A healthier birthday (or any day) treat – Vanilla Quinoa Flour Cupcakes with just 7 ingredients and creamy pink coconut berry frosting on top!
This one is going to be short but SWEET. Because it’s seven forty-something p.m. the night before, but I am determined to share these pink-frosted fluffy little cakes with you tomorrow. So that means less rambling and more let’s get to the recipe already.
I must admit this cupcake recipe took a bit longer to test than anticipated. While I do love quinoa flour, it’s not quite as familiar for me yet as oat or almond. But it makes for a killer cupcake crumb, so every batch was very worth it.
Plus a recipe that requires frosting throws a whole host of extra decisions into the mix – coconut or cashew? spread or pipe? white with pink sprinkles or pink with white sprinkles? in a house or with a mouse?
And then there’s the part where you have to let the cupcakes cool COMPLETELY (or speed up the process…I see you my fellow cupcake freeze-ers) so the frosting doesn’t melt right off in a tragic drippy blob.
And then there’s the part where you have made so many test batches you can’t remember which one is which anymore, so you have to do one last trial run just to be sure.
And I’m already rambling…
Okay but about these cupcakes (a.k.a. why you will LOVE them):
- Only 7 ingredients.
- Vegan and gluten-free and oil-free.
- Only ONE kind of flour. No starches or fancy flour blends. Just quinoa flour (and you can even make your own!)
- Low-fat. The only fat source in this recipe is the coconut milk. I actually tried a batch with almond butter – because most things in life are better with almond butter – and they were no good (gasp!)
- Exactly zero dates. Okay this is maybe love/hate. But many of you have been asking for a non date-sweetened cake for a while now. If you are all about the medjools, THIS recipe is for you.
- The texture. Oh the light, fluffy, perfect-crumb insides.
So much to love. And that moment when you take the first bite and all those bullet points meld into one perfect mouthful of cake, that is a very good moment.
The frosting.
I mean they don’t NEED frosting per say. The world doesn’t really NEED frosting per say. But without it cupcakes would just be muffins and birthday parties would just be sad, so thank you frosting for gifting us with your colorful creamylusciousness.
The frosting is made with coconut butter, (optional) maple syrup, non-dairy milk, and freeze-dried raspberry dust for color. It is important to have all your ingredients at room temperature before combining, otherwise the coconut butter will seize up. It works best to make it in a blender, adding milk slowly until it is thick and creamy.
I personally think the coconut butter is sweet enough, and the tart raspberry flavor next to the sweet cake is yummy as is. But if you want to add a few tablespoons of liquid sweetener go for it. Just know the color will be slightly less vibrant.
You can use other kinds of freeze dried fruit for a different flavor/color too. Or top them with chocolate frosting or maybe a matcha glaze or even coconut whipped cream instead.
It just so happens that freeze-dried raspberries make for a very pretty pink shade of frosting. And it just so happens that Valentine’s Day is coming up soon. So you could make these for you or your boo for Valentine’s Day. Or you could make them tomorrow because waiting is hard.
Yep, this is my new favorite way to eat quinoa ♥︎
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A healthier birthday (or any day) treat – Quinoa Flour Cupcakes with just 7 ingredients and creamy pink coconut berry frosting on top. Vegan, gluten-free, easy!
Ingredients
Vanilla Cupcakes
- 3/4 cup (190g) unsweetened applesauce
- 1/2 cup (160g) maple syrup
- 1/2 cup (120g) light coconut milk (*)
- 2 tsps vanilla extract
- 2 tsps baking powder
- Pinch of salt
- 1 3/4 cup (200g) quinoa flour (**)
Raspberry Frosting
- 3/4 cup (180g) coconut butter
- Optional: 2 tbsp maple syrup ((at room temperature))
- 1/4–1/2 cup non-dairy milk ((at room temperature))
- 1–2 tbsps ground freeze-dried raspberries
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325F.
- In a mixing bowl, combine the applesauce, maple syrup, milk, and vanilla. Whisk.
- Add the baking powder, salt, and flour. Whisk/stir to combine.
- Line a cupcake pan with paper liners. (These cupcakes are low-fat so consider lightly spritzing the liners for easier removal.)
- Divide the batter between 6-8 cupcakes, filling each 3/4 of the way.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes at 325F. The centers should be firm and bounce back when pressed.
- Remove from the oven and cool completely before frosting, or even chill overnight.
- For the frosting, melt the coconut butter until soft and pourable (I microwaved it for 5-10 seconds).
- In a blender combine the coconut butter and liquid sweetener. (Make sure all the ingredients are at room temperature!)
- Blend adding milk slowly until creamy and smooth. It will seize up initially but keep going and it will smooth out. Don’t add too much milk or it will turn into a glaze.
