Kat Cupcake

March 30, 2018

Tahini Turmeric Cookies

If you are as into food blogs as I am then I’m sure you’ve noticed that turmeric and tahini have become trendy buzzwords. I have enjoyed experimenting with both in recipes and especially grabbing a jar of tahini for the first time in a while! While turmeric and tahini are fun and delicious foods, they also have numerous health benefits!

I have to make a small disclaimer though, I have tried many turmeric lattes and not really enjoyed them :o . I don’t know if I just haven’t found the right recipe yet or if I just don’t like turmeric lattes! However, I love turmeric in curries and I love it even more in these cookies! So if you haven’t been entirely convinced in using turmeric yet then I urge you to try these out!

Now on to the health benefits!

Turmeric contains curcumin. Curcumin has powerful anti-inflammatory effects and is a very strong antioxidant. This can aid in digestion, reduce the risk of cancer, and relieve pain. However, the content is not that high in turmeric and it is poorly absorbed in the blood stream. Black pepper contains piperin which helps with absorbing curcumin. Therefore, it is added in the cookies! I promise you will barely if ever be able to taste the black pepper.

Tahini is a source of many vitamin and minerals. It is high in iron which can prevent anemia. It is incredibly high in calcium. It's also a good source of methionine, which aids in liver detoxification. It has 20% complete proteins, making it a higher protein source than most nuts! This helps maintain healthy skin and muscle tone. It's easy for your body to digest because of its high alkaline mineral content, which is great for assisting in weight loss.

These cookies are gluten free, vegan, and free of refined sugars so you can enjoy them with all their health benefits and no guilt!

Turmeric Tahini Cookies

Makes around 20

Ingredients
3/4 cup tahini
1 tbsp coconut oil, softened
1/4 cup coconut sugar
1 egg or flax seed egg (mix 1 tbso ground flax seeds with 3 tbsp of water and sit for a few minutes)
1 tsp vanilla
2 tbsp maple syrup
2 tbsp coconut flour
pinch of black pepper
1-2 tsp turmeric
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup chocolate chips

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, this is important so that your baking sheet doesn't stain!
2. In a large bowl, cream together tahini, coconut oil, and coconut sugar until well combined. Add in egg or flax egg, maple syrup, and vanilla and mix again until combined.
3. Add in coconut flour, black pepper, turmeric, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt over the dough and blend in with a spatula. The dough will be thick and oily.
4. Fold in chocolate chips
5. Scoop out tablespoons of the dough and round into a ball shape. Then place on to your prepared baking sheet a couple inches a part from each other, Gently flatten the balls with your hands.
6. Bake for 6 to 8 minutes until cookies are set and lightly golden on the edges. Allow to cool

March 25, 2018

Gelato Cheesecake

Kat @ Cupcake Kat 4:29 PM 0 Comments

Today I am going to share with you one of my favorite places in Calgary! And that place is Fiasco Gelato!

If you live in Canada, you may have heard of them since they sell their gelato in many grocery stores.

I love Fiasco Gelato. They have the best employees working there and such a cute shop.

I go to Fiasco Gelato almost every week and their gelato is some of the best I've ever had! They have new flavors that they've created right there in the shop every time we go.

A few weeks ago I picked up their Blueberry Basil Sorbetto and I was blown away!

Whoever says that sorbetto is boring has never tried Fiasco Gelato's! It was sweet, refreshing, and beautifully accompanied by the basil.

In their store, they offer some recipe cards featuring their gelato, these inspired me. I knew I had to develop some recipes with their products so I came up with this super simple cheesecake. All you have to do is blend together gelato with cream cheese, let it freeze and viola you have a lovely dessert that you can customize however you like!

I made a coconut crust for this so that it is gluten free as well. The coconut crust is incredible and went so well with the sorbetto I used. You can toast the crust like I did or leave it no-bake and just press it onto the bottom. You can also use a traditional graham crust or other crust if you do not like coconut.

If you do not eat dairy, do make sure to use a dairy free frozen dessert (like sorbetto!) and vegan cream cheese! I used honey to sweeten this and depending on the ice cream you use, you may have to add more or even none at all to get your desired sweetness.

Please let me know if you make this cheesecake!With the beginning of spring and summer just around the corner, it will be the perfect no-bake, refreshing, and cool treat.

