These Paleo Berry Cupcakes are hands down my all time favourite Grain and Dairy Free cupcake. The base is super moist with a lemon batter and chunks of berries, all topped with fluffy pink strawberry icing. They are Paleo, Specific Carbohydrate Diet Legal, Grain Free, Gluten Free, Dairy Free and Refined Sugar Free.
I am a total sucker for a good cupcake, especially if it has fluffy icing. I can truthfully say that the cupcake base of these Paleo Berry Cupcakes is just as good as the pink icing. These cupcakes are the perfect mix of zesty lemon flavour and juicy fresh berries. which gives them a nice summery feel. I made them for a group of friends last weekend and everyone enjoyed them without even realizing they were grain and dairy free!
Why you are going to love these Paleo Lemon & Mixed Berry Cupcakes:
- The cupcakes are so moist with a real zesty lemon flavour. They are light in flavour and perfect for summer (especially because you can use all of the berries which are in season!).
- The icing! I absolutely love this creamy icing which has a base of blended cashews and coconut cream, plus pureed strawberries which gives it that gorgeous pink colour.
- So many berries! The cupcake base has a combination of blueberries and raspberries chunks mixed throughout, a strawberry icing and than raspberries and blueberries on top as a garnish!
- They are Paleo, Gluten Free, Dairy Free, Grain Free, Specific Carbohydrate Diet Legal and Refined Sugar Free.
Let’s talk icing:
- I love using a combination of cashews and coconut cream as a base for icing. The cashews help to firm up the icing and enable it to hold its shape when sitting atop the cupcakes.
- For these cupcakes I used pureed strawberries but you could swap them for raspberries which would result in a similarly coloured vibrant pink icing.
- The key to getting the fluffiest icing is to go through the steps of chilling, whipping, chilling and than whipping right before icing the cupcakes. The extra steps may seem tedious but really helps to lighten up the icing.
- Made extra? You can freeze any excess icing for up to 2 months. When thawing just be sure to really whip the icing to allow it to regain its fluffy consistency.
Tips for making these Lemon Berry Cupcakes:
- Use any berries you prefer! I love the combination of raspberries and blueberries in the base, but you could substitute them for diced strawberries, blackberries or or cherries.
- Overfill the muffin cups: As with most grain free baking, the cupcakes don’t rise once baked. Fill the muffin cups right to the top with batter to make full larger sized cupcakes.
- They can be made ahead, but store them separately: The cupcake base will stay incredibly moist (thanks to the almond flour) for up to 4 days in the fridge and the icing can be made up to 4 days in advance too. I would recommend icing the cupcakes right before serving and storing any leftover iced cupcakes in the fridge.
- Don’t have an icing piping bag? Fill a ziploc bag with the icing and then cut off the very end of the corner, it works just as well!
Here are a few other sweet treats you will enjoy:
- Lemon Cupcakes with Strawberry Icing
- Coconut & Lime Cupcakes
- Orange, Pistachio & Almond Cake
- Pecan & Caramel Shortbread Bars
- Lemon Cheesecake with Blueberry Sauce
- Salted Caramel Cheesecake Cups
If you make this recipe let me know in the comment section below, I would love to hear what you think or take a photo and tag me (@everylastbite_) on Instagram, I love seeing your photos!
Lemon Berry Cupcakes
These Paleo Lemon Berry Cupcakes are so moist and bursting with zesty lemon flavour and chunks of berries. These cupcakes are Paleo, Grain and Dairy Free.
Ingredients
Cupcakes
- 1/2 cup almond flour
- 1/4 cup coconut flour
- 3/4 tsp baking soda
- 4 large eggs
- 1/4 cup melted coconut oil (or butter)
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- 2 tbsp honey
- 1/3 cup blueberries
- 1/4 cup halved raspberries
Strawberry Icing
- 1 cup chopped strawberries
- 1 1/4 cup cashews soaked in boiling water for 10 minutes
- 1 tbsp coconut cream
- 2 tbsp melted coconut oil
- 1 tbsp honey
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Garnish
- 1/4 cup raspberries
- 1/4 cup blueberries
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 175 degrees Celsius (350 degrees Fahrenheit) and line a muffin tray with liners
- In a mixing bowl combine the flours and baking soda. Add in the eggs, coconut oil, vanilla, lemon juice and honey and stir until well mixed.
- Add in the blueberries and raspberries and gently stir them through the batter. Fill each muffin cup to the top with batter and then place them in the oven to bake for 20-22 minutes. Keep an eye on the cupcakes, if they begin to brown too quickly place a piece of tinfoil overtop. After 20 minutes of baking insert a toothpick in the middle to ensure that they are cooked through. Allow to cool.
Strawberry Icing
- Place the chopped strawberries in a blender and blend until smooth. Transfer the mixture to a small sauce pan on medium heat and leave to cook for approximately 10 minutes until the mixture has thickened and reduced to 1/2 cup. Transfer to the fridge to cool.
- In a high speed blender or nutribullet combine the drained soaked cashews, coconut cream, coconut oil, honey and vanilla and blend until smooth. Add in the cooled strawberry puree and blend. Transfer the icing to a tall container and place in the freezer for 15 minutes to completely cool.
- After 15 minutes remove from the freezer and use an electric mixer to whip the icing into a light and fluffy consistency.
- Spoon the icing into a fluted piping bag and frost the cupcakes. Top the cupcakes with 2 blueberries and a raspberry. The cupcakes are best stored in the fridge to keep the icing firm.
Nutrition
Calories: 343kcal | Carbohydrates: 21g | Protein: 9g | Fat: 26g | Saturated Fat: 13g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 93mg | Sodium: 149mg | Potassium: 231mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 11g | Calcium: 43mg | Iron: 2mg
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Tried This Recipe?
Leave a comment below and let us know how it was!
Wow, these cupcakes look delicious and they have no refined sugar! This is heaven for a healthy conscious cake lover!
Is it possible to omit the berries in the cupcakes? If so, how much liquid do I need to add to the cupcake batter? Can’t wait to try it 🙂
Do I have to use the coconut flour? Can’t I just use all almond flour instead?
I would love to make these, but we have but allergies in our family. Do you have substitutions for using GF flour instead? Also, any suggestion for substituting cashews?
“Nut” allergies. It auto corrected it to “but” 🤦🏼♀️
Since everything in this recipe is based on nuts I suggest just finding a different recipe. I’m sure there are many gluten free, lemon berry cakes out there!! There’s a berry cake by TheArtofGlutenFreeBaking.com that I HIGHLY recommend. You can use lemon extract instead of vanilla. It doesn’t need icing but you could look for another recipe for that as well. Of course they aren’t sugar or dairy free (though the dairy could be easily substituted.)
Can I bake this in a cake? If so what sixe pan and for how long?
My apologies for the very delayed reply! Yes you can bake this into a cake, increase the cook time o 25-30 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.