Vegan Gluten Free Blueberry Birthday Cupcakes with Raw Cashew Icing

Have you ever tried to make a non-sugar laden birthday cake? Me neither. This past week my family had a mini celebration for Mr. Bean’s birthday and I wanted to make something special that everyone in my family could enjoy. (To be honest, I also wanted to make a birthday cake to participate in the Daily Dietribe’s Gluten Free Birthday Cake Challenge. I’m a huge fan of the two birds with one stone thing.) In previous years, I’ve made some quite pretty birthday cakes (including this awesome one for Mr. Bean), but they all have too much sugar for what I (and my family) can handle:

FIL’s Roughriders Birthday Cake
Friend’s Birthday Cake
Mr. Bean’s Birthday Cake
Birthday Cake for Coworker’s Daughter
Sister’s Birthday Cake
First Birthday Cake
Jesus’ Birthday Cake

I didn’t think about it for very long – shocking I know as I usually scheme for a while before making something – but I decided to take this family friendly Happy Day Cake up a notch and add a raw cashew icing. (For what’s better than raw cashew icing? Not much.) I could have made this into a cake, but I wanted cupcakes as they are so much easier to transport and people can put on variable amounts of icing to their taste.

How did they turn out? Quite well, in my opinion. They had a nice crumb, weren’t too sweet (I reduced the amount of sugar from 1 1/3 c. to 1/2 c. plus a banana) and received rave reviews from my family.

Vegan, Gluten and Soy Free Blueberry Cupcakes

Makes 12 cupcakes.

1 c. almond flour
1/2 c. each rice flour, potato starch and tapioca starch
1/2 c. sugar
1 tsp. xanthan gum
3 1/4 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. grated lemon zest
scant 1/2 c. oil (I used a combination of canola and grapeseed oil)
1 c. rice milk (put 3 tbsp aside for egg replacer)
2 tsp. egg replacer mixed with 3 tbsp of the rice milk
1 banana, mashed
1/2 tbsp. vanilla
1 tsp. lemon juice
1 c. fresh blueberries

1. Preheat oven to 350F and line a 12 muffin tin with paper cups.
2. Sift flours, sugar, xanthan gum, baking powder and salt.
3. Mix in oil and milk – beat for two minutes.
4. Add “egg,” mashed banana, lemon juice and vanilla and beat.
5. Mix in blueberries until distributed in batter.
6. Spoon batter into muffin tins and bake for approximately 20 minutes.
7. Remove from the oven and let sit in pan for a few minutes. The cupcakes will deflate a bit, but that is okay. Remove from pan and onto a cooking rack.
8. Enjoy!

Note: The original recipe is made in a cake, so if you want this to be true birthday cake, divide the batter between two parchment lined 8″ circle cake pans and bake for about 20 – 25 minutes or until the cake is set.

Raw Cashew Icing

Makes about 1 c. of icing. Based on this recipe.

3/4 c. raw cashew pieces, soaked in water for a few hours
1/4 c. water (or enough so it blends well)
1 1/2 tbsp. coconut oil
1 tbsp. agave nectar
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. lemon juice
Pinch salt

1. Drain cashews and place in blender.
2. Add all the other ingredients and blend until smooth. I used my magic bullet – given the quantity and the consistency, it worked very well especially compared to my last experience using it!
3. Place in fridge and cool for a few hours before using.
4. Spoon it onto the cupcakes and try not to eat it with a spoon!

What is your favourite kind of birthday cake?

Linked up to: Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays, Gluten Free Wednesdays, Hearth and Soul Hop 51 and Seasonal Sundays.