Lemon Raspberry Muffin-Cupcakes with Coconut Cream Icing
Happy Valentine’s Day friends! I hope your day has been fantastically floral, chock full of chocolate, or otherwise radiant with whatever brings the best brightness.
These lovely and luscious muffin-cupcakes are doubling up as a birthday breakfast treat for a dear friend and a Valentine’s Day dessert. What I love—and know my friend will appreciate the most—is that they’re muffins first! So often when we think of typical storebought/packaged muffins, one sugar-loaded bite makes us all too aware they’re really cupcakes in disguise. These treats are just the opposite, yet equally welcomed in either context. Speckled with fresh raspberries, they’re subtly sweet, light, and fluffy with a touch of lemony tang.
As cupcakes, a beautifully piped, rich traditional buttercream would definitely elevate these sweets to eye-popping visual satisfaction. That said, just a dab of coconut cream icing (which, full disclosure, may seem more like an optional topping) is irresistibly palate pleasing. I blended in some fresh raspberries and just a little bit of beet juice, frozen until it reaches a gellike consistency (a tip I learned from Chocolypse Baking founder and baker extraordinaire). Feel free to swap for a spoonful of beet puree instead! You’ll want to be sure to chill the coconut cream overnight, and don’t overwhip. That said, you can thicken with extra arrowroot flour and/or blended raw cashews. Moreover, the flavor will be delecable no matter how runny.
For these pictured, I used a mixture of organic unbleached white flour (because, birthday/Valentine’s Day) and sprouted spelt flour, but I’ve had luck with whole wheat pastry and almond flours, too. On Chef F’s request, I used fresh raspberries, but frozen are fine—though I don’t recommend defrosting them first, and do suggest breaking the berries down a bit while mixing your batter.
It’s been a full few weeks, and I haven’t had time to treat this space as a blog so much as a recipe binder. Some days/weeks/months, and even years are like that. Sending gratitude to anyone who checks in here, though, and hoping we can connect and share stories soon. Wishing you a beautiful week!
Lovely lemony lusciousness celebrates the idea of spring!
Lemon Raspberry Muffin-Cupcakes with Coconut Cream Icing
1 dozen
For the muffins/cupcakes
2 Cups flour
2 Teaspoons baking powder
½ Teaspoon baking soda
½ to ¾ Cup monkfruit sugar to taste, or sweetener of choice
1 1/2 Cups unsweetened almond milk
¼ Cup unsweetened applesauce
¼ Cup olive or liquid coconut oil
¼ Cup fresh lemon juice
Zest of 1 large lemon
1 Teaspoon vanilla extract
For the icing:
14-ounce can coconut cream, refrigerated overnight
1/4 Cup maple syrup or agave
1 Teaspoon vanilla
1/3 Cup fresh or frozen, defrosted raspberries
1 beet juice, slightly frozen to a gel-like consistency
¼ Cup arrowroot flour
In a large bowl, combine all dry ingredients. Whisk liquid ingredients in a separate bowl, combine wet and dry, then stir until just evenly mixed. Spread into the pan. Bake 20-25 minutes, or until muffins have risen and a toothpick inserted into the center of one comes out clean.
Prepare the icing: drain any liquid and discard. Add the solid cream into a bowl with remaining ingredients and whip with an electric mixer. Be careful not to overwhip!