Paleo Lemon Cupcakes with Coconut Whipped Cream

Today, my dear friend and soul sister Nora is going to wake up thinking it is just another Tuesday. But today is in fact, not just another Tuesday. Today is her surprise virtual bridal shower day! SURPRISEEEEEEE NOOOORAAAA!


And this isnt an ordinary virtual bridal shower either...it's a Great Gatsby/art deco style inspired bridal shower! Since we couldn't style a real life dessert table for Nora, we styled our desserts at home instead! And I decided to take it up one more notch and make a dessert inspired by the book itself: lemon cupcakes, which if you recall are Daisy Buchanan's favorite!


However, since I was making these cupcakes for Nora and not Daisy Buchanan, I had to make them dairy-free, gluten-free, and refined sugar free! This was no easy task so I have to hand it to Nora for the amazing stuff she cranks out from her kitchen. The struggle is real, folks. Having to eliminate certain things from your diet and replace them with completely different ingredients and then furthermore, create a whole blog around that diet, or should I say lifestyle, is no joke. Props to you, my homeskillet.


I have very little experience in paleo/gluten-free baking, so I referred to Erin's blog for some inspiration. Luckily, she had these grain-free lemon muffins that she said had the texture of pound cake, and I thought well that's perfect! So, I made a few adjustments to the recipe and baked up my favorite paleo recipe yet. Made entirely from almond flour, these cupcakes are tender, just moist enough and bursting with lemon flavor. And the coconut whipped cream is obviously the perfect complement.

Make sure you scroll down past the recipe to see what everyone else whipped up for the party. Spoiler alert: They're all desserts customized to Nora's diet!

Paleo Lemon Cupcakes with Coconut Whipped Cream

Yield: 8 cupcakes

Ingredients:

1 cup almond flour
2 tablespoons ground flaxseed
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup coconut oil, melted
3 eggs
3 tablespoons raw honey
Zest and juice of one medium lemon
2 tablespoons applesauce
1 tablespoon unsweetened vanilla almond milk
pinch of vanilla powder (or 1 teaspoon vanilla extract)

For the coconut whipped cream:
One 14oz. can full-fat coconut milk, refrigerated overnight
1-2 tablespoons raw honey
pinch of vanilla powder (or 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line a 12 cup muffin tin with 8 cupcake liners. Fill the rest of the muffin cups with water. Set aside.

In a medium-sized bowl, sift together almond flour, flaxseed, baking powder and salt.

In another bowl, whisk together melted coconut oil, eggs, honey, lemon zest, lemon juice, applesauce, milk, and vanilla until well-combined. Stir in dry ingredients until just combined.

Distribute batter between prepared cupcake liners, filling each liner about 2/3 full. Bake for 15-18 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Let cool in muffin tin for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Before preparing coconut whipped cream, place your mixing bowl and beater in the freezer for five minutes.

Remove can of coconut milk from fridge and flip it over. Open the can and pour out all the water. The solid coconut cream will remain at the bottom of the can. Scoop this out into your mixing bowl, and beat on medium speed for 1-2 minutes, or until light and fluffy. Add honey and vanilla, and beat until incorporated.

Spread coconut whipped cream onto cupcakes and serve. Store leftover cupcakes in an airtight container in the fridge.