Gelato Cheesecake
Make one cake, serves about 8

Ingredients

For Crust

1 1/2 cup shredded coconut
3-5 tbsp coconut oil, softened

For Cheesecake

1 cup (about 1/2 pint) sorbetto, gelato, or ice cream. This should be a little soft so that it's not too frozen to blend
2 packages cream cheese or vegan cream cheese, softened at room temperature
1/3-1/2 cup honey (or more or less)

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350F if you are toasting your crust. Prepare an 8" spring form pan by placing some parchment paper on the bottom.
2. In a food processor, process crust ingredients into it is starting to stick together and the shredded coconut is small. Don't blend too much! We're looking for the coconut to be smaller but still visible like a dough, blending too much will create coconut butter.
3. Press dough firmly into bottom of pan. Bake for 10 minutes until coconut is fragrant and lightly brown. Set aside and allow to cool.
4. Place all ingredients for cheesecake in a large bowl and blend with a hand or stand mixer until combined, smooth, and creamy.
5. Pour cheesecake filling on top of your crust and place in freezer for at least 3 hours. You can get away with less but it might be hard to cut since the cake will be soft
6. I recommend taking the cake out of the freezer a couple minutes before serving so that it is a little creamier than frozen! Enjoy!

# Cake # Cheesecake

March 18, 2018

Vegan Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

Kat @ Cupcake Kat 7:13 PM 2 Comments

These are the best oatmeal cookies I have ever had! I have made them several times now and every time I share them they are a hit!

Hope everyone is having a lovely spring! I am even though it seems winter wants to stay.

I haven't had as much time to post or engage on social media because of my final teaching practicum. It has been busy but wonderful.

I have even had the opportunity to teach a grade ten dance option class which has been so much fun! Crossing my fingers that I can get hired to this in September!

I adapted this from The Vegetarian Baker. They are the best oatmeal cookies I have ever had! (did I already say that?). The Vegetarian Baker has some great vegan recipes. I originally found him on Youtube where he does excellent videos.

Vegan Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
Makes 24

Ingredients
1 tbsp ground flax seed mixed with 3 tbsp of water, sit for 15 minutes
1 1/2 cup oats
3/4 cup spelt flour
1 tsp corn starch
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp Himalayan pink salt
1/2 cup coconut sugar
1/4 sugar
1/4 cup grape seed oil
1 tbsp almond milk
1/2 tsp vanilla or almond extract
1/4 cup shredded coconut
1/3 cup chocolate chips

Directions
1. In a large bowl, combine oats, spelt flour, corn starch, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt.
2. In another smaller bowl, combine flax seed egg, coconut sugar, grape seed oil, and extract. Whisk until smooth.
3. Pour wet ingredients into dry. Fold until combined and then blend until a dough is formed
4. Fold in shredded coconut and chocolate chips
5. Cover bowl and chill in the fridge as your oven preheats to 350F
6. Shape cookies into balls and flatten. Bake in the oven for 10-12 minutes until golden brown

# Cookies # Vegan

March 11, 2018

Raw Raspberry Tarts

Kat @ Cupcake Kat 11:03 AM 8 Comments

This recipe changed my life! And I don't say that often. I love trying new recipes but I tend to stick to baked goods because I love mixing batters and seeing the changes in the oven!

However, after making these I am on a mission to make more similar recipes! If you have any good please let me know!

All you NEED for this recipe is:

Almonds

Dates

Hazelnuts

Maple Syrup and Lemon Juice

Coconut Oil

Vanilla

Raspberries

I adapted this from Jess at Choosing Chia who is one of my favorite food bloggers! You can see her recipe here. You should check out her site for some more awesome recipes and lifestyle posts.

These raspberry tarts are vegan, gluten free, free of refined sugars, paleo, and the list goes on! They also happen to taste absolutely amazing, sweet, and creamy! Make them for a healthy treat or dessert!

Raw Raspberry Tarts
Adapted from here

Ingredients

Base
1/2 cup almonds
4 Medjool dates
pinch of Himalayan pink salt

Raspberry Topping
1 cup blanched hazelnuts*
1/4 cup almond milk
3 tbsp maple syrup
2 tbsp lemon juice
3 tbsp melted coconut oil
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup raspberries

Directions

1. Blanche hazelnuts if desired (see note below)
2. In a food processor, blend the almonds, dates, and salt until it sticks together.
3. Press dough into the bottom of a silicon muffin pan (I also made a couple mini tarts in a regular muffin pan and this worked well too!). Let this set in the fridge.
4. Blend hazelnuts, almond milk, maple syrup, lemon juice, coconut oil, and vanilla extract in a food processor or blender until smooth and creamy. Add raspberries and blend until smooth
5. Take base out of fridge and smooth the raspberry topping on top.
6. Place in freezer and freeze for 2-4 hours until set.
7. Carefully take tarts out of your pan, allow them to de-freeze a little, and serve! Leftovers can be stored in the fridge

*I wanted to use blanched hazelnuts so that they would mix nicely with the raspberries for the topping. Blanching hazelnuts requires boiling them in water for about 5 minutes then straining them and peeling off the skins in a paper towel. If you want these 100% raw then you can forgo blanching the hazelnuts in boiling water. Letting them sit in warm water overnight then taking off the skins could also work.

