I’m beyond excited to have gotten permission from Vanessa over at cleaneatingwithadirtymind.com to share her butterbeer cupcake recipe! Vanessa Barajas is not only the genius behind the website but also the author of her own cookbook (which I own and love) “Clean Eating With A Dirty Mind.”
This recipe was custom made for the Harry Potter geek in you! Not a Harry Potter fan? To steal a line from her original post – sorry not sorry! Kidding of course. But seriously… you don’t have to be a fan to fall in love with these delicious cupcakes. They are stand-alone amazing, and made with clean ingredients. (My favorite part!)
My love for all things Harry Potter stems from very vivid memories of when my three boys were little. We began taking road trips to our favorite vacation spot in southwest Colorado annually. This was easily a solid 12
hour drive with three stair-stepped young boys, my better half and myself all stuffed into a Tahoe.
This was when I first discovered books on CD out of sheer desperation for a peaceful drive. Now you can get them on Audible. And while I always recommend reading an actual book – the music along with the narrator, Jim Dale (literally the best I’ve ever heard!), make this an audiobook you can’t skip! (You can thank me later!)
My boys had already been reading each book as it came out, but I had no time for fun reads back then so I was hearing them for the very first time as we drove through the San Juan mountains. I distinctly remember my boys planning their own joke shop while we hiked through the back country at high altitudes, and then having a whole night of tears (for me, lol) at the loss of Dobby.
So now that you know how much I love Harry Potter and why… let’s get back to those amazing cupcakes! Just a couple things to note when picking up your ingredients:
- I always use Otto’s Cassava Flour. I’ve read comment after comment from people who’ve had less than stellar results from other brands of cassava flour. Otto’s is high quality and produces consistent results.
- Guittard Butterscotch Chips are the preferred brand for this recipe. They’re non-GMO and have no partially hydrogenated oils. 1 Bag of butterscotch chips will be enough for this recipe since it’s about 2 cups.
- Pure maple sugar has a flavor that is heavenly! I use Coombs Family Farms organic maple sugar when baking.
Also, make sure to check out Vanessa’s website, Clean Eating With A Dirty Mind, for more seriously mouth watering recipes! (Maybe I’ll be able to share a couple more in the future!)
I doubt I need to say this… but! This is intended for a special occasion like Halloween, a birthday, or any days that end in “day.” Bahaha! But for real, sugar is damaging no matter the source, so keep it to a minimum overall. 🙂
Now that we’re done with the housekeeping… let’s get on with the recipe!
- 1 cup (120 g) cassava flour
- 1 tablespoon coconut sugar
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon fine-grain sea salt
- â…› teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 cup (7 ounces/200 g) butterscotch chips
- ½ cup (120 ml) canned full-fat coconut milk, room temperature
- ÂĽ cup (55 g) palm shortening
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup (7 ounces/200 g) butterscotch chips
- 1/4 cup (60 ml) canned full-fat coconut milk, room temperature
- 16 tablespoons (227 g) unsalted butter, softened
- 1 cup (135 g) sifted maple sugar
- 1/8 teaspoon fine-grain sea salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 2 cups cream soda, to make a reduction (see directions)
- Adjust an oven rack to the middle position. Preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C). Line a 12-well cupcake pan with paper baking cups; set aside.
- In a medium-sized mixing bowl combine the dry ingredients—cassava flour, coconut sugar, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon—and stir together using a fork until combined; set aside.
- Fill a medium saucepan with 2 inches of water, bring to a simmer over medium heat. Melt the butterscotch chips, coconut milk, and palm shortening together in a large heatproof mixing bowl set over the simmering water. Stir together using a rubber spatula until smooth and combined. Remove from the heat and let cool slightly.
- Using a rubber spatula, stir in the vanilla, and eggs until combined.
- Use a cookie dough scoop or a large spoon to transfer batter into the cupcake liners, filling them about two-thirds full (they will rise slightly when baking). Bake for 20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Let cool for 10 minutes, then remove from the pan to cool completely.
- Once the cupcakes have cooled, use the bottom flat side of a decorating tip to core out the center of each cupcake. Then make the filling/garnish and Butterbeer Cream Frosting .
- Melt the butterscotch chips and coconut milk together in a large heatproof mixing bowl set over simmering water. Stir together using a rubber spatula until smooth and combined.
- Remove from the heat and let cool slightly, then transfer to a piping bag or ziplock bag.
- Snip the corner and fill the inside of each cupcake.
- In a medium sized saucepan, heat the cream soda over medium heat until it boils and reduces down to about 1/4 cup. Let cool completely. In a large mixing bowl, beat together the butter, sugar, and salt with an electric mixer or stand mixer set to medium-high until the butter is light and fluffy and the sugar is incorporated, about 2 minutes. Add the vanilla extract and 3 tablespoons of the cream soda reduction, continue to beat until smooth. Make sure the cream soda reduction has cooled enough so it doesn’t melt the butter when combined.
- Use an offset spatula to spread or transfer to a piping bag fitted with desired tip.
- Garnish by drizzling the remaining butterscotch filling mixture over the frosting. Store at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 2 days.
- 1 bag of butterscotch chips will be enough since it's about 2 cups.
- Subs: For frosting sub 2 cups (250 g) organic powdered sugar in place of maple sugar. You could use a sugar-free cream soda like Zevia in place of regular cream soda, but there is no need to boil it down since it doesn't have real sugar in it. Instead, just use 3 tablespoons of the soda at room temperature. The flavor will come through much more subtle in the frosting though.
- For the butterscotch chips I used Guittard brand, they have no partially hydrogenated oils and are non-GMO.
