These cupcakes have a lightly sweet, honey flavor with a texture that is close to a pound cake. My taste testers (my husband and daughter) both said, “These taste like cakes that could be found in Bilbo’s pantry,” referring fondly to J.R.Tolkien’s book, The Hobbit, which we had read together. Well, these aren’t seed cakes, like Bilbo loved to eat, but they do have a “hobbit” kind of flavor to them, at least in the imaginations of my family. So here you are, some milk-free, egg-free, and sugar-free cupcakes which you can offer to any unexpected dwarves who show up on your doorstep.
Notes
This recipe could be used in other ways. Use your creativity! You can slice the cupcakes in half and spread frosting and berries inside, as well as on top, as pictured here. Or use this recipe to make 2 round, 8 inch cakes and frost them as a layered cake.
Ingredients
Cake
- 1 3/4 cup unbleached, all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup coconut palm sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 cup coconut oil, melted
- 1/4 cup honey
- 1 cup rice milk OR almond milk
- 1 Tablespoon apple cider vinegar OR lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla
- 1 teaspoon pure almond extract
Frosting
- 1 cup Spectrum Shortening (made from nonhydrogenated palm oil)
- 1/4 cup coconut oil
- 1 Tablespoon almond butter OR cashew butter
- 1/2 cup arrowroot OR tapioca flour
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 cup honey OR pure maple syrup
- A little coconut palm sugar to sprinkle on top
Instructions
For the Cake
- Mix dry ingredients together in a large bowl. Gently melt coconut oil over low heat, then add honey and stir together. Add remaining wet ingredients to coconut oil and honey and stir. Then add to the dry ingredients in the bowl and mix well until combined. The batter will be thicker than a usual cake batter. Grease a 12-cup muffin tin and evenly divide the batter among the twelve cups. Bake at 350°F for 20 minutes, or until cake test done.
For the Frosting
- Place all ingredients in a bowl and blend well with a blender until light and fluffy. Frost cupcakes when cool. Sprinkle the top of each cupcake with a little coconut palm sugar.
- If you are in a hot climate, the coconut oil may begin to melt. You can replace the coconut oil in the recipe with more Spectrum Shortening, which will not melt as easily.
- This frosting will harden if placed in the refrigerator. But it will easily thaw when returned to room temperature.
