I have the three biggest Strawberry Shortcake fans for daughters. They love all of the movies, songs and toys of Strawberry Shortcake. In fact I might even go so far as to say that they are Strawberry Shortcake obsessed. If you come around here you can bet the Strawberry Shortcake toys will be out, a Strawberry Shortcake movie will be on or one of the girls will be singing a song from one of the movies.

I actually think that Strawberry Shortcake is a great show for little girls (more so the old Strawberry Shortcake vs. the new). The lessons are great and the songs are uplifting, cute and catchy. This is the only time the T.V. ever really gets turned on and I don’t really mind. I may also be totally inspired by Strawberry Shortcake and the fact that I am constantly being brainwashed by her movies and songs could be the inspiration for the positivity on this blog.

Last night I realized that I have never made Strawberry Shortcake before and was curious to see how it’s made. I thought that a Strawberry Shortcake recipe would make the girls really happy and was looking to see how I could make a recipe for Strawberry Shortcake vegan and healthy. All the recipes I came across of course contained sugar, butter, eggs, white flour etc. and so I was starting to think that it would be hard to make a healthy version. Then, I thought of my Whole Wheat Vanilla Cake and Coconut Whipped Cream recipes and decided Strawberry Shortcake cupcakes would be much more fun! 🙂

Strawberry Shortcake Cupcakes

These sweet strawberry shortcake cupcakes are the perfect healthy sweet treat! Whole wheat vanilla cupcakes, topped with maple-sweetened coconut whipped cream and sweet juicy strawberries! What could be better?

Makes 16 cupcakes

Ingredients

Whole Wheat Vanilla Cupcakes –

• 2 1/3 cups whole wheat flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
• 3/4 cup pure maple syrup
• 3/4 cup sunflower oil
• 1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 1 cup vegan buttermilk
• 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F and line two muffin pans with 16 large-size paper baking cups.
2. In a large mixing bowl combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and sea salt.
3. In a separate smaller mixing bowl whisk together the maple syrup, oil, applesauce, buttermilk and vanilla. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix until combined.
4. Spoon the cupcake batter into each baking cup, filling them each 3/4 of the way full.
5. Bake for 16-18 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Allow to cool completely before topping with coconut whipped cream and strawberries.

Coconut Whipped Cream –

• 2 (400ml) cans full fat coconut milk, refrigerated overnight
• 4 tablespoons pure maple syrup
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Directions

1. Open the chilled can of refrigerated coconut milk and pour out the coconut water (you can save it to add to a smoothie).
2. Spoon the thick coconut cream from the bottom of the can into a medium mixing bowl.
3. Add the maple syrup and vanilla and beat for about 3 minutes, until thick and creamy liked whipped cream.

Strawberries –

• 3 cups chopped strawberries (we used slightly thawed frozen ones)

To assemble the cupcakes, spread the coconut whipped cream onto each cooled cupcake and top with the sliced strawberries!

These have our family’s approval of 100% deliciousness! 🙂