Strawberries & Cream Cupcakes with Lemon Zest Buttercream
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Strawberries and Cream Cupcakes with Lemon Zest Buttercream are fluffy, smooth, and buttery. The smells of vanilla, cream, and strawberries will drive you completely wild. Strawberries in Southern California are at full peak, which gives us an abundance of treats to bake and enjoy!
Strawberries and Cream Cupcakes remind me of my childhood in the Midwest. My Grandma always loved strawberry shortcake, the dessert. This recipe gives me the sweetest memories and is similar in flavor to a gluten-free strawberry shortcake with a hint of lemon sweetness.
A Healthy Strawberries and Cream
I’ve even included a secret ingredient I recently discovered called Cymbiotika DHA. I have learned that our brains, eyes, and spinal cord, are literally made of DHA, and our bodies don’t naturally make it so we must source it from our food.
I love this source because it comes straight from algae versus fish oil, which guarantees there are no heavy metals and is a completely clean source. Since supplementing with Cymbiotika I have noticed that I have more energy, better memory, and clearer vision.
What is also really amazing is Cymbioika combined both DHA and other algae, Astaxanthin, which is one of the number one antioxidants in the world. This gives the oil a naturally beautiful red and pink color, the perfect hue to pair with strawberries and cream cupcakes!
Cymbiotika DHA is sourced from one of the most pristine places in the world, the Bay of Fundy in Nova Scotia, and their extraction method is very sustainable. Thank goodness!
DHA and Astaxanthin have been shown in clinical studies to:
- Hydrate and improve collagen
- Decrease blood pressure
- Balance cholesterol levels – may lower the risk of heart disease
- Support brain, and eye development in infants, children, and adults
- Strengthen heart and lung health
- Support muscle recovery after exercise
- Be key for reproductive health and fertility
- Act as an internal sunscreen to protect the skin from harmful UV rays
- Aid in preventing dementia, diabetes, and gastrointestinal diseases
- Improve depression and anxiety
Strawberries and Cream Cupcakes Ingredients
For the Strawberry Cupcakes
Now you might be thinking what in the world does all of this talk have to do with cupcakes? Well! Cymbiotika DHA is not only good for you, but it also tastes absolutely delicious, here is how I use it in this strawberries and cream recipe below!
Almond flour makes for a nutrient-rich gluten-free cupcake, and adds a delicious earthy flavor to this strawberry and cream recipe!
I make flax eggs for this recipe, which works perfectly with 1 Tbsp of ground flaxseed mixed with 2 Tbsp water per egg.
Plant-based butter or whatever type of butter suits your lifestyle and diet. I like to make vegan cupcakes!
Stevia is a perfect plant-based sweetener that is sugar-free, feel free to substitute it with your favorite sweetener. Maple syrup works well too at a different amount noted in the recipe.
Vanilla bean powder gives these strawberries and cream cupcakes the delicious homemade flavor you’ll remember!
Strawberries are the magical base of this seasonal recipe! I recommend using organic, whether you have some growing in your yard, pick them from a farm, or get them at a market.
For the Lemon Buttercream
Plant-based butter or your favorite type of butter, the key for this lemon buttercream is to make sure that whatever butter you use is at room temperature.
Coconut oil is perfect for buttercream, it should be soft but still solid when you use it.
Tapioca flour is light and fluffy and perfect for the creamy texture to top these strawberry cupcakes.
A touch of stevia or maple syrup is perfect for lemony sweetness without letting the sweet take over!
Lemon zest makes for the best lemony flavor to this buttercream and is a perfect flavor to go with this strawberries and cream. You may need more than one lemon.
Cymbiotika DHA is wonderful swirled into the frosting, the flavor itself is like sweet butter and lemon. Perfect for mixing with strawberries and cream!
Strawberry Cupcakes
First, preheat the oven to 350 degrees and brush or spray a muffin tin with oil. Stir the flax eggs and set them aside to gel. This usually takes about 5-10 minutes.
In a large bowl, use a mixer to whisk the flax eggs and butter together. Add in the almond flour and mix until completely combined.
Continue to mix in all of the other cupcake ingredients except for the strawberries, and combine well.
