So, it’s my birthday, yay! Growing up, my grandma would make me her famous (to me at least!) strawberry shortcake that I was oh so obsessed with. It was seriously the highlight of my birthday up until high school when I became a little more obsessed with the ingredients I was putting into my body.
**Full disclosure-There was a time when I was totally against putting anything into my body that I wasn’t 100% okay with. This can definitely be too obsessive, which is why I now preach all things in moderation. There is no reason to fear any food or restrict yourself into feeling crazy. Do I crave processed and sugar laden foods these days? No, not really. But, if it was my birthday and I wanted my favorite strawberry shortcake in the world, you bet I would have it! Life is too short and you don’t know how long your grandma is going to be able to continue to make this amazingness for you!
These days, I crave whole foods, and of course the occasional treat. CHOCOLATE…AMIRIGHT? Anyways, this year on my birthday I wanted to make a fun treat because, well, healthy treats are my favorite things to recreate! I decided to go with a red velvet cupcake because I had made these insanely amazing yellow cake cupcakes for someone’s birthday and I knew I needed to put a spin on it.
Plus, Nutiva sent me an amazing box with red palm oil and buttery coconut oil to create with and this was the first thing that popped into my head! In the recipe, I used native’s red palm oil. I know a lot of people have issues with palm oil and the environmental affects of harvesting it and so do I! That’s why I only purchase from brands that I know are harvesting with sustainability. You can read about Nutiva’s harvesting process here.
Now, I know these aren’t red…I tried making them with beet powder for color, but it didn’t really work, but they are still oh so delicious!
Okay okay enough with the jabbering, onto this sinfully delicious and beautiful recipe that was adapted from Elena’s Pantry.
- ¼ cup coconut flour
- 2 tbsp cacao powder
- ⅛ tsp sea salt
- ⅛ tsp baking soda
- 3 eggs
- ¼ cup nutiva red palm oil
- 2 tbsp maple syrup
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract OR seeds from one vanilla pod
- Preheat oven to 350.
- Combine dry ingredients in a bowl.
- Melt red palm oil and combine with other wet ingredients (make sure the palm oil isn't hot-it will cook the eggs).
- Combine wet and dry ingredients, mixing thoroughly with a whisk. The batter will be runny!
- Place cupcake liners of choice in a muffin pan. I use unbleached and chlorine free baking cups.
- Fill liners half way with batter.
- Bake for 20 minutes.
- Let sit for at least an hour before icing!
*These are lightly sweetened so they can be topped with a sweet frosting, but if you like a sweeter cake, add 2 extra tbsp of honey!
I topped mine with chocolate frosting because DUH. I also recommend trying this paleo cream cheese frosting yummy.
Blair is a Nutrition Consultant and Natural Chef with a passion for helping others achieve optimal health through a holistic approach that focuses on body, mind, and spirit. 
