Valentine’s Treat, Chocolate Chip Mini Cupcakes!

This Valentine’s Day is pretty special to us, because it is 2 days before our new cookbook Make it Paleo II releases! We don’t have anything crazy planned to celebrate together, because we are kicking off our book tour the day after Valentine’s Day with a huge book release party here in Pittsburgh. These days we’d much rather spend some much needed cuddle time at home with our fur and feather (did you hear that we got chickens??) babies anyway.

For this Valentine’s Day I modified our Luscious Lemon Cupcakes from Make it Paleo II, and made them into adorable chocolate chip mini cupcakes! I love taking a recipe of mine, and getting creative with it in new ways. It makes for some stress-free baking when you already have a base recipe created, that’s for sure! Valentine’s doesn’t seem right without chocolate, so I figured why not add some chocolate chips to the cupcake batter?! Seems totally appropriate, right?

For this recipe I also show you how I use whipped coconut cream as a non-dairy frosting. Whipped coconut cream can be tricky to make, because you never really know when you will get a really good can of coconut milk that separates well, or when you get one where the cream just wants to be with the water forever and ever. That is so annoying. What I usually do to ensure perfect cream and water separation, is I very lightly shake/wiggle the cans of full fat coconut milk when I’m at the store before I choose which ones I want to buy. Usually I can feel if the can already has good separation. That’s really the key here. Then I make sure the cashier doesn’t toss the can around when they ring it up, and keep it in the upright position driving home. You don’t need to be a freak about this, just mindful. Once I get home the can goes right in the fridge, and then it will be ready for whipping!

If any water mingles with the cream before you try to whip it, it will not be sturdy enough for piping onto cakes or cupcakes. It will still be delicious if you want to enjoy a dollop on a slice of cake or pie, or just fresh berries, but it will just run through a piping bag if you try to be fancy with it. For your ultimate viewing pleasure, we made TWO recipe videos for these cupcakes. One video for the cupcakes, and one video for the frosting. Don’t pretend like you’re not excited. I know you are….

Seriously guys. Making video’s is hard. It’s fun, but hard. First I have to do my hair and makeup, which takes a lot of effort. Especially when we all know that I don’t actually leave the house except to go to Whole Foods, so it seems like a waste of time. Then we have to get set up with the camera, and lighting (because we have no light here in Pittsburgh right now), and food of course. AND make sure our kitchen is clean (which really just means move all the crap out of the frame). Then I have to make the recipe AND try to explain it without sounding like an idiot (this is the hardest part), and THEN we have to edit the video. Are you exhausted? Because I am just thinking about it.

Luckily we really enjoy it also, so it’s worth it! It’s something fun for Bill and I to do together. An artistic expression just like food photography is for us. We clearly aren’t as good at video (YET), but practice makes perfect! If you are wondering why we are doing more video these days, don’t worry we aren’t trying to get a TV show. Making a 5-10 minute cooking video takes hours, and I like not being on camera the majority of my life. I never wanted to be an actor, and I think most celebrity chefs have to really enjoy the “acting” part of the whole gig. It’s just not really my thing. Or Bills. But nevertheless, we enjoy making silly videos for our YouTube channel! (If you want to Subscribe to our YT channel, go for it!) I hope you guys love this tasty recipe for Valentine’s Day, and I hope the videos are helpful to you! If you like our videos and want to see more, make sure you subscribe to our YouTube channel! Hope you get lots of hugs and smooches this Valentine’s Day!

Chocolate Chip Mini Cupcakes

These adorable mini-cupcakes are a fun and easy grain, dairy, and nut-free dessert option for Valentine's Day!

Serves: 18

Ingredients

3/4 cup 3/4 cup 3/4 cup Arrowroot Flour
1/2 cup 1/2 cup 1/2 cup Coconut Flour
1/2 tsp 1/2 tsp 1/2 tsp Sea Salt
1/4 tsp 1/4 tsp 1/4 tsp Baking Soda
6 6 6 Eggs, large
1/2 cup 1/2 cup 1/2 cup Pure Maple Syrup
2 tsp 2 tsp 2 tsp Pure Vanilla Extract
1/4 cup 1/4 cup 1/4 cup Organic [*Spectrum Brand, sustainably sourced] Palm Oil Shortening
3/4 cup 3/4 cup 3/4 cup Semisweet Chocolate Chips

Process

Note, these instructions are written assuming the standard serving size, since you have modified the number of servings, these steps may need to be modified for best results

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a mini muffin tin with cupcake papers.
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the arrowroot starch, coconut flour, salt, and baking soda until blended. In a medium-sized mixing bowl, combine the eggs, maple syrup, and vanilla extract. Blend the wet ingredients with an electric hand mixer until frothy. Pour the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and blend again until smooth.
Melt the palm shortening over medium-low heat, then allow it to cool slightly. Once the shortening has cooled, pour it into the batter and blend the batter again with the hand mixer on medium-high speed until smooth. This will allow air to be whipped into the batter slightly.
Stir in the dark chocolate chips by hand.
Fill each muffin cup with batter using a #50 disher (a cookie scoop) and bake on the middle rack of the oven until a toothpick inserted comes out clean, about 10-15 minutes for mini cupcakes. Allow the cupcakes to cool completely before frosting.

Whipped Coconut Cream Frosting

This simple whipped coconut cream is a fantastic non-dairy option for frosting cakes and cupcakes, but is also delicious served over fresh berries!

Serves: 6

Ingredients

13.5 oz 13.5 oz 13.5 oz Coconut Milk, full fat, canned
1/2 tsp 1/2 tsp 1/2 tsp Pure Vanilla Extract
Liquid Stevia Extract, 6 drops. You may also use raw honey or powdered sugar to taste

Process

Note, these instructions are written assuming the standard serving size, since you have modified the number of servings, these steps may need to be modified for best results

Place a can of coconut milk in the fridge over night so that the cream will rise to the surface and separate from the water.
Remove the coconut milk from the fridge and turn the can upside down. Using a can opener, open the can of coconut milk from the bottom and discard the water that separated from the cream.
Scoop the thick cream into a small mixing bowl. Add the vanilla extract, and stevia (or raw honey or powdered sugar). Whip the cream with a hand mixer until light and fluffy, adding natural food coloring if desired.
Use immediately to pipe onto cooled cupcakes, or place in the fridge until use.

Notes

You can use raw honey or powdered sugar to sweeten this whipped coconut cream. I do not recommend using maple syrup, because it may affect the consistency of the whipped cream. Raw honey is thicker than maple syrup, so it should hold it's shape okay. For best results use a small amount of liquid stevia, or powdered sugar. You can easily make powdered sugar by pulsing granulated maple sugar or coconut sugar in the food processor until it's a fine powder. If you want to use food coloring for this frosting, you cannot use maple or coconut sugar, because it will turn the frosting brown and vegetable food coloring does not have strong enough pigment to cover the brown color from the sugar.