# Cheesecake # Gluten Free

February 25, 2018

Lingonberry Elderflower Sponge Cake

Kat @ Cupcake Kat 6:32 PM 0 Comments

A few weeks ago I was at Ikea!

I bought plants, candles, and of course food! It was close to Valentine's Day and I was inspired to use my heart shaped cake pan that I bought last time I was at Ikea.

I decided to make a sponge cake with elderflower concentrate and lingonberry jam. The results were amazing! I absolutely love lingonberries and really must get the jam more often! The elderflower concentrate was also delicious.

If you do not have the jam or concentrate on hand, you can substitute with apple juice and any kind of jam you like! I would even say increase the amount of juice whatever you're using if you want a more intense taste but I'm not sure how this would affect the cake! Let me know if you try it.

I love the way sponge cake is so light and fluffy and the way it encloses the layers of jam and whipped cream. Such a simple dessert but still a showstopper!

Lingonberry Elderflower Sponge Cake

Ingredients

Cake
1/2 cup plus 2 tbsp sugar
4 large eggs at room temperature
pinch of salt
1 tbsp elderflower juice concentrate
1 cup flour, sifted
2 tbsp cornstarch, sifted in with flour

Filling
2/3 cup lingonberry jam
1 1/3 cup heavy cream
3 tbsp honey
2 tsp elderflower concentrate

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350F. Oil an 8" round pan (or heart shaped pan!) and line it with parchment paper
2. Put sugar, eggs, salt, and elderflower concentrate in a bowl.
3. Beat with hand or stand mixer until eggs are fluffy and pale. About 15-20 minutes. To test if your mixture is ready, let a small amount of the batter fall on top. If it stays on top for a second before sinking then your mixture is ready.
4. Sift flour and cornstarch on top of eggs a little at a time and fold it in
5. Pour batter into prepared pan. No need to smooth or tap it! You'll get rid of all the fluff you have worked so hard to create!
6. Bake for 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean
7. Turn off oven but leave cake inside for 5-10 minutes to cool slowly
8. Remove sponge cake from oven and allow to cool completely or over night before removing
9. Once cake is removed from pan, carefully slice it in half through the center with a serrated knife

For filling
1. Whip heavy cream with the honey and elderflower concentrate until stiff peaks form
2. On bottom layer of the cake you have sliced, smear jam on top. You may want to use more jam depending on your preference and how much you're able to cover
3. Layer whipped cream on top of jam
4. Place top half of cake on top and sprinkle with icing sugar if desired

# Cake

February 19, 2018

Soft Chocolate Cranberry Cookies (vegan)

Kat @ Cupcake Kat 6:05 PM 2 Comments

Perfectly soft and thick chocolate cranberry cookies. Making a fun and unique cookie has never been easier!

What's the secret to keeping these cookies soft? Cornstarch!
If you have never tried adding cornstarch to your cookies, I highly recommend it. Just like it gives gravies, puddings, and fillings a more full-bodied texture, cornstarch will keep your cookie dough more compact during the baking process, leaving the cookies soft, thick, and puffy.

Make sure not to over bake these as it will result in a crunchier cookie. It will still be tasty but if a soft cookie is what you want, try to keep the bake time closer to 10 minutes or less even depending on how long you refrigerated the dough for.

Chocolate Cranberry Cookies

Ingredients
1 cup spelt flour
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/3 cup cocoa powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 tbsp cornstarch
1/2 cup grape seed oil (or other vegetable oil)
1/2 cup coconut sugar
1/3 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup dried cranberries
1/3 cup chocolate chips

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper
2. In a large bowl, mix together spelt flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, cocoa powder, salt, and cornstarch.
3. In another smaller bowl, whisk the grape seed oil with the coconut sugar and maple syrup.
4. Add the oil mixture to the dry ingredients and mix until cocoa powder is incorporated
5. Fold in cranberries and chocolate chips
6. Cover and chill dough in the refrigerator for 15-30 minutes
7. Scoop dough and roll into tablespoon sized balls. Bake for 10-12 minutes until firm

# Cookies # Vegan

February 13, 2018

Vegan Coconut Flour Brownies (vegan, gluten free, sugar free)

Kat @ Cupcake Kat 11:23 AM 0 Comments

I have been obsessed with pink lately! Not sure if it's because Valentine's Day is coming up or what but I used to not like pink at all! But I have to say, the new obsession is quite welcome.

These brownies are so healthy you won't believe it! I have been looking hard for a vegan recipe that uses coconut flour but they are so hard to find as coconut flour generally needs a lot of eggs to bind.

