
Meet the Chef: Britt Berlin
Britt is the creator, recipe developer, and photographer behind The Banana Diaries, as well as an avid cake lover, runner, cat mama, and cookbook author. Britt specializes in transforming traditional baking techniques into vegan ones. Her favorite creations include vegan chocolate cake, vegan cheesecake, and of course, vegan chocolate chip cookies!
Ingredients
For the cupcakes
- 3 tablespoons Flaxseed, milled
- 1/2 cup Water
- 1 1/4 cups Florida Crystals® Regenerative Organic Raw Cane Sugar
- 1 cup (2 sticks) Vegan butter, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon Pure vanilla extract
- 2 1/2 cups All-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons Baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon Salt
- 1 cup Almond milk or other dairy-free milk
- 1/4 cup Freeze dried strawberries, crushed
For the Cream Cheese Buttercream
- 8 ounces Vegan cream cheese, softened
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) Vegan butter, softened
- 1 teaspoon Pure Vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon Salt
- 4 cups Florida Crystals® Regenerative Organic Powdered Sugar
- 1/4 cup Freeze dried strawberries, crushed
- Fresh strawberries, as garnish
Instructions
Step 1
Preheat oven to 350°F. Line two 12-cup muffin tins with liner cups. Set aside.
Step 2
In a small cup mix water with flax seed, set aside.
Step 3
In a large bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat sugar and vegan butter on medium high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Scrape the bowl. With the mixer on low speed, slowly add water/flaxseed mixture and vanilla. Mix until combined. The batter may look curdle at this point.
Step 4
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. Add flour mixture in three batches alternately with two portions of milk, ending the process with flour. Scrape the bowl. Add the freeze-dried strawberries and mix the batter at medium speed until well combined, about 1 minute.
Step 5
Fill muffin cups with the batter 2/3 full. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until top springs back when touched. Remove from oven and allow cupcakes to cool completely before frosting.
Step 6
While the cupcakes are baking, prepare the frosting. In a large bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat cream cheese and butter at medium speed until smooth. Add vanilla and salt to the mixture, mix until combined. Reduce the speed to low and add powdered sugar and freeze-dried strawberries. Mix at medium speed until combined.
Step 7
Frost the top of each cupcake using a pastry bag filled with a large open-star tip. Garnish with fresh strawberries.
Additional Tips
A bag of 23 grams of freeze-dried strawberries is enough to yield ½ cup of crushed strawberries.
YOU CAN ALSO TRULY NOTICE A DIFFERENCE IN THE BAKED GOODS WHEN CHOOSING FLORIDA CRYSTALS® VS. ANOTHER BRAND.
- THE BANANA DIARIES, BRAND PARTNER