Creamy berry mini cakes | 4th of July recipes

I love berry season! Enjoy this delectable miniature cake with a slightly lemony, delicate flavor, creamy vanilla topping, and fresh berries. Happy 4th of July to those of you in the U.S.!

I will never be a themed-cupcake blog, but that doesn’t mean I don’t enjoy a fun themed party. In fact, some friends of ours just had a surprise birthday party where all the women wore red cocktail dresses and the men white shirts.

U.S. readers: Any guesses as to what hit TV show inspired that party theme?

I do enjoy sophisticated themed food from time to time, and berry season naturally lends itself to our patriotic holidays. Using solid color napkins and tablecloths, you can decorate for quite a few parties without having to have “stars and stripes” decor.

This could also work for Bastille Day, or national holidays in the following (30!) red-white-and-blue flag countries: Australia, Cambodia, Chile, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cuba, Czech Republic, Dominican Republic, Faroe Islands, France, Iceland, North Korea, Laos, Luxembourg, Nepal, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Panama, Paraguay, Philippines, Puerto Rico, Russia, Samoa, Serbia & Montenegro, Slovakia, Slovenia, Taiwan, Thailand, and the U.K.

Assuming you can get the ingredients in North Korea.

This might look like a strawberry shortcake, but it’s more of a light cupcake consistency, with a creamy topping that’s a cross between Cool Whip and frosting. I used these super-cute Wilton Tasty Fill Mini Cake Pans that were provided by Wilton in the Camp Blogaway swag bag, and Driscoll’s provided the berries. You could also do this as a sheet cake or cupcakes, serve the berries and the topping in bowls, and let people build their own dessert.

Creamy mini berry cakes
Makes 8 mini cakes or 24 cupcakes

For the cakes:
1 C. (135 g) sorghum flour
1 C. (120 g) oat flour
1 C. (160 g) brown rice flour
1/4 C. (25 g) coconut flour
1 T. (5 g) baking powder
1 t. (2 g) xanthan gum
1 t. (2 g) salt
1/2 t. (1 g) baking soda

3 T. (15 g) flax seeds
6 T. (90 ml) filtered water
1 C. (250 ml) agave syrup
1 C. (250 g) unsweetened applesauce
1/4 C. (60 ml) coconut oil
2 T. (20 ml) vanilla
zest from 2 lemons

1 C. (250 ml) lemon-flavored mineral water

Preheat oven to 325F/165C/gas mark 3. Spray the mini cake pans with oil spray or line two muffin pans with paper cupcake liners.

Sift and measure the flours into a large bowl. Whisk or sift all the dry ingredients together (the sorghum flour through the baking soda).

Put the flax seeds in a dry blender and grind them until they look like coarse flour. Add the ground flax seeds to the filtered water in a large mixing bowl (the bowl for a stand mixer if you have one) and let it stand five minutes. [Wipe out the blender with a towel before making the powdered sugar for the topping.]

Add the agave syrup, applesauce, coconut oil, vanilla, and lemon zest to the mixer bowl and blend until fluffy. You want to add as much air as possible to help create a tender, fluffy cake. With the mixer running on medium, add in the flour mixture a bit at a time until it is thoroughly mixed. Add in the mineral water and mix just until you have a smooth, pourable cake batter.

Using a measuring cup or ice cream scoop, fill the pans or cups no more than 2/3 full. If using mini pans, put them on  baking sheets so you can more easily get them in and out of the oven.

Bake for 11 minutes. Turn the pans 180 degrees so they bake evenly. Bake another 8 minutes, or until the tops crack a little and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Remove from the oven and set on wire racks to cool. When the pans are cool to the touch, remove the cakes by running a thin knife or spatula around the edge and set on the wire racks to finish cooling completely.

For the creamy vanilla topping
Makes enough to frost/top 24 cupcakes or 8 mini cakes

3/4 C. (180 ml) unsweetened rice milk
3/4 C. (275 g) dry soy or rice milk powder*
2/3 C. (160 ml) coconut oil
1/4 C. (60 ml) light agave syrup
1 T. (15 ml) vanilla
1 T. (15 ml) lemon juice

1/2 C. (100 g) granulated organic sugar, sucanat, or coconut sugar

Put the granulated sugar in a dry blender, tightly close the lid, and blend on high until it’s powdered sugar. Set it aside in a bowl, whisking to make sure there are no lumps.

Melt the coconut oil, measure it, and set aside. I melt my coconut oil by heating water in a microwave-safe bowl and setting the jar in there.

Add the rice milk, milk powder, agave syrup, vanilla, and lemon juice to the blender. Start on low, then turn up to high. Leaving the blender running, stream in the coconut oil until you have a thick, creamy consistency. If you have a regular blender, you might not be able to get all the oil into the emulsion. Stop adding it when it’s no longer blending in. The topping will thicken in the refrigerator.

Use a rubber spatula to scrape out the topping into a medium-sized bowl. Slowly stir in the powdered sugar. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

To serve:
Wash and thoroughly drain one package each of strawberries and blueberries. Build the desserts just before serving.

Notes: To get a more “white” frosting/topping, you need to use lighter ingredients. You might have to order rice milk powder; it’s lighter in color than the soy milk powder. Rice milk is more white than soy milk. Light organic granulated sugar is much lighter than coconut sugar. You’ll want the lightest color agave syrup as well. If you can’t find lemon-flavored mineral water, use seltzer or soda water. The carbonation helps provide lift and creates the delicate texture.

You might also like:
Healthy 4th of July appetizers and desserts from Healthy Voyager
Cucumber cake from Awake at the Whisk
Triple berry raw cheesecake from Spabettie

Required disclosure: Driscoll’s sent me coupons to purchase the berries, and Wilton provided the mini cake pans as part of the Camp Blogaway swag bag. I was not paid to write this post.

All of our recipes are gluten-free, sugar-free, and made with plant-based ingredients to help you build a healthy life. We support Meatless Monday. Look for midweek posts on meditation, service, and life lessons, helping you create inner balance.

Tagged as: agave syrup, applesauce, blueberries, brown rice flour, coconut flour, coconut oil, flaxseed, lemon juice, oat flour, organic sugar, rice milk, rice milk powder, sorghum flour, soy milk powder, strawberries, vanilla, xanthan gum