Grain-Free Luscious Lemon Cupcakes from Make it Paleo II
I’m so excited to share the recipe for these AMAZING {Grain & Gluten-Free} Luscious Lemon Cupcakes with you from my favorite new cookbook, Make it Paleo II, written by my friends Bill & Hayley over at Primal Palate!
It all started with beef bacon. I remember it like it was yesterday. Ray found this awesome blog, Primal Palate, where they were talking about beef bacon and her name was Hayley. Not just Hayley, but Hayley spelled just like mine and they lived roughly an hour from us, that definitely got my attention.
And although we weren’t technically ‘paleo,” I still bought their first cookbook, Make it Paleo not long after it came out. I even remember making their braised short ribs, which were delicious! (isn’t it cute that Amazon reminded me of exactly when I bought it!?!”)
It was’t until years later that I had the opportunity to meet up with Bill & Hayley in person at a local book signing. And wow how times had changed for me, I never would have thought when I was first reading their blog, that one day I’d meet up with them as {an almost paleo} blogger myself 🙂
When I (& Hercules) got my copy of Make it Paleo II, I was completely SHOCKED. Not only is this the most beautiful cookbook ever, but it’s packed with over 175 new and exciting grain free recipes. Bill & Hayley teamed up with Hayley’s sister Caitlin for the sequel to one of the all time most popular grain-free & paleo cookbooks.
Beginner, intermediate or expert home cook, there is truly something for everyone! And they didn’t stop at recipes for meal and sides, they have an entire section devoted to basics and projects including 10 spice blends, yogurt, bacon, ghee, ginger beer and powdered sugar! Make it Paleo II is a must have cookbook AND resource guide.
OH, and did I mention how beautiful the photography is in Make it Paleo II?!?! I even took it with me to a recent photography workshop as my inspiration!
The first recipe I just had to try was the Nightshade-Free Pizza, not because I have anything against nightshades per-se, but because I was totally craving pizza 🙂 The crust was divine and the toppings were so perfect, we didn’t even miss the tomato sauce!
A photo posted by Hayley Ryczek (@healthstartsinthekitchen) on
The next recipe that grabbed my attention was the Luscious Lemon Cupcakes (page 378 of Make it Paleo II) — the cake itself is moist and delicious, the lemon curd filling is the perfect balance of sweet & sour, all topped with the most amazing vanilla butter cream frosting! And I’m super excited that Bill, Hayley & Caitlin were gracious enough to allow me to share the recipe with you as a sneak peek!!
Oh, and don’t forget to grab your copy of Make it Paleo II, I promise you won’t be disappointed!
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup Arrowroot Starch
- 1/2 cup coconut flour
- 1/2 teaspoon Sea Salt
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 6 eggs
- 1/2 cup maple syrup
- 2 teaspoons Vanilla
- 1/4 cup palm shortening
- 1 lemon, zested
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a standard muffin tin with cupcake papers.
- In a large mixing bowl, stir together the arrowroot starch, coconut flour, salt and baking soda until blended. In a medium sized mixing bowl, combine eggs, maple syrup, lemon zest, and vanilla extract. Blend the wet ingredients with an electric mixer until frothy. Pour the dry ingredients into the wet and blend until smooth.
- Melt the palm shortening over medium-low heat, then all it to cool slightly. Once the shortening has cooled, pour it into the batter blend the batter again with a mixer on medium high speed until smooth. The will allow air to be whipped into the batter slightly.
- Fill each muffin cup 3/4 full with batter and bake on the middle rack of the oven until a toothpick inserted comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Allow the cupcakes to cool completely before filling & frosting, if desired.
Notes
I just made these and the consistency is not like a traditional cupcake, but more like the chewy-eggy inside of a French cruller donut- but without the air pockets. The lemon and sweet combination is delicious! Next time I make these I will add more flour- maybe an all-purpose gluten-free or Bob’s Red Mill Paleo flour and I will try using less egg. Anyone else have suggestions on how to get these more cupcake-like in consistency?