Strawberry Cupcakes with Simple Chocolate Frosting

If you've already looked at the ingredients, you may be wondering about the almond milk. In my pre-gluten intolerant bake-a-holic days, I found that whenever a boxed cake mix called for water, using almond milk in its place gave the cake an incredible texture! This is my first time trying this in a gluten free cake recipe and it worked out great.

One of my friends gave me the idea for this recipe. She said I should make some sort of cake with coconut, strawberries, and chocolate. It just so happened that I was going to visit her for her birthday so I knew I had to make these for her!

I had so much fun with her over the weekend. I got to do all sorts of girly girl stuff that I love but almost never do. Like doing our nails and going shopping for tons of clothes that I won't be able to fit in my closet (ok, it wasn't that bad but I could have lived without all the clothes). We watched Sinister which is definitely one of my favorite scary movies. Anything I enjoy a lot, I always say it's my favorite but I really mean it this time...I think. We had cupcakes for breakfast (or at least I did) and made my pineapple sauce on chicken breast for dinner one night.

So I think I mentioned this in my last post but I always try to take my own food with me when I travel. Whatever I eat on the trip will make or break the next month and a half or so of my life (yes, I get sick for that long just from cross contamination of gluten and it sucks). So if I'm traveling and trying to enjoy myself, the last thing I need is to accidentally get glutened. I know some other people do this too, many whose reactions are much worse than mine so I figured I would list some of the meals and snacks I took with me that easily survived a 3 ½ hour car ride in my cooler. Just in case anybody needs some ideas.

• Meals: Tuna salad, pumpkin curry tilapia, and apples with sunbutter (for breakfast). Canned vegetables for sides.
• Snacks: Dark chocolate, kale chips, and beef jerky.
• Non-edibles: Cooler with ice packs, paper plates, utensils, clean dish sponge, dish soap, can opener, apple slicer/corer, lunch bag (in case I'm going to be out and about for a while), one food storage container for storing leftovers, and a cutting board.

Criticize me all you want for the ridiculous non-edibles list but it made me feel more comfortable and that's what matters. Being constantly worried or afraid of food while on vacation defeats the purpose! I'm going to enjoy myself and relax during my time off, even if that means a little extra prep-work.

Strawberry Cupcakes with Simple Chocolate Frosting

• Prep Time: 15 mins
• Cook Time: 30 mins
• Total Time: 45 mins
• Yield: 12 cupcakes 1x

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Description

Ultra soft paleo strawberry cupcakes made from almond and coconut flours topped with a simple chocolate coconut butter frosting.

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Ingredients

• ¾ C coconut butter
• ⅓ C mini chocolate chips (I used Enjoy Life brand)
• 1 C almond flour
• ½ C coconut flour
• 4 eggs
• ⅓ C coconut oil, melted
• ⅓ C honey
• ⅔ C unsweetened almond milk
• 6 whole strawberries
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• ½ tsp baking soda
• ½ tsp baking powder
• pinch of salt

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Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Using a stand mixer or hand mixer, combine eggs, melted coconut oil, honey, almond milk, and vanilla.
3. In a separate bowl, sift together almond flour, coconut flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
4. Slowly add your dry ingredient mixture to the wet ingredient mixture while mixing on a low setting. Continue to mix until well-combined. It will be thick!
5. Remove strawberry tops and roughly dice your strawberries. Mix these into the cake batter by hand.
6. Line a cupcake pan with 12 paper baking cups. Evenly distribute the mixture between these cups and gently level the tops with your finger so they are flat. Bake about 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean then allow to cool completely.
7. When the cupcakes are cool, make your frosting. In a microwave safe container, microwave chocolate chips on high, stirring every 20-30 seconds. Once they are completely melted, stir in your coconut butter until everything is smooth and well combined. If your coconut butter isn’t already soft from measuring it out, you may need to microwave it a little bit to make mixing easier.
8. Spoon the frosting onto the top of the cupcakes (I leveled my cupcakes for an even-coating).

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Notes

This frosting will be solid but soft at room temperature but these cupcakes will keep longer if stored in the fridge. I recommend pulling them out of the fridge and bringing to room temperature when you are ready to eat them. Although, I kind of liked the frosting better chilled. It’s up to you!