Titles are tough. I always have the hardest time coming up with a blog post title. I always wonder how to possibly include all of what I want to say in a little title without making it pretty much the length of a full sentence.
The struggle is real people. It’s real.
So today, I’m keeping it simple, and this recipe, it’s pretty simple too!
I decided to make a batch of cupcakes a while ago when I was looking through my many desserts and realized that I barely have any cupcakes at all on the blog! There’s these, and an array of muffins, but otherwise, that’s all! How ridiculous is that?!
I bolted to the kitchen (ok, maybe it wasn’t that urgent) and peered through the pantry at my baking goodies. The coconut flour stood out to me as I love the fluffy texture that coconut flour provides in baking and it’s super absorbent so a little goes a long way!
I’m usually a sucker for chocolate – oh yes, I loooove chocolate, and truly if I had to choose between chocolate and vanilla, it would be hands down chocolate. BUT, that particular day I was craving light, fluffy, subtle vanilla flavour so I decided to go with the latter!
I had also recently picked up a bag of these delicious organic Black Mission Figs from Made by Nature and knew they would make a beautiful, simple, little garnish for my pretty vanilla cupcakes!
These cupcakes are sweetened solely with raw honey. No refined sugars and nothing artificial either!
*Rant alert*: One particular thing that peeves me about the food industry is the idea that products touted “sugar-free” yet still laden with artificial, lab made sweeteners are a “heathy” choice. Acesulfame potassium, aspartame, saccahrin, sucralose, sorbitol, xylitol, and mannitol (to name a few…) are lab made chemical sweeteners that although they may be “calorie free” they really do nothing good for the body and have actually been shown to increase fat storage and weight gain. Therefore, it is a much better idea to consume natural, unprocessed sweeteners such as raw honey, pure maple syrup, or coconut palm sugar (in moderation) and just accept the calories that come along with!
This is why I chose to go with raw honey as my sweetener of choice for these delicious little cupcakes! Raw honey contains antioxidants, minerals, and releases slower than refined sugar into the bloodstream!
Also, the sugars from the honey when combined the with healthy fats and ample fibre from the coconut flour, release even slower, making these cupcakes pretty friendly to the body’s blood sugar levels! I sure don’t know many regular store-bought cupcakes out there that could say the same!
I should mention that I do use stevia on occasion which is a great natural calorie-free sweetener as long as it is non-GMO and has minimal fillers and additives.
Back to the baking! I put together the batter for these cupcakes and as they were baking away I decided to whip up some simple coconut icing using full fat coconut milk, coconut palm sugar (another little slow-releasing delight) and the key ingredient, vanilla.
I also added a teaspoon of blueberry juice from frozen blueberries to give the icing a pastel hue (totally optional). I let the “icing” firm up in the fridge so it was in good shape to be “piped” (using a ziploc bag with a corner cut off… yes, that’s what us non-bakers do – we improvise!) and waited patiently for my cupcakes to emerge from the oven!
Now, a word to the wise, as hard as it may be, wait wait wait until those cupcakes cool to pull them out of the pan and ice them, because if you get a little to eager… they will crumble and break, and then you’ll be left with cupcake bits to either gobble up or use in another clever way… (hint, hint…this is foreshadowing for an upcoming post).
When my cupcakes were finally finished, iced, and chilled, I snapped my photos then took a glorious bite. Ah, simple, healthy, cupcake perfection!
Whoever invented cupcakes…genius I tell you, true genius!
- For the cupcakes:
- ¾ cup coconut flour
- 6 large eggs
- ¾ cup raw honey
- ½ cup melted coconut oil
- 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
- ¾ tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp salt
- For the icing:
- 1 can coconut milk (full fat) refrigerated overnight, scoop out coconut cream
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 2 heaping tablespoons pure coconut palm sugar or cane sugar
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Using a muffin pan, line each cup with a cupcake liner and spray generously with olive oil cooking spray or if not using cupcake liners grease very well with melted coconut oil.
- In a bowl add the dry cupcake ingredients and mix to combine. In another small bowl whisk together the wet cupcake ingredients and add to the dry. Mix until completely smooth.
- Pour the batter equally among the greased cups and bake in the oven for 16-18 minutes.
- Allow the cupcakes to cook completely before removing from tin or removing from liners.
- While the cupcakes are baking add the coconut cream to a large bowl with the vanilla and sugar. Use an electric beater and whip until frothy. Place in the fridge to chill.
- Wait until the cupcakes are completely cooled and then pipe the coconut cream on each cupcake.
- Place cupcakes back in the fridge for 3-4 hours to chill and the icing will firm up.
- Top each cupcake with a halved fig slice, sprinkles, or other garnish of choice.
*Recipe adapted from The Unrefined Kitchen
Have a lovely rest of your Thursday and a fantastic Easter! I’ll be relaxing this weekend, making some goodness in the Kitch, and of course spending some quality time with the family as we celebrate Easter and give Him all the Glory!!
Christal
Nutritionist in the Kitch
The figs were a genius idea.
Aw thanks Cassie!
It is difficult to bake with coconut flour I find, but if you get the balance out, it comes out deliciously!
I don’t mind using sweeteners such as sukralose and xylitol, but I do try and avoid eating/drinking anything that has aspartame and acesulfame K in it. I don’t mind me some honey, or maple or agave syrup as well though 😀 Yummy! And I love the decorations on these little bad boys, thanks for the recipe Christal 🙂 xx
Hey Julie! Very true about the coconut flour, but I’m getting more comfortable with it now – I just have to be patient! Have a great Easter!