Vanilla Cupcakes with Honey Buttercream Frosting (coconut flour)
Fluffy, tender coconut flour vanilla cupcakes, made with pasture-raised eggs, grass-fed yogurt, and maple syrup, piled high with a silky honey-vanilla buttercream. Grain-free, refined-sugar-free, and perfect for birthdays.
Yield: 12 cupcakes · Active: 30 min · Total: 1 hr 30 min (including cooling) · Year-round · Best eaten: midday or early afternoon
Ingredients
Cupcakes
1 cup coconut flour
8 pasture-raised eggs, at room temperature
½ cup grass-fed whole plain yogurt (preferably raw)
½ cup pure maple syrup
¼ cup grass-fed butter or coconut oil, melted
1 tbsp pure vanilla extract
1 tsp baking soda
½ tsp Baja Gold sea salt
Honey buttercream
1 lb (4 sticks) grass-fed unsalted butter, softened and cut into cubes
4 pasture-raised egg yolks
½ cup raw honey or pure maple syrup
2–3 tsp pure vanilla extract
¼ tsp Baja Gold sea salt
To garnish (optional): fresh berries, edible flowers, or a few curls of dark chocolate
Method
Make the batter. Heat the oven to 350°F and line a 12-cup muffin tin with unbleached liners (or grease it well with butter or coconut oil). Blend all the cupcake ingredients in a food processor until smooth. Let the batter rest 5 minutes; coconut flour thickens as it absorbs the liquid.
Bake. Spoon the batter into the cups, filling each about three-quarters full. Bake 20–25 minutes, until golden and a toothpick comes out clean. Coconut flour bakes can dry out, so start checking at 20 minutes. Let them cool completely before frosting.
Cook the yolks for the buttercream. Whisk the egg yolks, honey, and salt in a heatproof bowl set over a pot of barely simmering water (don't let the bowl touch the water). Whisk constantly 4–6 minutes, until thick, pale, and 160°F.
Whip until cool. Move the mixture to a stand mixer (or use a hand mixer) and whip on high until it's completely cool, 5–8 minutes. It must be cool, or it will melt the butter.
Add the butter. On medium speed, add the butter one tablespoon at a time, letting each piece blend in before adding the next. It may look curdled partway through; just keep beating, and it will turn silky. Beat in the vanilla, and whip until light and fluffy.
Frost and garnish. Pipe or spread the buttercream onto the cooled cupcakes, and finish with fresh berries, if you like.
Buttercream troubleshooting:
Too soft or runny? Chill the bowl 10 minutes, then whip again.
Lumpy or curdled-looking? It's too cold. Warm the outside of the bowl briefly with a warm towel, then whip again.
Raw-yolk option: For a traditional raw buttercream, skip cooking the yolks: whip the raw yolks, honey, and salt until pale, then beat in the butter as directed. Use only very fresh, pasture-raised eggs from a farmer you know and trust, and choose the cooked version for babies, young children, anyone pregnant, and anyone with a weakened immune system.
Storage: Frosted cupcakes keep refrigerated up to 4 days in an airtight container; let them sit at room temperature 20–30 minutes before serving, so the buttercream softens. Unfrosted cupcakes keep at room temperature 1 day, or frozen up to 2 months. Leftover buttercream keeps refrigerated up to 1 week, or frozen up to 2 months; re-whip it before using.
A note on honey: Cooking the yolks with the honey means it's no longer raw, so any good local honey works. Honey shouldn't be given to babies under 12 months; use maple syrup if little ones will be eating these.
Nourishment Notes
Pasture-raised eggs — complete protein, choline, lutein, and vitamins A, D, E, and K2. With 8 eggs plus 4 yolks, these cupcakes are surprisingly nourishing.
Coconut flour — fiber, which helps slow the absorption of the natural sugars.
Grass-fed yogurt — protein, calcium, and a gentle tang that keeps the crumb tender.
Grass-fed butter — vitamins A and K2, CLA, and butyrate.
Maple syrup and honey — unrefined sweeteners with trace minerals.
As a circadian treat, these cupcakes land best at midday or in the early afternoon, when your body handles sweets most gracefully in daylight.
Sourcing
Eggs — organic and pasture-raised, with deep orange yolks, ideally from a local farm
Coconut flour — organic and finely ground
Yogurt — organic, plain, and full-fat, with live cultures and no gums: A2/A2 cow's milk yogurt from Straus or Bellwether Farms, or raw yogurt from an Amish or local farm you know and trust
Grass-fed butter — organic, cultured butter from 100% grass-fed cows
Maple syrup and honey — organic Grade A dark maple syrup; organic, local, unfiltered honey
Vanilla — organic pure vanilla extract
Baking soda — aluminum-free
Muffin liners — unbleached parchment
Berries and edible flowers (optional) — organic and pesticide-free
Baja Gold sea salt
— Anna aka Food Marshall