I could never deny that I have a huge sweet tooth, but mostly, I have a soft spot for cupcakes. When I originally started this blog, almost two years ago, it was entirely devoted to my love of cupcakes with some funky flavor pizzaz. But much has changed and I look for sweets that will satisfy my craving without having to use “traditional” cupcake ingredients.

Now I have tried several cupcake recipes off of Pinterest and let me tell you, some of them sucked. After MANY failed attempts, I finally found one that worked. Now, I won’t lie. The texture is a little different from wheat. It still has viscosity and oomph, but the texture is a little more course than the softer, billowy wheat that you’re used to. After each cupcake batch was made, I sent it to a panel of taste testers that vowed to give me their most honest opinion. One being my husband and the other being my super duper, picky pants eater, 4-year-old son, ABC. Now my husband likes everything and will give me constructive feedback without hurting my feelings, however, ABC, is unmercifully honest. But hey, he ended up liking these, so it’s been ABC approved.

As for the coconut flour, I like Bob’s red mill coconut flour, but I recently have been turned on to “let’s do organic” coconut flour. The main reason, $. And when you are trying to eat healthy, $ matters.

I hope you give these a try and let me know what you and your taste testing panel think, too.
Enjoy!

Vanilla Cupcakes {grain-free}
Makes 8 cupcakes

Ingredients
1/2 cup coconut flour
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
4 large eggs
1/3 cup oil (olive oil or other oil, or melted unsalted butter, ghee, coconut oil, or vegetable shortening)
1/2 cup honey or maple syrup
2 tablespoons coconut milk or other milk
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
seeds from one vanilla bean (optional)

Method
1. Preheat your oven to 330°F
2. Combine all the dry in ingredients, except for the vanilla seeds, and blend well.
3. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and use a mixer to blend well. You can use a food processor, hand or standing mixer to get it well-blended. Let the batter sit for a few minutes and mix once more. Optionally, add the vanilla beans and blend well.

4. Fill cupcake liners about 3/4 of the way with batter.

5. Bake for about 20 minutes, rotating half way, until toothpick inserted in the center of a cupcake comes out clean.

6. Cool and then frost.
7. Store covered for a few days at room temperature, or the refrigerator for a few weeks, or freeze for a few months.

If you are looking for some frosting ideas, click here