Last week was my parents’ anniversary. To celebrate I got them a cheesy present and made dessert; it’s what I do. I figured a cake would be a bit much for 3 people so I went with cupcakes using a secret ingredient I picked up last month at the store.
I’ve had coconut flour before but didn’t bake much with it. It’s really high in fiber so it makes a great cake batter. In most paleo recipes I’ve seen using it, the main structure comes from coconut flour and eggs so that’s what I copied.
The texture of these was perfect—very similar to angel food cake. Surprisingly there wasn’t much coconut flavor to them at all. You could swap any extract for vanilla and have a tasty cupcake I would bet. If you wanted to make these strictly paleo, substitute a low-glycemic sweetener like palm sugar in for the cane sugar.
Paleo Vanilla Cupcakes
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 30 minutes
Ingredients(Makes a dozen cupcakes):
- 1/2 cup plus 2 Tablespoons coconut flour
- 4 eggs
- 2 egg whites
- 1/2 cup cane sugar
- 1 cup coconut milk
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
Method:
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and line a dozen cupcake holders.
- Combine all of the ingredients together in a large bowl and mix until it forms an even batter.
- Scoop equal amounts of the batter into each cupcake well.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes or until the tops are firm to the touch.
- Remove from the oven. Let the cupcakes cool completely before frosting them.
I cut the recipe in half when I made these and got 6 cupcakes, which was perfect because we’re only 3 people. It’s a really easy recipe that anyone starting out gluten-free baking could do without problem.
first off, happy anniversary to your parents!
second, whats with paleo? its all over the place and i dont get it. i thought it was “the caveman diet” but obviously not since they didnt have coconut flour and coconut sugar while foraging the woods.
[im not trying to sound snarky, i really dont understand it]
It’s all about eating nuts and fruits and vegetables and meat–all stuff that can’t be eaten in their raw states because when we were evolving that’s likely all that our diet consisted of so the theory is that it’s what best fuels our diets. I by no means follow a paleo diet(it’d be really hard to be paleo + vegetarian) but I do like to try out a few of the baking recipes since all paleo stuff is gluten-free and dairy-free already.
Thanks for the explanation, I was curious too!
Paleo is about mirroring the Paleolithic period of man. Basically, the diet is based on scientific studies that show that our brains evolved most following the evolution of fire which was then used to cook meats, the most available food source that provided the highest amount of calories, protein, and fat stores for the least amount of effort. Compared to gathering fruits and nuts, stalking a paleolithic version of a deer, provided far more resources and fuel to the body with a lot less total expenditure of calories. The Paleo diet avoids any processed foods or foods from the Agricultural period, meaning grains, bread, etc. The use of things like Coconut Flour, sugar substitutes, etc. are considered quasi-paleo and are meant to be used sparingly. Basically, it is understood that most people on Paleo have not followed the diet their entire life and still have cravings for the breads, sugars, and saltier foods of today’s modern diet. That is where the quasi foods come in. They are not strictly paleo, but are recognized as a healthier option for when you want to edge away from Paleo. The trick is to not use these on a daily basis, because, yes, they are not Paleo. If you have questions about Paleo, Mark’s Daily Apple is a great resource and Amazon has some great resources by Loren Cordain, who is widely known as the person who started Paleo.
These look really delicious – and I love those cupcake wrappers! I can never find cute cupcake liners that don’t make my cupcakes look like kids birthday party cupcakes!
-meesch
http://www.aperfectkindofday.com
I’m going to try these. I bought coconut flour a few weeks ago on a whim and have no idea what to do with it.
I’m gonna be on the look out for that coconut flour. I have yet to experience the magic of coconut flour + eggs. I always have to make 1/2 or 1/4 cakes in this house. Next time I’m going with cupcakes for sure.
I have never used coconut flour before, but now I will be looking for it. It sounds great!
This is the second recipe I’ve seen today that uses coconut flour. Guess I’ll just need to hit up Whole Foods today to try it for myself!
It looks like you nailed the texture with these. They look great!
I love coconut flour, but really bad at making up my own recipes with it, so I gotta try these cupcakes. What did you use to frost them?
I didn’t really use a recipe which is why i couldn’t post one, but it was basically butter, powdered sugar, lemon juice, and coconut milk mixed to the right consistency and piped through a Ziploc bag.
These look great. Which frosting recipe did you use?
I didn’t really use a recipe which is why i couldn’t post one, but it was basically a buttercream made out of butter, powdered sugar, lemon juice, and coconut milk mixed to the right consistency and piped through a Ziploc bag.