Fold the chopped strawberries in until they’re mashed and well mixed into the batter. Use an ice cream scoop to add the batter to the muffin tins.
Bake the strawberry and cream cupcakes for 13-15 minutes. Check the center with a toothpick, and cook longer if necessary.
Cool them in the refrigerator so they won’t be too fragile to handle the frosting
Lemon Buttercream
Use an electric hand mixer to beat the butter and coconut oil until it is smooth and fluffy.
Mix on low speed to add in the sweetener of your choice, then add in the tapioca flour, vanilla bean powder, lemon zest, and sea salt. Beat until it is creamy.
Top the strawberry cupcakes with the lemon buttercream using a piping bag or a spatula, and sprinkle a couple of DHA drops on top of the frosting just before eating to make sure the dose per cupcake is the right amount.
Enjoy this refreshingly healthy treat!
How to Store Strawberries and Cream Cupcakes
Keep any leftover cupcakes in the refrigerator, and eat them within 3-5 days for maximum deliciousness.
For the DHA drops, as I noted above, I like to make sure to get an even and appropriate dose on each cupcake so I add the drops right before eating.
To make the frosting in advance, store it in the refrigerator until ready to use. It will harden, but let it sit at room temperature and then re-beat it and it will be good to go!
Time to get baking my loves. xoxo.
Want more treats with a healthy spin? Try these:
- Pumpkin Spice Donuts with CBD Coconut Glaze
- Peaches and Cream Kefir Popsicles
- Cookies and Cream Cheesecake Bites with CBD
- Coconut Butter Glazed Reishi Donuts
Strawberries & Cream Cupcakes with Lemon Zest Buttercream
Strawberries & Cream Cupcakes with Lemon Zest Buttercream are fluffy, smooth, and buttery, with a flavor of vanilla cream and strawberries!
Ingredients
Strawberry Cupcakes
- 4 cups almond flour
- 4 flax eggs (1 tablespoon of ground flaxseed + 2 tablespoons of water = 1 egg)*
- 1/2 cup plant-based butter
- 1/2 teaspoon stevia powder OR 1/4 cup of maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon vanilla bean powder
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon pink sea salt
- 4-5 chopped organic strawberries
Lemon Buttercream Frosting
- 1/2 cup plant-based butter at room temperature
- 1/2 cup coconut oil softened but solid
- 1/3 cup + 1 Tbsp tapioca flour
- 1/4 tsp of stevia OR 2-3 Tbsp of maple syrup to taste
- 1/2 tsp vanilla bean powder
- 1 pinch pink sea salt
- 1 Tbsp lemon zest
- 2 DHA drops of per cupcake
Instructions
Cupcake Instructions:
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Make the flax eggs and set them aside for around 5-10 minutes, will gel when done.
- In a large bowl use a mixer to whisk the flax eggs and butter together.
- Add in the almond flour. Once combined, add in all the other ingredients except for the strawberries.
- Fold in the chopped strawberries until they are mashed well into the cupcake batter.
- Brush or spray cupcake liners with oil or butter.
- Use an ice cream scoop to add the batter to the muffin pan.
- Bake for 13-15 minutes, and check if they are done by poking the middle with a toothpick or fork, cooking longer if necessary.
- Let cool in the fridge, the cupcakes are too fragile at room temperature.
Frosting Instructions:
- Using an electric hand mixer, beat the butter and coconut oil until smooth and fluffy.
- Add in the stevia or sweetener of choice and mix on low until combined, then add tapioca powder, vanilla bean powder, lemon zest, and sea salt and beat until creamy.
- Frost cupcakes right away, OR store frosting in the refrigerator until ready to use.
- Frosting will harden in the fridge. Let it sit for 5 minutes at room temp, then re-beat before frosting the cupcakes. Frosting can also be made ahead of time following this method.
- Frost cupcakes using a piping bag or with a spatula.
- Sprinkle the DHA drops on the frosting before eating.
- Eat the cupcakes right away.
- Enjoy!
Notes
- Typically one flax egg ratio is 1 tablespoon of ground flax to 3 tablespoons of water but this recipe uses only 2 tablespoons per “egg” which works better to hold the cupcakes together.
- I add the DHA drops to each cupcake after I frost it that way I know I’m getting an even dose on each cupcake.