Vegan Coconut Protein Cupcakes w/ Coconut Frosting

Hey peeps, 

let's talk cupcakes. They haven't been a big thing in Germany when I was little (okay that sounds like I'm old haha). I think the first time I actually tasted and made them was about 10 years ago when I did some serious research about what fancy thing to do for my birthday party. I died the frosting blue and pink and green it they were delicious. 

Ever since then they've been a favourite of mine. And when my mom got into baking, too, we created the most fancy cupcakes you can imagine (I'm talking champagne and smores) and they sometimes were almost too pretty to be eaten. These are pretty and are for eating. For eating lots because they're...

#1 vegan
#2 wholegrain
#3 rich in protein
#4 delicious 

... convinced yet? 

What if I tell you that they taste like a dreamy coconut vacation? The moment you lick the spoon you'll think to yourself 'this could be a cookie dough recipe! I won't bake them!', that's how good they are. And yes, you could turn this into a cookie dough recipe if you'd like. Even though I highly recommend baking them because they're pretty great that way. Aaaaand you get to make the frosting, too. And that one is on a whole other level.

Alright, enough rambling and preaching about the cupcakes, let's get into the recipe!

Vegan Coconut Protein Cupcakes

makes about 8 large muffins 

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup + 1 tbsp wholegrain spelt flour 
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 cup NutriPlus Vegan Protein Powder, coconut flavour
• 1 tbsp shredded coconut

• 1/4 cup coconut sugar 
• 1 flax egg (1 tbsp flax seed and 3 tbsp water, mixed) 
• 1 cup almond milk 
• 3 tbsp almond butter (sub sunflower butter if allergic)

Method

1. Pre-Heat oven to 190°C.
2. Combine flour, baking powder, protein powder & coconut in a large bowl. Mix and set aside. 
3. Next, prepare the flax egg by mixing 1 tbsp flax meal & 3 tbsp water in a small bowl. Let it do it's magic while you prepare the other ingredients.
4. In a medium sized bowl, mix coconut sugar, oat milk, maple syrup & the almond butter. Pour in your flax egg and mix. 
5. Pour wet ingredients to dry and stir. Do not over mix the batter. It should be easy to stir but not too liquid. If necessary, add 1 tbsp of flour and mix until combined. 
6. Pour into 8 large (or 12 small) muffin liners and bake in the oven for about 20-25 min.
7. Take them out and let them cool for an hour. 
8. Use about 1 heaping tbsp of the vegan coconut frosting to frost the cupcakes. I decorated mine with blueberries and coconut. 
9. Enjoy!

Vegan Coconut Frosting

makes about 1 cup

Ingredients

• 1 cup soy quark (firm soy yogurt)*, I used Alpro Go On
• 3 heaped tbsp NutriPlus Vegan Protein Powder, coconut flavour

Method

1. Mix quark and protein powder in a medium mixing bowl. You might even use a food processor if you can't get rid of the lumps.
2. * if you can't find soy quark anywhere you can make your own out of using soy yogurt. Simply warp a kitchen towel (or cheese cloth if you're fancy) around the yogurt and let it sit over a bowl in the fridge overnight.