Evan this is just plain awesome! Do you think the eggs could be replaced with chia gel?
Tara
With this recipe I don’t think so since the eggs are so intricate to the structure of the cakes.
Interesting that you say there wasnt that much coconut flavor. That’s actually a bonus b/c lots of people don’t like it as much as the avg blogger does
I have coconut flour too and rarely use it…need to try these.
Your muffins and my cookies from yesterday were neighboring squares on FG. Congrats
Yes! something to do with the coconut flour I bought months ago and can never figure out how to use. I can pretty much guarantee my frosting won’t look as pretty though.
These sound so good! I’ve wanted to try gluten free baking but have been so worried that my treats will turn out like rocks. I think I’m going to have to try this!
Suddenly I want cupcakes.
So is the paleo diet the new thing? Does this mean I’ll have friends that won’t be able to eat my food because it isn’t paleo? You’re too trendy when it comes to food. I’m just saying. It’s hard to keep up with ; )
I could never do paleo or any other low-carb diet unless sugar suddenly became a good source of protein.
I must seem like the pickiest eater in the world, but I swear I will eat anything anyone makes for me so long as it’s gluten-free and vegetarian.
Mmmm Evan these sound fantastic! I love using coconut flour, but I find it goes rancid really quick? Or maybe the store I buy it from just sells old crap.
Either way, I think I might get over it to try these out:)
I have been wanting to use Coconut Flour for something ever since I saw it at Bulk Barn. I will have to pick some up and give these a try! They look really good, and I love the look of the frosting. What kind of tip did you use?
I used a Ziploc bag with a corner cut out
I try to do that when frosting cupcakes and end up with frosting ALL over the bag (and my hands). I need to learn your technique!
Lots of good information in your posting, I would like to tweet your blog post so I can visit again in the near future.
I have a friend who’s totally paleo – he’s a little Thai man who could bench press you and your entire family. Frightening, I know. I’m totally making these for a celebration after his Cross Fit competition. I would love to see more paleo recipes if you have any!
I’ve actually read somewhere that because coconut flour adsorbs so much liquid, only so much is needed to make a whole cake or batch of cupcakes! I need to stalk my grocery store aisles to look for some coconut flour…
http://daily-iphoneography.posterous.com
Aiyah, Evan! I wish I had this recipe before I kind of force-used up all my coconut flour on random, not-so-delightful recipes.
Well, at least my friend would love this recipe! She has a sweet tooth but she’s into Paleo these adays. I’ll send her this recipe and she can bake these for me out of gratitude. Haha, problem solved. :-]
Oooh! Ooooh oooh! I ate my entire bag of coconut flour just as coconut “cream” mixed with soy milk and sweetener, and never quite got around to baking with it. Back to the store for me!
I’m a huge fan of coconut flour cupcakes. Huge! I love everything about them. These look so great, I bet your parents were super stoked to enjoy them
This is the second blog that I’ve seen use coconut flour this week. I’m taking it as a sign and adding coconut flour to my grocery list for next week.
DELICIOUS looking cupcakes!
Yum!! What did you uise for frosting? I want to give these a try, I love angel foodcake and if there anything like that, these will go on my treat rotation!
I used a mix of room temperature butter, lemon juice, powdered sugar, and a little coconut milk
How many can I eat before these are considered bad for me? I’d double the batch, not halve it. And then I’d probably consume all of them in a couple days. They look REAL good!
I wouldn’t be surprised if these were better than most protein bars out there.
It’s amazing how little coconut flour you need for a recipe, isn’t it!
I haven’t yet figured out a great way to make things without eggs, but I haven’t yet experimented much either.
Yum! I KNEW I should have picked up coconut flour the last time I saw it but didn’t know what to do with it. Now I do:-).
These sound awesome! I am going to have to try coconut flour soon, as I have a bag and haven’t opened it yet! Your cupcakes are lovely
!
This looks great! And no oil? I assume the coconut milk makes up for that. Could I sub in honey and stevia maybe for the sugar though?
Yes I would just make sure to use less to adjust the sweetness
These are baking as we speak (er, type!)…I will let you know how they turn out in a few minutes!
So far the smell is euphoric!!
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I’ve seen coconut milk used a lot in Paleo recipes. My (stupid) question is, are you using the stuff in the can? Or the coconut milk in the refrigerator section – like Silk brand?
Not a stupid question these days. I’m using the kind from a can, and I would bet most paleo recipes unless they say otherwise do, too, since the carton kind tends to have added ingredients that aren’t technically paleo.