My best friend had a bridal shower and the color of the hour was purple. We wanted to keep things as natural (and healthy) as possible, have as many paleo options as we could, and people enjoy the food without really thinking about it. We modified my Vanilla Coconut Flour cupcake recipe and came up with these amazing blueberry-lemon cupcakes. Everyone loved them and couldn’t tell they were healthy. Total win!
Ok, getting off my soap box. These turned out fantastic. I chose to make them with coconut flour because many people are allergic to nuts and we didn’t want to risk someone getting really sick or having an aanaphylactic reaction. Coconut flour is a great option for baking for several reasons.
- I love that a little goes a long way.
- It’s more affordable than nut flours.
- It’s full of fiber so it actually prevents overeating because you get full.
- It still has the wonderful fat that we love coconut for.
- It is a significant source of protein, just not gluten proteins.
It does require more liquid than traditional flours so a liquid sweetener is a good match. In this recipe I used honey. Honey is my sweetener of choice 90% of the time and here’s why:
- It’s a “functional food”
- Contains antioxidants
- Enzymes
- Ninerals including iron, calcium, magnesium and selenium.
- And vitamins including B6, thiamin, riboflavin and niacin.
- Has a healthy glycemic load (but will raise blood sugar if you consume too much.)
Eggs are a great binder, source of protein and fats. I love eggs so much. They are:
- the perfect food
- low calorie
- high in wonderful fats and cholesterol
- high in bio-available protein
- 1 egg contains 34% of RDA of choline
- contain vitamin A, folate, B vitamins, selenium, D, E, K, Calcium and zinc
- pasture raised eggs are a significant source of omega 3 fatty acids without inflammatory added oils the the chickens that lay “omega 3 enriched” eggs you get from the store.
Then the combination of blueberries and lemon made a flavorful and sweet cupcake that were defintely enjoyed.
Frosting is a bit of a challenge. Confectioners sugar is usually laced with maltodextrin which is a corn derivative. I’m allergic to corn and am also not a big fan of consuming grains where they shouldn’t. This being a challenge I decided to try using raw honey with butter. It was delicious and the texture was perfect! I’m so excited! I have a bit of a love affair with butter. Grass fed butter is pretty much a superfood in my opinion. Seriously! Butter from pastured, grass-fed cows:
- contains antioxidants
- has one of the most bio-available forms of vitamin A
- contains vitamins D, E, and K2
- boosts brain health
- great source of cholesterol
- prevents tooth decay
- eases stiffness in all areas of the body
- so much more
Not only all that, butter and honey together tastes absolutely divine.
This recipe was a huge hit at the party and it makes me even more anxious to share the recipe with you!
Enjoy!
Sources:
http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=92 http://draxe.com/the-many-health-benefits-of-raw-honey/ http://www.hungryforchange.tv/article/5-health-benefits-of-baking-with-coconut-flour
Gluten Free Blueberry-Lemon Coconut Flour Mini Cupcakes
Ingredients
- Cupcakes
- 1/2 cup coconut flour
- 1/2 tsp aluminum free, grain free baking powder
- 1/4 tsp sea salt
- 6 large eggs
- 1/2 cup coconut oil or grass-fed butter or ghee softened
- 1/3 cup honey or maple syrup
- 2 tsp gluten free vanilla extract
- juice from one lemon
- 1 cup frozen blueberries
- zest from one lemon
- Frosting
- 1/2 cup butter or cold pressed palm shortening
- 1/3 cup raw honey the solid stuff
- 1 tsp gluten free vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- In a medium sized bowl, add in dry ingredients and mix well.
- Add in liquid ingredients, except blueberries, and mix with either a standing or hand mixer until well blended and there are not any lumps.
- (We added in the blueberries with everything else to make them purple. You don't have to do this.)
- Gently fold in blueberries.
- Fill cupcake liners 3/4 of the way and bake for 18-20 minutes. Until you can stick a toothpick in and it comes out clean.
- Cupcakes need to cool completely before frosting.
- To make frosting, add in room temperature butter or palm shortening, honey and vanilla to a medium sized bowl.
- Using a hand mixer, mix until thickened.
- Refrigerate until ready to use.
