Peaceful calming chamomile cupcakes made with coconut flour. A moist and delicious cupcake that is gluten-free, nut-free, grain-free, refined sugar-free, and easy to prepare.
Before we make grand gestures to eliminate all things come January 2nd, I think we should savor one last opportunity to sink our teeth into something supremely tasty. A perfectly moist and delicious cupcake kissed with the floral essence of chamomile.
These are the kind of cupcakes that you will want to enjoy while curled up in a cozy blanket and snuggling a loved one (which is my current status and my loved one is a furry pup). Preferably with a warm mug of vegan turmeric eggnog by your side.
Life-affirming cupcakes. One bite and everything will feel instantly better.
I've imagined these cupcakes as the ideal final bite of 2017. A calming New Years tradition, Chamomile to herald in a peaceful year.
As I was testing several batches of these cupcakes the chamomile essence began to take effect. Chamomile is a potent relaxation agent, whether inhaled or ingested. There was something so immensely satisfying about stirring chopped chamomile into a batter, I wondered why I hadn't thought of it before.
The batter is simple enough, coconut milk and butter simmer together with chamomile flowers until the butter is heady and scented with chamomile. If you don't have fresh or dried chamomile flowers you can easily substitute chamomile tea bags. Then the chamomile butter mixture is stirred together with coconut palm sugar and a touch of vanilla extract. Combine all that goodness with fiber-rich coconut flour and you have a cupcake worth writing about!
In my house growing up, New Years Day was a peaceful holiday. My parents never drank alcohol so the hangover vibe of New Years Day in my 20's and early 30's was never a thing. Rather, as a child, New Years Day was a hopeful, peaceful day filled with good food and family.
Except…a certain relative always came to visit on New Years Day and let's just say she didn't have the best energy. We had a family nickname for her, that was accurate if not terribly kind.
My Mom believed that the energy of the new year was set by the first person who entered your home on New Years Day. Terrified that the “not-very-nice” relative would set the mood of the year, mom would have one of the kids (typically the one in the best mood) run out the back door, around the house, and enter the front door before the relative arrived. That way we sealed our fate with peaceful good energy entering the home before negative Nelly arrived.
It was our secret to keep, never blabbing what we did to either our father or the persnickety relative.
One year my dad, in a super cranky mood, ran outside to get our dog (a psychotic Samoyed who drew blood from every member of the family at least once #TrueStory). I followed quickly behind my father to re-enter the house before either he or the dog did. Cranky was not allowed to be the energy of the New Year, and psychotic was definitely not what we were going for.
I just called my Mom to remind her of our old tradition, it was a good one, we both agreed ??
So to bring back that peaceful vibe this year I thought about these cupcakes and thought about how we so desperately need more goodness, kindness, peace, and love right now. One little humble cupcake can't accomplish all of that but setting an intention for the first day of a New Year to allow in more goodness is certainly a good thing.
Ok, now take this opportunity to choose who will be your energy guru for 2018 and allow that special someone to walk through your door first on January 1st, and then reward them with a peaceful chamomile cupcake. ?
Chamomile Cupcakes
Ingredients
Dry Ingredients
- 1/2 cup coconut flour
- 2 tbsp chamomile flowers, chopped (optional)
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
Wet Ingredients
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter (Vegan butter or coconut oil will also work)
- 4 tbsp coconut milk
- 3 tbsp dried chamomile (or 3 chamomile tea bags)
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2/3 cup coconut palm sugar
- 6 large eggs
Frosting
- Whipped Coconut Cream
- Drizzle Honey (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°. Line a 12-cup muffin pan with 10 paper cupcake liners.
- In a medium bowl combine dry ingredients, whisk well to incorporate. (The chopped chamomile flowers are optional)
- In a small saucepan over medium-low heat combine butter and coconut milk, when butter has melted add chamomile flowers or chamomile tea bags. Remove from heat and allow to steep for 10-15 minutes. If using loose chamomile flowers after 15 minutes strain mixture through a fine mesh strainer, into a large bowl (if using tea bags simply remove the tea bags and add mixture to a large bowl)
- Whisk coconut palm sugar, eggs, and vanilla extract into butter chamomile mixture.
- Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and whisk well to combine. Allow mixture to sit for 15 minutes so as to allow coconut flour to absorb some of the moisture.
- Divide the batter among 10 liners filling to 3/4 full.
- Bake the cupcakes in the center rack of the oven for 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean.
- Allow cupcakes to cool in pan for 5-10 minutes. Turn them out of the pan and allow to cool completely on a rack before frosting.
- Frost the cupcakes with your favorite frosting, I used homemade coconut cream frosting (see notes for link to recipe).
- Optional: Top cupcakes with chamomile flowers and a drizzle of honey.
Notes
- Here is an easy recipe for coconut whipped cream frosting by Cotter Crunch: https://www.cottercrunch.com/how-to-make-coconut-cream-vegan-frosting/
- For a vegan version: replace the butter with coconut oil and eliminate the honey drizzle
Nutrition
To read more about the benefits of chamomile check out this post:
10 Amazing Things You Can Do With Chamomile