- Add the freeze dried raspberry dust. Blend/adjust to desired color.
- Once the cupcakes are cool, frost them and top with freeze dried berry “sprinkles”.
- Enjoy!
- Keep leftovers in the fridge in an airtight container. They can last 3-4 days, but will dry out with time. The frosting will become quite firm in the fridge so warm sightly before serving.
Notes
* I recommend light coconut milk from a can. Coconut milk from a carton or almond milk will make them less moist.
Keywords: baking, birthday, cake, vegan, gluten-free
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Can you replace applesauce with mashed banana?
Should be fine! I haven’t tested it and they may be a bit more dense, but they will still work 🙂
Not only do these look beautiful, yummy and easy to make, but also you write with such warmth and excitement for your product. Such a pleasure to read!
Thank you so very much for reading and for the kind words Sabrina <3
If I was making these a couple of days in advance how would I store them and how well do they hold up/last?
I see my answers in the instructions…. Don’t know how I missed them
No worries, I’m always happy to help clarify 🙂 Hope you enjoy the cupcakes, Lizzie!
Am I the only one who finds coconut butter a bit gritty? Or maybe it’s just the type we have in Denmark, but I tried making it myself with the same result. It kind of “stings” the tongue…
Hi Maria! It can be gritty depending on the temperature, if it’s cooler/harder little chunks may form. But this frosting is very creamy. Hmm stinging? I’ve never heard of or experienced that personally–sorry!
This is just absolutely amazing you are so inspirational! I just CANNOT wait to watch the video when I see you’ve posted!!!
Please help on how I could substitute the maple syrup for a granulated sweetener like xylitol or erythritol.
Thanks so much
Sorry but these were not good. Way too dense and heavy with no cake crumb. The icing was pretty meh too. I think cashew varieties are probably tastier. The cake and icing together were very gummy. Made this for my father in laws birthday and no one could finish even one cupcake.
★★
These cupcakes look amazing, I can’t wait to make them! One question: is there a reason you are using light coconut milk instead of full fat coconut milk? only because i have a can of the full fat already. will that alter the taste or texture? And where do you buy the dried raspberry dust?
Thanks, you are awesome!
★★★★★
Hi Lorinda! I chose light coconut milk just to keep them lower in fat since many of my readers ask for that and they were perfectly moist with the light stuff. But yes, full fat will be fine too. And the freeze dried raspberry dust is just freeze dried raspberries ground up in a blender or coffee grinder. Yay, I can’t wait to hear how it goes🤗
Freeze dried raspberries and strawberries are easy to find at Trader Joe’s if you have one near by
In Canada it is hard to find freeze dried berries. Could I substitute something else?
They are just there for color, so you could skip them and just have white frosting! Or any kind of berry powder or pitaya powder would work. I don’t recommend fresh berries or it will turn out too watery. Or you could use turmeric or matcha for different colors 🙂
First thing, Why are people hating on dates?! They are so perfect in cakes. Although, I happen to be out a the moment, so amazing timing with this recipe! And as much as I’m not a quinoa lover, I love that the flour stands alone and doesn’t require tapioca! I’m going to give it a go in the blender, since it’s pretty pricey. Oh, and I’m in love with this super healthy pink frosting – so photogenic! I may be able to survive this Valentine’s Day sans chocolate if I have a whole batch of these =) =)
Dates are expensive and can be hard to find depending on location, but I agree they are lovely for cakes (and brownies…and ice cream…and fudge…and everything😋) I am totally not a quinoa lover either, but the flour has changed my mind so you gotta give it a shot! Yeah so maybe I didn’t really do such a good job getting the cost down with no dates lol😆 But worth it!
I think it is so funny that, yet again, we both posted something similar…in this case, raspberry love on the same day no less, haha! Great minds! I definitely need this cupcake to go alongside my Raspberry sorbet because what is cake/cupcake without ice cream/sorber, right?? And so funny, you are so right…Valentine’s Day is coming and I didn’t even realize it. These are totally perfect for that! Love, love, love pink and red so much and of course so does Olivia and she just loves these pretty cupcake pics. I need to dig up my old quinoa flour muffin recipe (it’s like 4 years old I think, lol) and see if I used another flour, I can’t remember, but they too were extremely fluffy and light but I think I maybe used oat flour too, can’t remember. You have me so curious now, haha! Anyways, I love that you have coconut butter frosting. I make a coconut butter strawberry frosting and now I need to try this raspberry version instead on my chocolate cake next time. And, um, girl my cupcake NEEDS frosting and gobs of it, what are you talking about?! haha! Gorgeous recipe Natalie!! xx
Ha you’re right! I didn’t realize the raspberry twinning either. We are just reinventing the whole cake + ice cream thing raspberry style and being holiday in sync without even trying❤️ You’re welcome world. Oh man what a yummy pink/red feast that would be. I haven’t tried combining quinoa flour with others yet, but I imagine it’s lovely crumb combined with oat or almond would be really nice. I almost went the whole beet route for the frosting, but luckily the Trader Joes freeze dried fruit selection jumped out at me saved me from that mess! Oh I was always the kid who wanted the corner piece of cakes aka ALL THE FROSTING. So I feel ya😂
Could you add in chocolate chip or nuts?
