Vegan Strawberry Cupcakes with Coconut Cream
It’s still strawberry season and you have to make these cupcakes while strawberries are still good! These are so easy and it only takes ONE bowl to make. They are vegan, perfectly sweet, refreshing, and I just love the strawberry flavor in these cupcakes! Also, I could eat the coconut whipped cream frosting by the spoonful. I usually hate any type of frostings and whipped creams, but for some reason, coconut cream is so dang good! You can put it on anything and it pairs very well with fruit. It doesn’t make you feel heavy and sugared out too. For more of a pink color in the cakes, you could add a little bit of cooked beets or strawberry preserves in the batter too. You could make this into a layer cake and double the recipe and add strawberry preserves in between the layers as well. This cake is so versatile, so it’s great to have on hand, plus it’s delicious! One recipe makes about 12 cupcakes or one 8 inch cake pan. I got this recipe from Vegan Richa and just made a few tweeks. I love her blog, go check it out!
Vegan Strawberry Cupcakes with Coconut Cream
Ingredients
- 1 cup whole wheat flour or pastry flour
- 1/2 cup unbleached all purpose flour
- 1 tbsp arrowroot starch (or cornstarch would work)
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup unsweetened plain almond milk (or any non-dairy milk)
- 1 1/2 cups chopped ripe strawberries
- 1 tsp white vinegar (or use apple cider vinegar)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 3/4 cup unrefined or raw sugar (I used coconut sugar)
- 2 tbsp melted coconut oil
Coconut Cream
- 1 can full-fat coconut milk, chilled for 24 hours
- 1-2 tbsp pure maple syrup (add more if you want it a little sweeter)
- 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 365 degrees F. Line cupcake pan.
- In a large bowl, whisk the flours, arrowroot starch, baking soda, and salt until well combined. Then add the almond milk, chopped strawberries, vinegar, vanilla extract, and sugar to a blender and blend until smooth (feel free to add 2 Tbsp of strawberry preserves if you want a stronger pink color). Add the blended puree to the dry mixture bowl. Add the melted oil to the bowl. Mix with a spatula to make a smooth batter, but careful not to overmix!
- Transfer the batter to the cupcake pans and even the top with a spatula if needed.
- Bake at 365 degrees F for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick from the center comes out clean.
- Cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then remove from the pan and cool completely on the wire rack. Serve with whipped coconut cream on top and fresh strawberries or strawberry preserves.
- To make the coconut cream, make sure the can of coconut milk has been chilling in the fridge for at least 24 hours.
- About 1 hour before making the coconut whip, chill a mixing bowl in the freezer. I just used my metal Kitchen Aid mixing bowl.
- After chilling the can, open the can and scoop the solid white coconut cream into the chilled bowl. Discard the coconut water or save it for another use (such as in smoothies).
- Using an electric hand mixer or a stand mixer with the whisk attachment, beat the cream until fluffy and smooth. This will take a few minutes. Add in sweetener to taste and vanilla and mix until combined.
- Return whipped cream to fridge until ready to use. It will firm up when chilled and soften at room temperature. This will keep in the fridge in a sealed container for up to 1 week or you can freeze it in an airtight freezer-safe bag for up to 1 month. After chilling in the fridge, allow it to sit at room temperature until it softens slightly and then you can re-whip it as needed.
- Frost cooled cupcakes generously with the coconut cream!
- I love this whipped coconut cream with fresh fruit like peaches and berries too!
