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Just in case you need a clean holiday dessert recipe (that doesn’t take all day in the kitchen to make!), these dairy-free/ gluten-free lemon olive oil cupcakes won’t let you down. And the frosting has to be the easiest thing on earth to make. You won’t feel guilty after eating them either because these lemon olive oil cupcakes are missing all usual cupcake suspects.
And by “usual cupcake suspects”, I mean this recipe is free of the following not-so-clean ingredients:
-gluten
-dairy
-refined sugar
-refined oil
-refined flour
-empty calories (because believe it or not, these cupcakes actually DO have nutrients! Specifically, they’ve got fiber from the oat flour, cassava flour and dates, antioxidants from the extra virgin olive oil, omega-3’s from the walnuts and protein and lutein from the eggs.)
Lemon Olive Oil Cupcakes with the EASIEST Frosting Ever
Oh! And let’s not forget the dairy free lemony frosting! Not only is it delicious (if I do say so myself), it has to be the easiest frosting ever to make (it takes less than 3 minutes.) And yes, it’s clean too!
In fact, it’s super clean…
The frosting has just three ingredients: coconut butter, lemon juice and pure maple syrup. Since it is made primarily with coconut butter, the frosting is loaded with healthy brain-health-supporting medium chain fatty acids. Also, unlike coconut oil, coconut butter is a plant-based “whole fat” and therefore also contains fiber and iron.
Keep in mind, a “whole fat” will always be healthier than oil! So, even though the extra virgin olive used in these lemon olive oil cupcakes is most definitely a healthier option than the refined vegetable oil used in conventional cupcakes, as we discuss in our Clean Cuisine nutrition book, eating the “whole” olive would be even healthier than the oil. But of course we can’t be ridiculous about it either…as healthy as “whole olives” might be, I’m not using them to make cupcakes lol.
Luckily, you’ll get plenty of “whole fat” in this recipe from the coconut butter frosting though 😉 As for sweetness, unlike conventional frosting mine uses less than 2 tablespoons of natural sweetener in the form of pure maple syrup.
So yes, it’s all good.
Prep Time:
Yield:
PrintDescription
Healthy holiday baking is easy and delicious with these clean dairy free/ gluten free lemon olive oil cupcakes (with no refined sugar,) And the lemon frosting has got to be the easiest frosting EVER!
Ingredients
- For the Cupcakes:
- 3/4 cup cassava flour
- 3/4 cup oat flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 2 teaspoons lemon zest
- 3/4 cup coconut palm sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon Himalayan pink salt
- 1/4 cup lemon juice
- 3/4 cup water
- 1/2 cup raw walnuts
- 3 organic (pasture-raised eggs)
- 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 4 medjool dates (pitted)
- For the Frosting:
- 1 cup coconut butter (softened)
- 2 tablespoon lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon pure maple syrup
- For Garnish:
- 1 cup fresh pomegrante seeds
- 1/4 cup lemon shavings
Instructions
- For the Cupcakes:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 12 muffin tins with paper cupcake liners.
- In a medium size bowl, whisk together the cassava flour, oat flour, baking powder, lemon zest, sugar and salt.
- In a high speed blender, add the lemon juice, water, walnuts, eggs, vanilla, olive oil and dates. Process on high until mixture is smooth and creamy. Pour wet mixture in with the dry and use a wooden spoon to stir ingredients together until just blended.
- Divide the mixture evenly among the 12 cupcake liners. Bake for 20 minutes. Remove from oven and set aside to cool for at least 30 minutes before frosting.
- For the Frosting:
- In a medium-sized bowl add the softened coconut butter, lemon juice and maple syrup. Use a fork to whisk ingredients together until smooth and creamy. Use a knife to spread the frosting on the cupcakes.
To Garnish:
- Sprinkle the pomegrante seeds and lemon shavings evenly over the cupcakes and serve.
Notes
Cupcakes can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
Hi Ivy..these cupcakes were great..nice lemon flavor..I wasnt happy with frosting..but my husband liked it
★★★★★
Hi Ann! I’m SO happy you liked the cupcakes! Thank you for letting me know 😉 I’m guessing the frosting might not have been sweet enough for you, was that the main complaint? If so, you can always add 2 tablespoons of coconut palm sugar at a time (taste as you go!) and that should do the trick to sweeten them up. The only downside is that they won’t be so white. But I’m almost certain you will like the flavor if they are sweeter! Please let me know if you give it a try…