Absolutely! That is a delicious idea 🙂
Finally getting around to looking at the recipe! I need to make these!
I’ll swap you for a slice of that chocolate quinoa cake? Although the logistics of that may be tricky since you are currently abroad🤔😂 Hope you had a marvelous bday💖
You could have posted just a photo and the recipe and I would have been sold on these perfect fluffy cupcakes, BUT I look forward to your rambles…I’m glad you rambled a little 😉😆 Haha!!! The struggle is real – I had been recipe testing some muffins for a long time and lost track of the “real” recipe so I have to run one last trial to be sure 😂 I can’t believe these only have seven ingredients! Back when I used quinoa flour regularly, I remember I had always paired it with a gluten-free flour blend…I’m loving the idea of a single flour! And that frosting is the perfect shade of pink 💗💗 I haven’t braved quinoa yet, but when I do, I see these cupcakes (with extra frosting) in my future! I might have to make these for Willow for Valentine’s Day. YUM 😍😍
Ha sometimes it is tempting to post just the pics and recipe, especially on something as familiar as a vanilla cupcake, but I can’t help but ramble at least a little😊 Ugh that last trial, right? I always kick myself for not being a better note taker, but then again I do get more cupcakes out of it so… Although honestly I have so many from last week Nolan and I are both getting a little tired of them😆 Well if oats go okay then quinoa should be no big deal! I haven’t tried mixing it with other flours yet, but I imagine it would go really well with almond or oat possibly. Grains or not, I hope you make something pink and sweet for both of you for Valentine’s💗
Could you switch out all the coconut in this recipe for something else? I have a coconut allergy and I was really looking forward to making this.
You can use almond milk in the cupcakes (although I recommend homemade as opposed to the mostly water carton stuff for moisture/richness), but the frosting won’t work without coconut butter. Maybe try this chocolate frosting instead: https://www.feastingonfruit.com/the-best-healthy-chocolate-cupcakes/ Or any coconut-free vegan frosting you like!
Wow, they look so amazing, I need to save this recipe and try it soon 😉
Cheers Joana from http://www.foodreich.com
Thanks for checking them out Joana 🙂
These cupcakes look divine. Not to mention super cute!
Hehe I agree, I love to look at them just as much as I love to eat them 🙂 Thanks Ashley!
😍😍 These look amazing! And creative. I haven’t even heard of coconut butter.
★★★★★
It’s like the equivalent of almond or peanut butter but with shredded coconut–yummy stuff! But you can use any frosting you like if you can’t find it or don’t like coconut, they’d be great with this chocolate one even: https://www.feastingonfruit.com/the-best-healthy-chocolate-cupcakes/
these look incredibly delicious! Could they be baked as a cake instead of cupcakes? Can’t wait to try!!
★★★★★
I haven’t tested it as a cake yet, but it should be fine 🙂
Do not use Earth Balance sticks as substitute for coconut butter … my icing has a “buttery” taste … ugh
Yikes! Earth balance is very different than coconut butter unfortunately, I’m sorry you wasted the ingredients on the frosting. You could certainly make a vegan “buttercream” for them instead with Earth Balance but you would need powdered sugar too most likely to thicken and tone down the buttery taste.
Yep…we didn’t have powdered sugar at home…thx
Hi Kristen! Hmm that’s odd, I used bob’s red mill as well. Did it smell/taste bad or just quinoa-y? Or actually back up–do you like the taste of quinoa normally? It is a very distinct flavor that I actually didn’t like myself for a long time, so if you don’t like the taste of quinoa it might just be that. I have a healthy oat flour cupcake that may be more your cup of tea!
Would I be able to make this into a full cake instead of cupcakes?
Absolutely! It may turn out a little bit short if you use a 9″ pan so consider 1.5x the amounts to fill a regular sized cake pan or use a smaller 6″ pan. And I would toothpick test it at 30 minutes, but it may need an extra 5 or so 🙂
Do you happen to know if the icing holds up to being piped at all?
