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Fresh Strawberry Cupcakes – these vegan cupcakes are super moist, soft and delicious! Top them with Dairy Free Strawberry Coconut Frosting for an indulgent, yet healthy, treat!
Just in time for Mother’s Day, I’ve got a sweet treat to share with you. I would love it if someone did a little baking for me. Even better if it’s healthy, yet still super delicious! Super moist, soft and fluffy, trust me, these Fresh Strawberry Cupcakes with Dairy Free Strawberry Coconut Frosting are just the ticket to a happy joyful day!
This is the first cupcake recipe I’ve posted on my blog. I have tried my hand at making them before, but healthy cupcakes are hard to do without them turning out more like muffins. As much as I love muffins, they can be a little dense. I really wanted a cupcake recipe that was super fluffy and moist. Something that definitely presented itself as a sweet treat!
My husband loves cake with fresh strawberry filling. It’s the kind of cake he always had at birthday parties growing up and we have continued that tradition with our children as well. I really wanted to make this recipe into something so delicious that even my hubby would be impressed. And cupcakes are cuter than cake and easier to serve, so that’s what I went with. I’m happy to report that he LOVED these strawberry cupcakes! In fact, he inhaled two as soon as he saw them!
There are fresh strawberries in the cupcake batter making them super moist and soft. I experimented with this recipe quite a bit (as I do with all my baking). I ended up using a blend of spelt flour and all purpose flour for that perfectly soft center. I tried all spelt flour, and while still delicious, it wasn’t quite the perfect texture. I also tried using coconut butter in the batter instead of coconut oil, but again, it just wasn’t quite as soft as what I was looking for. So, both of those are good options if you want to make it even healthier, but just know that they won’t be quite as fluffy, soft and moist.
A little note about spelt flour: it is not gluten free, but it is more easily digested than other forms of wheat. It is also high in fiber and iron.
And check out that beautiful red speckled frosting. It’s made from sweetened coconut butter and is TO DIE FOR! I may have eaten the frosting with a spoon once or twice! 🙂
Doesn’t the center of that cupcake look so fluffy and soft? Yum! You will LOVE these, I promise!
Fresh Strawberry Cupcakes
I hope you love these Fresh Strawberry Cupcakes as much as we do. If you try them, please come back and leave me a comment below with your feedback. You can also find me on social media. Be sure to tag @veggie_inspired and #veggieinspired so I’m sure to see it. Enjoy!
Fresh Strawberry Cupcakes with Dairy Free Strawberry Coconut Frosting
Ingredients
Fresh Strawberry Cupcakes
- 1 cup spelt flour
- 1 cup all purpose flour (or more spelt flour)
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ¼ tsp salt
- ¾ cup full fat coconut milk
- â…” cup pure maple syrup
- 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 1 tbsp vanilla
- ½ cup coconut oil (melted)
- 1 cup fresh diced strawberries
Strawberry Coconut Frosting
- ½ cup coconut butter (not coconut oil)
- ¼ cup organic powdered sugar
- ½ cup fresh diced strawberries (diced very small so they fit through the piping bag)
- ¼ cup full fat coconut milk
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Line a cupcake pan with cupcake liners (or spray with a bit of oil).
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flours, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the coconut milk, maple syrup, coconut oil, vinegar and vanilla.
- Pour the dry into the wet while whisking until thoroughly combined.
- Add the diced strawberries and stir to evenly distribute the strawberries throughout the batter.
- Spoon the batter into the cupcake pan, filling them up almost to the top.
- Bake for 25-28 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Let cool on a wire rack while you make the frosting.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the coconut butter, powdered sugar, and coconut milk. If your coconut butter is very hard, you might have to soften for a few seconds in the microwave first. Usually by adding the other ingredients it will naturally soften while you whisk.
- Add the strawberries to the frosting and stir to combine.
- If your frosting is till too thick, add more coconut milk a tsp at a time, stirring after each addition, until desired consistency.
- Once the cupcakes are cool, using a piping bag or a plastic baggie with one corner snipped off, pipe the frosting onto the cooled cupcakes. Alternately, just slather it on with an offset spatula.
- Devour!
Nutrition
Nutrition values are calculated using online calculators and are estimates only. Please verify using your own data.
More Strawberry Recipes to Love:
Chocolate Covered Strawberry Smoothie Bowl
Strawberry Banana Baked Oatmeal Bites
Brown Rice Crispy Treats w/ Strawberries
Lindsay says
I want to make these for my daughter’s Bday at school –she has food allergies (dairy & gluten). I will need to use a GF flour blend. And the teachers at her school ask for the cupcakes to be “mini”. What should the bake time be for mini cupcakes? Also will purée strawberries work? Some kids have texture issues and I thought the chunks in the icing may not work well for them. Thanks in advance!
Jenn S. says
Hi, Lindsay! I have never tried making them with gluten free flour, so just make sure you use one that you are used to working with and that is basically a 1:1 sub for all-purpose flour. Hopefully, you have one that you like already. I’m not certain how long mini cupcakes would take, but I would suggest to start checking them with a toothpick at 9-10 minutes and continue baking as needed. As for the frosting, you can definitely use puréed strawberries. Since they will add liquid, you can leave out the coconut milk and just add the strawberry purée instead…though I think you will need less than 1/4 cup as it will be “runnier” than coconut milk. Start with a tbsp and add more as needed to reach frosting consistency. Good luck. Let me know how they turn out and Happy Birthday to your little one!
Alisa Fleming says
These are stunning Jenn! Real strawberries are the only way to go with cupcakes AND frosting.
Jenn S. says
Absolutely! Thank you, Alisa!
Jessica - Nutritioulicious says
I can never get enough strawberry recipes this time of year! Love having fresh berries to put to use in new recipes!
Jenn S. says
Us too – especially fresh picked berries!
Sarah says
This look so yummy! I have a bunch of strawberries and some homemade coconut butter I want to use up, sounds like perfect timing to me. Hope I can find time this weekend to whip some up.
Jenn S. says
Definitely perfect timing! Let me know if you try them!