Raw Raspberry Red Velvet Cupcakes

The very first recipe I ever posted on this blog was red velvet cupcakes, so I have a special place in my heart for red velvet.  Although those ones were quite different than the ones I decided to make this weekend, since I still ate dairy and eggs at that time.  The thing that was the same though, was the use of beets.  Beets make such lovely colored desserts, I do not know why anyone would want to use red food coloring.  I guess they make the color a little more pink but I like that.

I had been asked by a reader recently to make red velvet cupcakes with filling, and I finally got to making them yesterday.  I loved the idea of filling, since I am all about the frosting and filling on cakes.  But instead of just plain red velvet, I wanted to make raspberry red velvet!  Sounded perfect for this time of year with Valentine's Day coming and all.  I used raspberries in both the cake and the filling for plenty of flavor.  

 I topped them off with creamy white frosting and thought they were pretty adorable.  I would have loved these as a 5 year old with the pink and red.  They were delicious and packed with plenty of raspberry flavor.    My favorite part was the creamy filling with raspberries!  These would be perfect for V-day and you can be sure I will be posting more recipes before the 14th as I am quite excited about the Holiday and I love all the desserts that go along with it.

Raw Raspberry Red Velvet Cupcakes

Makes 8



Cake:
1 3/4 cups raw almond meal

2  cups dried shredded unsweetened coconut

1 cup dried raspberries*
1/4 tsp sea salt
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
12 medjool dates, pitted
3 small organic apples, mashed

2 inch piece raw red beet, chopped

Cream filling and frosting:
1 1/2 cups raw cashew pieces (preferably soaked overnight)
1/2 cup coconut water

2 cups fresh young coconut meat (or additional soaked cashews if not available)
1/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp raw coconut or agave nectar or raw honey
1/2 tsp sea salt
2 teaspoons vanilla and seeds of half a vanilla bean
1/2 cup raw coconut oil (warmed to liquid)

1/4 cup organic raspberries

For the cake, combine the almond meal, and coconut and raspberries in the food processor and process until finely ground like flour. Add sea salt, vanilla, and dates and process until well combined and dates have blended into the flour. Add the apples and beets and process until smooth. Spread out into a square about 2 inches tall on a lined dehydrator sheet. Dehydrate at 115 for about 12 hours, then remove and use a round cookie cutter to cut out 8 circles. Place back in the dehydrator and continue to dehydrate until dry, but still moist in the center like cake about 2-3 more hours. Remove from dehydrator, let cool, then using a pearing knife, carefully cut out the centers, down about an inch. (you can eat the centers, my favorite part about being the baker).
For the filling and frosting, combine the cashews, coconut meat, coconut water, sea salt, agave nectar, and vanilla anc process until smooth. Add the coconut oil slowly with the motor running (If the mixture starts to separate and clump, the filling is too cold to emulsify the oil, so warm some of it and process again). Remove 1/3 of the cream and place it back in the food processor.  Add the raspberries to the processor with the cream and puree until smooth. Spoon the raspberry cream mixture into the holes in the cupcakes and place in the freezer to set. Place the remaining plain cream in the freezer to set, about 20-3o minutes until frosting consistency. Place the chilled cream into a pastry bag and pipe over the cupcakes.  Serve!

*I made my dried raspberries in the dehydrator, you can use fresh or frozen and it takes about 18-24 hours depending on which you use.