No, it’s really not good for piping. A coconut cream (not butter) frosting would be better for that 🙂
Hi, lovely texture to this recipe and very light, but the grassy bitterness of the quinoa flour wasn’t great. I would go halves with almond flour next time to try and lift it.
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Did you use store-bought quinoa flour or make your own? If you make your own and don’t toast it first it will taste quite bitter, store-bought or toasted tastes much better in my opinion. But quinoa does have a powerful flavor, so have fun experimenting with other flours too😊
The texture of the cake is moist and it bakes nicely, however, it is extremely bitter. I used store bought quinoa flour like suggested. I just couldn’t really eat this as a dessert without a ton of sugary frosting on it. And even then, you can still taste the bitterness.
★★★
Hmm that’s odd, what brand of quinoa flour was it?
Hi
I also tried the recipe and the cupcake tasts bitter and very quinoa like not like a sweet cupcake taste
And i used bob’s redmill quinoa flour
So disappointed:(
Aw bummer, that’s the same flour that I used so not sure what happened😕 Maybe quinoa flour isn’t your thing, you could try these instead: https://www.feastingonfruit.com/vegan-vanilla-cupcakes/
I love these as cupcakes! I am wondering: have you ever made them as a cake? I read your tips on converting cupcake recipes to cake recipes in your vanilla cake recipe post from 2017….if you were to convert this recipe, would you take out the milk/what other modifications would you make?
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Hmm I haven’t tried this as a cake, but I wouldn’t recommend modifying the ingredients just the bake time. It will probably take 35-40 minutes to bake in a 9″ square or round pan, and even then there is a risk of the center not cooking through properly, so toothpick test it and if the center still seems squishy leave it another 5-10 minutes. Since the recipe is designed to be made as cupcakes, which have more even heat around a smaller cake, so sometimes the center will be mushy when converting to a cake. But if you give it a try, good luck😊
these are delicious!!! making them again asap. thank you for the recipe. any chance of a chocolate version? 😁
★★★★★
YAY!! So happy you liked these, and no I don’t have a chocolate version with quinoa flour yet but I do have other chocolate cake recipes with oat flour that I love like this one: https://www.feastingonfruit.com/gluten-free-vegan-chocolate-cake/
My husband liked these so much he refused to let me frost them. I bet the frosting is delicious, but he honestly thought they couldn’t get any better than in their unadorned incarnation. A big time success! They aren’t bitter at all (I used your suggested “toast ‘n’ blitz” method for making my own), and now I’m not quite so scared of quinoa any more! They even somehow sort of had notes of tahini (which I now love in cakes, thanks to your blog!) 😋
★★★★★
Hahaha they are really yummy frosted but I agree they honestly don’t need it. And I totally get what you mean with the tahini reference, the quinoa flour does have a slightly tahini reminiscent flavor imo too😊 I am so happy you are feeling better about quinoa flour, it’s really good for making fluffy GF things!
How would you recommend substituting honey for the maple syrup in this recipe? 1:1?
Yes that would work just a well, and yes it would be 1 for 1😊
I just tried making these and… I guess I have a different palette because I found them very earthy tasting (I guess it was the quinoa flour) and not fluffy and/or delicious at all! I followed the recipe exactly so I suppose I’m just a crap baker. I even used strawberry applesauce because it’s all I had in my cupboard during this quarantine time….
UGH! Sad to say they just didn’t work out for me.
Aww bummer, sorry they didn’t work for you. Quinoa flour is a unique flavor, I have other cupcakes with more “normal” flours you might like better😊😊
Yes! I’ll definitely look at some other recipes, I keep trying so hard to bake gluten free, but it’s proving to be a challenge!
Maybe try these: https://www.feastingonfruit.com/vegan-vanilla-cupcakes/
These were really good! I did sub out some of the applesauce for eggs – 2 eggs and 1/4 applesauce. It avoid the bitterness you have to toast any quinoa flour (including store bought) to get rid of the grassy/bitterness. 300 degrees mixing every 20 minutes. You know the flour is done by smelling it. The grassy bitter smell will be gone. I do a bag a flour at a time. Takes about an hour but go by smell!
I am so happy you enjoyed them Leanne! Yes toasting makes such a difference with the quinoa taste and so good to know the eggs worked too. Appreciate your feedback and tips💜
Thank you so much for this recipe! My mum has a lot of food intolerances and I’ve been struggling to find good cake recipes for her birthday, but this one’s perfect! She absolutely loves it and I’m so grateful this cake doesn’t compromise on taste or texture while being super simple to make. Thanks so much!! ♡♡
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YAY!! I am so so happy you guys enjoyed these, and they worked for your mom’s diet too🤗 Quinoa flour is very underrated in my opinion. Appreciate your feedback Hajin and happy new year!