Treat yourself to small batch of paleo-friendly, grain-free vanilla bean cupcakes with mocha buttercream! They’re made with coconut flour, so they’re also nut free.
I’ve really been craving a classic vanilla cupcake recently, and wanted to try my hand at making grain-free vanilla bean cupcakes. To me, vanilla beans are the epitome of classic elegance in dessert flavor form. I ordered half a pound of vanilla beans
online months ago, used half of them to make a bunch of little bottles of homemade vanilla extract (find out how to do that yourself here!), and still have a bunch left. I highly recommend ordering beans online in bulk, since it’s much more economical and they’re likely to be much fresher than overpriced grocery store beans.
online months ago, used half of them to make a bunch of little bottles of homemade vanilla extract (find out how to do that yourself here!), and still have a bunch left. I highly recommend ordering beans online in bulk, since it’s much more economical and they’re likely to be much fresher than overpriced grocery store beans.These cupcakes are light and fluffy, because they’re made with coconut flour instead of almond flour. Of all the paleo & gluten-free treats I’ve made, these may be the closest in taste and texture to their gluten-laden cousins. I highly recommend them! They’re also perfect for people with nut allergies or for bringing to birthday celebrations in nut-free classrooms. This recipe makes a very small batch (good for people like me with no restraint), but can easily be doubled.
The mocha frosting pairs perfectly with the rich vanilla cupcake. It’s so good that I had a lot of trouble putting it on the cupcakes, since I was so busy tasting it again and again. You won’t notice the honey–just the robust flavors of coffee and chocolate. Make sure to use good coffee that you enjoy drinking, and make sure it’s finely ground. If you don’t eat butter, I recommend trying this vegan chocolate frosting from Elana’s Pantry, and adding ground coffee to that (the cupcakes themselves are already dairy free). You could also probably make my recipe with coconut butter or vegan butter, but I haven’t tested that myself.
If, on the other hand, you don’t want any coffee flavor at all, you can leave it out and have a classic chocolate frosting. You may want to add a tiny bit more cocoa powder if the frosting doesn’t taste chocolatey enough to you.
If you’re looking for more grain-free dessert recipes, check out this grain-free spiced shortbread or the black forest cake in my cookbook Paleo Planet (it’s on page 276!).
Grain-free Vanilla Bean Cupcakes with Mocha Buttercream
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
Treat yourself to small batch of paleo-friendly, grain-free vanilla bean cupcakes with mocha buttercream! They're made with coconut flour, so they're also nut free.
Author: Becky Winkler (cupcakes adapted from Elana's Pantry)
Recipe type: Gluten free, Grain free, Dessert, Cupcake
Serves: 5-6 cupcakes
Ingredients
For the cupcakes:
- ¼ cup coconut flour, sifted
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ⅛ teaspoon baking soda
- Seeds scraped from half a vanilla bean
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 large eggs
- ¼ cup coconut oil
-  1/4 cup honey
For the frosting:
- 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 3 tablespoons honey
- 1 tablespoon cocoa
- Tiny pinch of salt
- 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon finely ground coffee (I love Medaglia D'Oro)
- Coffee beans for garnish (optional)
Instructions
- To make the cupcakes, preheat the oven to 350° F and line six cups of a muffin tin with paper liners.
- Whisk together the coconut flour, salt, and baking soda in a medium bowl. Add the vanilla bean seeds and mix together with your fingers, pinching the powder between your fingers to evenly distribute the vanilla seeds.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the vanilla extract, eggs, coconut oil, and honey. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and whisk well, or beat with a hand mixer, until very smooth.
- Pour the batter into the cupcake cups and bake for 15-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow the cupcakes to cool completely on a rack before frosting them.
- To make the frosting, beat the butter in a stand mixer or with a hand mixer until very smooth. Add the remaining ingredients and beat until incorporated. If your frosting does not seem stiff enough, refrigerate for a little while, then beat again.
- Once the cupcakes are completely cool, pipe or spread on the frosting (I used a Wilton 1M tip). Top with a coffee bean if desired.
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I made it. Total flop. Got a souffle that flopped with tons of oil running out of the paper liner.
I’m sorry to hear these didn’t work out for you! Did you make any changes to the recipe?
Would it be possible to make this frosting without dairy? My youngest son is super duper allergic to dairy and even butter bothers him. Could I use the solid part of cold coconut milk maybe?
Hi Christina! I think you could make this frosting with Earth Balance or other vegan butter. If you used coconut cream, the honey might thin it out too much. I also link to a vegan chocolate frosting recipe from Elana's Pantry in the post. I have not tried it, but her recipes are usually great. Here is the link: http://www.elanaspantry.com/vegan-chocolate-frosting/ Let me know if you try one of these options! 🙂
Oh thanks! I missed that! I'll give that a shot!
Hi Rebecca,
I've featured this recipe on my blog, hoping that you don't mind, but if you do, please contact me and I'll remove it. All the best.
Hi Vera, that's fine! Thanks for linking back here for the recipe :).
OMG, these look amazing! So going to try this recipe this week!
Love, love, love your blog and awesome Paleo recipes!
Thank you! Let me know how they turn out; I think you'll love them. I'm so glad you're enjoying the blog–thank you so much for reading!