This recipe uses lots of flax seeds instead of eggs which works well. You may taste some grittiness from the flax if you make your own like I do but the frosting will mask this.

I adapted this recipe from Has Fit (which by the way has amazing workout videos!) and made my own frosting. The brownies are refined sugar free but the frosting is not. If you want to make these sugar free you can omit the frosting.

I like to make my own coconut butter by blending shredded coconut with a little bit of salt in a food processor until it's creamy! This goes great for recipes or drizzling on to pancakes, oatmeal etc.

If you don't have lingonberry jam, you can substitute this for raspberry or strawberry jam. I think cranberry juice would also work well but you may have to omit the almond milk.

You can make the frosting ahead and refrigerate it if needed. You will however, need to wait a few minutes for it to soften as the coconut butter will harden in the fridge.
If you don't have a heart shaped muffin tin, you can use a regular muffin tin. You could also bake these in a 8X8" pan (adjust baking time. It will probably be 20-25 minutes). Allow it to cool before removing the brownies from the pan and then cut out hearts with a heart shaped cookie cutter.

Vegan Coconut Flour Brownies
Makes 12-15

For Brownies
5 tbsp ground flax seeds
3/4 cup plus 3 tbsp of water
1/2 cup coconut flour
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/3 cup coconut oil, melted
3/4 cup maple syrup
2 tbsp almond milk (plus more if needed)

For Frosting
1/4 cup coconut butter
2 tbsp coconut oil
2 cups powdered sugar
2 tbsp lingonberry jam*
2 tbsp almond milk

Directions
1. Whisk together flax seeds with your water and let sit for 10 minutes until sticky. Preheat your oven to 350F and oil a muffin tin
2. In a medium sized bowl, combine the coconut flour, cocoa powder, salt, and baking soda
3. In a separate bowl, whisk together your flax seed mixture, coconut oil, maple syrup, and almond milk.
4. Pour wet ingredients over dry and mix until combined
5. Spoon batter into muffin tin until they are a little less than half way full
6. Bake for 12-15 minutes until brownies are set and lightly brown on the edges
7. As your brownies are cooling, get started on the frosting!
8. With a hand mixer, cream together coconut butter and coconut oil until combined
9. Add in powdered sugar a little at a time and blend until fluffy
10. Beat in lingonberry jam and almond milk until light and fluffy. You should be able to spread it quite easily. Add in more almond milk if needed

*You can use raspberry or strawberry jam or even cranberry juice instead! If using juice omit the almond milk unless it ends up being necessary to reach the right consistency.

# Brownies # Gluten Free

February 5, 2018

White Chocolate Peanut Butter Squares

Kat @ Cupcake Kat 8:49 PM 0 Comments

I'm going to let you all in on a little secret, well it's not really a secret. But I loooove peanut butter! I also adore white chocolate. I mean, I like all chocolate and especially dark chocolate but there's just something about the buttery sweetness of white chocolate that I love in sweets and desserts.

The almond flour in these really makes a difference. I don't usually use almond flour in my recipes. Mostly because it costs an arm and a leg. But I was so pleasantly surprised by how almond flour really made the difference in this recipe. It made them moist but crumbly and buttery! I hope to use almond flour more often so if you have any hacks for it, please let me know!

These bars are the perfect treat for breakfast, an energy boosting snack, or an after dinner treat! They are just subtly sweet and I think they were perfect this way. However, if you have an extra sweet tooth or serving it to those not used to healthy desserts, you may want to up the coconut sugar by an extra quarter cup.

White Chocolate Peanut Butter Squares

Ingredients
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup coconut oil
2 eggs
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup almond flour
1 tbsp coconut flour
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup coconut sugar
1/4 cup chopped white chocolate

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350F. Oil and/or line a 8x8" pan
2. With an electric mixture, blend together the peanut butter, coconut oil, eggs, and vanilla until smooth and creamy.
3. Stir in almond flour, coconut flour, coconut sugar, and cinnamon.
4. Fold in white chocolate
5. Spread into prepared baking dish and bake for 20 minutes or until the center is sent and the edges are golden brown
6. Cool before cutting into squares. These taste great straight out of the fridge as well

# Bars # Blondies

March 30, 2018

Tahini Turmeric Cookies

March 25, 2018

Gelato Cheesecake

March 18, 2018

Vegan Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

March 11, 2018

Raw Raspberry Tarts

February 25, 2018

Lingonberry Elderflower Sponge Cake

February 19, 2018

Soft Chocolate Cranberry Cookies (vegan)

February 13, 2018

Vegan Coconut Flour Brownies (vegan, gluten free, sugar free)

February 5, 2018

White Chocolate Peanut Butter Squares

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