Is it just me or is February already rolling by? This week is already the week of Valentine’s Day, and the boys and I have been having fun putting together my kindergarteners Valetines, and making a few valentines treats! It was really rainy this weekend, so it was the perfect weekend to stay in and bake. The boys wanted me to get creative and make cake pops – but my baking skills are not to that level. So, we whipped up a batch of Dairy Free Vanilla Cupcakes instead! I’m not dairy free all of the time, but I’ve been known to make a few dairy free recipes here or there. My hubby is sensitive to dairy, so he appreciates it! Plus, I had unsweetened almond milk on hand, which was perfect for them.

These cupcakes are your basic vanilla cupcake, but I used So Delicious Organic Almondmilk with Cashews, that I picked up at Walmart and palm shortening in place of the butter.

The best part about So Delicious Organic Almondmilk with Cashews is it only has 7 ingredients (or fewer – mine had 6), and each flavor is 50 calories or less per serving. Plus, the bottles are made from 80% plant material and are recyclable. So the cupcakes stay simple and they are just as sweet and yummy and not by any means, less of a treat!

Dairy Free Vanilla Cupcake

Makes 12 Cupcakes

• 2 cups cake flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 cup palm shortening
• 3/4 cup of sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup So Delicious Almondmilk with Cashews
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

I made a video to show the steps, but personally I prefer to read directions when I’m following a recipe! So here ya go!

1. Preheat oven to 375f
2. Mix 1/2 cup softened palm shortening with 3/4 cup of sugar
3. Add one egg and mix
4. Add the other egg and teaspoon of vanilla and mix well
5. Set aside
6. In a separate bowl, mix flour, baking powder and salt. Make sure your baking powder isn’t expired, I recently learned if it’s expired it wont rise properly. 
7. Add 1/2 of the wet mixture to the dry mixture, mix. 
8. Add the other 1/2 of the wet mixture and 1 cup of So Delicious Almondmilk, mix until smooth. 
9. Spray both sides of your cupcakes liners with coconut oil and fill evenly. I originally made 24 cupcakes with this recipe, but they didn’t rise like I wanted them to, so I would cut it down to 12.
10. Bake for 18 mins at 375f

Dairy Free Vanilla Icing

• 3 1/2 cups confectioners sugar
• 1/4 cup So Delicious Almondmilk (approximate, add this slowly to get the right consistency)
• 1 cup softened palm shortening
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. Mix the confectioners sugar with the palm shortening. Palm shortening is not as creamy as butter, so it’s a little difficult to cream with the sugar. I melted mine a bit to get it to mix. 
2. Add vanilla extract and slowly add Almond Milk until you get the consistency you want. I like mine thick, so I added about 1/4 cup of almond milk.
3. Once your cupcakes are cool, ice and sprinkle away! 

This basic recipe can be used year round, but the cute hearts gave it that fun Valentines vibe we were going for. These liners also had cute saying on the bottom like “Bae” and “BFF”. Too fun! 

Are you a fan of dairy free recipes?
-Brooke