at room temperature
• ⅔ cup (5 ⅓ fluid ounces) milk at room temperature
• ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• ½ teaspoon pure peppermint extract or 1/4 teaspoon peppermint oil
• 1 (50 g (weighed out of shell)) egg at room temperature, beaten
• 1 (25 g) egg white at room temperature

For the frosting

• 8 ounces mascarpone cheese at room temperature (or cream cheese)
• 2 tablespoons (24 g) non-hydrogenated vegetable shortening (I prefer Spectrum brand; you can also use virgin coconut oil)
• 1 cup (115 g) confectioners’ sugar
• ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• ½ teaspoon pure peppermint extract or 1/4 teaspoon peppermint oil
• 2 cups (16 fluid ounces) heavy whipping cream chilled
• 2 drops leaf green food coloring gel paste optional
• Green gluten free sprinkles optional

Instructions

• Preheat your oven to 325°F. Line or grease a standard 12-cup muffin tin and set it aside.

Make the cupcake batter.

• In a large bowl, place the flour, xanthan gum, baking powder, baking soda and salt, whisk to combine well and set the bowl aside.
• In a blender or the bowl of a food processor fitted with the metal blade or, place the granulated sugar and 20 mint leaves. Pulse or blend until the mint leaves are ground fine. The sugar will be a pale green color.
• Add the mint sugar to the bowl of dry ingredients, and whisk to combine well.
• Create a well in the center of the dry ingredients and add the butter, milk, vanilla, peppermint extract or oil and eggs, and beat until well-combined and smooth. Mince the remaining 5 mint leaves, and fold them into the batter.

Bake the cupcakes.

• Fill the prepared muffin cups about halfway full, and shake into an even layer in each well.
• Place the tin in the center of the preheated oven and bake until very pale golden and a toothpick inserted in the center of the middle muffin comes out clean, about 19 minutes.
• Remove the cupcakes from the oven and allow to cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Make the frosting.

• Place the mascarpone cheese and shortening in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat on high speed until the mixture is light and fluffy. Add the confectioner’s sugar, vanilla and peppermint, and mix to combine.
• Switch out the paddle attachment for the wire whisk. Add the chilled heavy cream to the bowl, and mix on high speed until the cream thickens and holds a relatively soft peak (stiffer than a very soft peak that falls over on itself, but softer than a stiff peak that stands straight up).
• Toward the very end, add the optional food coloring.

Frost the cupcakes.

• Transfer frosting to a pastry bag fitted with a large tip, and pipe a generous amount of frosting on top of each cooled cupcake. Sprinkle with the optional green sprinkles.
• The whipped cream frosting is stable enough to sit at room temperature for about a day without wilting or separating. For a slightly firmer frosting, refrigerate the cupcakes after frosting and serve chilled.

Print Pin SaveSaved!

Gluten Free Shamrock Shake Cupcakes | For St. Patrick's Day

These gluten free shamrock shake cupcakes have all the minty, green, fresh flavor of shamrock shakes, in a neat little cupcake. Make the light, creamy mascarpone frosting with or without food coloring, and celebrate St. Patrick's Day in style!

Course: Cupcakes, Dessert

Cuisine: Irish

Prep Time: 25 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 19 minutes minutes

Yield: 12 cupcakes

Author: Nicole Hunn

Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark

Equipment

• Mixer with whisk attachment

Ingredients

For the cupcakes

• 1 ½ cups (210 g) all purpose gluten free flour blend (I used Better Batter; click through for details)
• ¾ teaspoon xanthan gum omit if your blend already contains it
• ½ teaspoon baking powder
• ¼ teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 cup (200 g) 200 g granulated sugar
• 25 fresh mint leaves
• 8 tablespoons (112 g) unsalted butter at room temperature
• ⅔ cup (5 ⅓ fluid ounces) milk at room temperature
• ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• ½ teaspoon pure peppermint extract or 1/4 teaspoon peppermint oil
• 1 (50 g (weighed out of shell)) egg at room temperature, beaten
• 1 (25 g) egg white at room temperature

For the frosting

• 8 ounces mascarpone cheese at room temperature (or cream cheese)
• 2 tablespoons (24 g) non-hydrogenated vegetable shortening (I prefer Spectrum brand; you can also use virgin coconut oil)
• 1 cup (115 g) confectioners’ sugar
• ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• ½ teaspoon pure peppermint extract or 1/4 teaspoon peppermint oil
• 2 cups (16 fluid ounces) heavy whipping cream chilled
• 2 drops leaf green food coloring gel paste optional
• Green gluten free sprinkles optional

Instructions

• Preheat your oven to 325°F. Line or grease a standard 12-cup muffin tin and set it aside.

Make the cupcake batter.

• In a large bowl, place the flour, xanthan gum, baking powder, baking soda and salt, whisk to combine well and set the bowl aside.
• In a blender or the bowl of a food processor fitted with the metal blade or, place the granulated sugar and 20 mint leaves. Pulse or blend until the mint leaves are ground fine. The sugar will be a pale green color.
• Add the mint sugar to the bowl of dry ingredients, and whisk to combine well.
• Create a well in the center of the dry ingredients and add the butter, milk, vanilla, peppermint extract or oil and eggs, and beat until well-combined and smooth. Mince the remaining 5 mint leaves, and fold them into the batter.

Bake the cupcakes.

• Fill the prepared muffin cups about halfway full, and shake into an even layer in each well.
• Place the tin in the center of the preheated oven and bake until very pale golden and a toothpick inserted in the center of the middle muffin comes out clean, about 19 minutes.
• Remove the cupcakes from the oven and allow to cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Make the frosting.

• Place the mascarpone cheese and shortening in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat on high speed until the mixture is light and fluffy. Add the confectioner’s sugar, vanilla and peppermint, and mix to combine.
• Switch out the paddle attachment for the wire whisk. Add the chilled heavy cream to the bowl, and mix on high speed until the cream thickens and holds a relatively soft peak (stiffer than a very soft peak that falls over on itself, but softer than a stiff peak that stands straight up).
• Toward the very end, add the optional food coloring.

Frost the cupcakes.

• Transfer frosting to a pastry bag fitted with a large tip, and pipe a generous amount of frosting on top of each cooled cupcake. Sprinkle with the optional green sprinkles.
• The whipped cream frosting is stable enough to sit at room temperature for about a day without wilting or separating. For a slightly firmer frosting, refrigerate the cupcakes after frosting and serve chilled.

Thanks for stopping by!

Hi, I’m Nicole. I create gluten free recipes that really work and taste as good as you remember. No more making separate meals when someone is GF, or buying packaged foods that aren’t good enough to justify the price. At Gluten Free on a Shoestring, “good, for gluten free” just isn’t good enough! Come visit my bio!

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