The Coconut Strawberry Cupcake Experiment

That contest I kept blogging about is finally over, and the winners should be announced soon. Thanks for putting up with the constant reminders and taking a moment to vote.

Although I've yet to find out the results, I still want to celebrate the fact that I overcame my fears (I still can't believe I actually entered and now have my own YouTube channel), and thank all my wonderful supporters out there. As I said before in an earlier post, I owe you another recipe; I keep my promises.

The best way to celebrate is with a new raw cupcake recipe, so Hayden and I decided to experiment with minimal ingredients, just like in the contest. We even turned on the camera, providing you with a candid view (the video is an unedited first attempt) of what goes into creating the next raw cupcake flavor.

Hayden kept to her task of quality control, sampling all the ingredients. She almost polished off all of the freeze-dried (probably not technically raw, but still vegan) strawberries before I even got a chance to use them. Ha ha :-)

So how did the final recipe turn out?

Delicious, of course. Here's a basic recipe recap. Feel free to make small adjustments as needed, just like in the video. Enjoy!



Rawdorable Coconut
Strawberry Cupcake
*makes one raw cupcake experiment
to share with your assistant :-)

• 1/2 cup shredded coconut
  
• 1/4 cup freeze-dried strawberries
• 1 1/2 Tbsp. date paste*
• Pink coconut "butter cream"**
• Fresh strawberry for garnish
• More coconut shreds or chips for sprinkles

Add the shredded coconut and freeze-dried strawberries to a personal blender (I used my Magic Bullet blender) or mini food processor and process into a pink flour-like consistency (the one in the video would have been more consistently processed, if I had added the whole amount of coconut from the start). Dump the "flour" into a mixing bowl.

Add 1 Tbsp. of date paste (*dates soaked overnight, then processed into a paste) to the pink "flour." Use a whisk to evenly incorporate the date paste throughout the "flour," while preserving its crumb-like texture. Add another 1/2 Tbsp. of date paste to the "batter," if needed (it should be moist enough to shape into a cupcake, but not so damp that it needs to be "baked" in your dehydrator). Whisk to combine.

Gently (using a light touch), mold the "batter" into a ball and place in a reusable silicone liner or ramekin. Lightly press into a cupcake shape.

Ice the cupcake with pink coconut "butter cream" (**coconut oil tinted and flavored with freeze-dried strawberries ground into a powder; you only need to add a tiny amount to achieve the desired flavor and color). Sprinkle with more shredded coconut (I added some interest with larger coconut chips) and top with a fresh organic strawberry. Share with a friend :-)

*****

Attention spirulina fans
On another note, any spirulina fans out there need to check out my blogging friend Courtney's new Spirulina Junkie website. You can even upload your own spirulina smile. Here is Hayden applying hers, a if it were makeup ...

... and then posing for the camera.

My hubby says the above pic reminds him
of "The Shining." Spooky :-)