Raspberry & Coconut Cupcakes

I used to make huge breakfast muffins filled with oats and berries for the guests on board that yacht I worked on and they were always a crowd pleaser. In saying that I havn't made cupcakes or muffins in ages, so with all this time on my hands I decided to give these ones a whirl.

To be honest, I don't think I would use coconut oil again, I would probably use a vegan butter instead for the fat element, as these cupcakes were a little on the moist side. Then add a tablespoon of desiccated coconut to the batter and continue as normal.

There are so simple to make and do not need too many ingredients. The vegan buttercream turned out fab, as I have had a hard time perfecting the recipe, its always either too runny, or won't stiffen up the way I would like. Regardless, these minimal effort but maximum flavour cupcakes a re a great way to spend an hour in the kitchen.

1 HOUR. MAKES 12

INGREDIENTS

250ml plant based milk

1 tbs apple cider vinegar

100g coconut oil or plant based butter

200g caster sugar

190g all purpose flour

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

120g raspberries

120g vegan butter

400g icing sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract or paste

1 tbs plant milk. if needed

METHOD

1. Preheat the oven to 350F/180C. Line the cupcake tin with cupcake cases, or grease the tin with coconut oil.

2. Mix the plant based milk and apple cider vinegar together. Set aside.

3. Beat the caster sugar and PB butter or coconut oil in a separate bowl.

4. Mix all the dry ingredients together in a large bowl.

5. Add the milk mixture to the creamed butter and sugar and mix well.

6. Add the wet mix to the dry beating well with a spatula or wooden spoon. Fold in the raspberries.

7. Using a 1/4 cup measure or a tablespoon divide the batter equally among the 12 cupcake cases.

8. Bake in the oven for 30 minutes until nice and golden brown.

9. Transfer cupcakes to wire rack to cool down..

10. Make buttercream: beat vegan butter in large bowl.

11. Add icing sugar and vanilla to beaten butter and mix well. Using a whisk beat it for a further 3/4 minutes once it is well combined.

12. The icing may be quite stiff, loosen it with a tablespoon of PB milk until you reach the desired consistency.

13. Pipe the icing onto the cupcakes using what ever nozzle you fancy. If you do not have a piping bag, use a zip lock bag and cut off one corner.

14. Add a raspberry to each cupcake, I was eating melon at the time so I decided to put some on also.