My most recent discovery was condensed coconut milk. That’s right. Dairy-free canned condensed milk! To those who are not regular bakers, this may not seem very exciting. But believe me, when I found it in the store, it opened up a whole new world for dairy-free baking. I found it locally at Meijer supermarket, in the same aisle as the regular condensed milk. Here’s what it looks like:

My head was full of ideas about how to use this stuff. Magic cookie bars perhaps? Sometime, yes, I will do that. But I had dreams about strawberry coconut fluffy cupcakes, so I decided to incorporate the coconut condensed milk into the filling for this dessert. It’s a vanilla bean cupcake, a filling made of fresh strawberries, condensed coconut milk and coconut, topped with a vanilla bean coconut whipped cream and a fresh strawberry. Yum!

Dreamy Strawberry Coconut Cupcakes #dairyfree #eggfree #peanutfree

Cake and whipped cream recipes adapted from chefchloe.com
Makes 24 Cupcakes

VANILLA BEAN CUPCAKES
2 cups sugar
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups non-dairy milk
1 cup canola oil
¼ cup apple cider vinegar
1 Tablespoon vanilla bean paste, or the seeds scraped from 1 vanilla bean

Procedure

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line two 12-cup cupcake pans with paper liners. Spray with allergen-free baking spray.
2. Whisk together the sugar, baking soda, salt, and flour into a bowl.
3. In a separate bowl, mix the non-dairy milk, oil, vinegar and vanilla until smooth.
4. Pour the wet mixture into the dry mixture and mix with a whisk.
5. Divide the batter evenly among the prepared cupcake liners until each cup is 2/3 full. Bake for about 20 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
6. Cool in pans ten minutes. Remove from pans to cool completely.

VANILLA BEAN COCONUT WHIPPED CREAM

1 can full-fat coconut milk, chilled (I prefer Thai Kitchen or Whole Foods brand, chilled overnight)
1/3 cup powdered sugar
1/2 tsp. jarred powdered vanilla bean (I got mine from Williams Sonoma), or vanilla beans scraped from 1 vanilla bean

Procedure

1. Freeze the stainless steel bowl and wire whip attachment of a stand mixer for at least 30 minutes.
2. From the coconut milk can, scoop out only the solid white part of the coconut milk that has separated from the liquid (the less liquid, the better). Place the solidified coconut milk, powdered sugar and vanilla bean in the chilled bowl.
3. Whip on high speed for two minutes (turn off the mixer once or twice during whipping to scrape down the bowl).
4. Chill in refrigerator until ready to use.

COCONUT STRAWBERY FILLING

1/2 cup coconut condensed milk
1/4 cup chopped fresh strawberries
1/4 cup sweetened coconut flakes

Procedure

1. In a small bowl, combine all ingredients together and mix well.
2. Chill in refrigerator until ready to use.

Assembly
Besides the cupcakes, filling and coconut whipped cream, you will need fresh sliced strawberries as garnish.

1. Core each cupcake using an apple corer (Save the middles to make dessert shots with the leftover filling and whipped cream).
2. Use a piping bag with or without a coupler to fill each cupcake with the strawberry coconut filling.
3. Use a piping bag or dessert decorator with a large star tip to pipe coconut whipped cream on top of each cupcake.
4. Garnish each cupcake with strawberry slices.
5. Refrigerate cupcakes until ready to serve.

About Sheila Ray

I've been a full-time creative communications professional since college, and my work includes art direction, graphic design, writing and photography. I run a freelance creative marketing strategy business from my home office. I'm also a mom of two children, one of which has life-threatening food allergies. I experience, learn, and discover more about myself and God's plan for me everyday. As I share my stories, I share my faith. I hope you find my blog informational and inspirational.

View all posts by Sheila Ray →