Strawberry Cupcakes

My birthday is this weekend, so I asked my boys what type of cake I should make.  My older son immediately shouted, "Strawberry Cake!" He's since changed his mind and want me to make chocolate cake with strawberry frosting, but it got me thinking that I don't have a good strawberry cake recipe...until now.  

This cake is not you typical pink cake...it's not flavored with strawberry gelatin, so it has a more natural taste.  I absolutely love it and so does my little one.  He just told me last night that it's now his favorite type of cake.

Strawberry Cupcakes
1 cup evaporated cane juice (or white sugar)
2/3 cup agave nectar or honey
1 cup palm oil shortening
4 eggs
1/2 tablespoon vanilla
2 1/2 cups GF flour blend
1/2 cup freeze dried strawberry powder (I buy whole freeze dried strawberries and pulse them in the blender until it makes a powder)
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup dairy-free milk
3/4 cup fresh strawberry puree

Directions
Preheat oven to 350F.  Grease or line muffin tins and set aside.  In a large mixing bowl cream together the evaporated cane juice, agave or honey, and the palm oil shortening.  Add in the eggs one at a time, mixing well between each addition, then add in the vanilla.

Combine the dry ingredients together in a separate bowl.  And combine the dairy-free milk and the strawberry puree together.  Add the dry ingredients into the sugar/egg mixture in small batches, alternating with the strawberry/milk mixture, until everything it added.  Mix on medium-high for a couple of minutes to smooth the batter out.

Scoop the batter into the muffin tins and bake for ~20 minutes at 350F or until a toothpick comes out clean.

You can frost them with a strawberry buttercream or top with a chocolate ganache (sorry, forgot to take pictures of these ones, but they are good!).

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