Strawberry Shortcake Cupcakes {grain-free, gluten-free, refined sugar free}

I have been showing my behind the scenes processes for this recipe for the last couple of days! I was SO sure that it would be a hit out of the park, first try and done, kind of recipe. I often am juggling a lot of responsibilities because I am a stay-at-home-mom first, and my kids aren't in full-day school, which means I prioritize my kiddos first and foremost. Then normal household chores, and basic self-care.... I often struggle which my recipe content, especially those recipes that take multiple tries. That's a long winded way of explaining why this recipe wasn't posted yesterday, in summation: I didn't plan well enough! haha.

I ended up redoing this recipe three times before I got it. The first recipe had way too much butter and was greasy. The second one I halved the butter/replaced that with ghee, as well as sub coconut sugar for honey. But, they ended up deflated with bug dips in the center. I did the usual: I used new baking powder in the event mine had lost potency, I lowered the oven temperature by 25 degrees, and I also started the recipe with melted ghee to avoid over beating the mixture and adding too much air to the batter.

IT WORKED!

By design I didn't want these to be mountainous cupcakes, because I wanted the whip cream topping, so they're only filled to just under half-full. The cup cakes rose up all the way to the top of the muffin tin perfectly!

I also used a stabilized whip cream, which just means I added some bloomed gelatin to ensure that the whip cream holds its shape. I chose to make these with heavy cream (dairy) because I can personally handle a bit of dairy, and the heavy cream is loaded with nutrition. Since I sweeten it myself with just a teaspoon of maple syrup I am not worried about it causing any type of negative reaction! However, you could make a coconut whip cream, or purchase a store bought one, I would just wait to put the whip cream on until ready to eat!

Another note: when the recipe mentions cutting a small hole in the middle of each cupcake, this is what it looks like. Just a small hole, about 2/3 of the cupcake deep:

I hope you like this one, it's a spring classic for me! Nothing beats whip cream and strawberries!

This recipe uses cassava flour. I love using Otto's Naturals Cassava Flour in my kitchen! It is the best quality and consistency available on the market. When you're trying to make your favorite recipes grain-free, that matters! Follow the link to purchase. Full Disclosure: I receive a small commission, at no extra cost to you, when purchases are made through this link.