Holidays and Balance: Burpees, Bubbly, & Buttercream Frosting

With May comes a lot of exciting things at our house. Mother's day, my birthday, and Nate's birthday all fall in the month of May and we love to celebrate! In the past this month of celebration would have been just cause in my mind to take a break on all things dealing with health and wellness.

NOT ANYMORE!

Burpees and Bubbly Tank from Fit & Flirty Use code glocke15 for 15% off your order!

I fully believe in living a lifestyle that is as balanced as can be. As a mom, wife, full-time special education teacher, and an online health and wellness coach I am BUSY! I focus my nutrition on eating by the 80/20 rule. 80% healthy, 20% treats--or even cleaner on most weeks. This lifestyle has completely changed my life. It helped me lose 30 pounds when I first decided to make a change and then 40 pounds after having Gabe. I'm not about to look back.

Eating healthy and doing at-home fitness programs has allowed me to find the balance I need in my life. I stay on track as much as possible, and allow myself to have a treat without feeling the guilt I have felt in the past. I also absolutely LOVE baking and being in the kitchen. It is a huge passion and hobby of mine. Cupcakes are my favorite thing. I also like to take things and try to make a fun, and (healthier) spin on them. Check out the recipes section of the blog to find some inspiration for your meal planning!

For all of the celebrations this month I partnered with Fit and Flirty a lifestyle brand whose mission is to "encourage every single lady to recognize that no matter where she is on her fitness journey, she is beautiful, powerful, and should be celebrated." When I found Anna, the owner of this company, on Instagram, I was so excited! She is one of the kindest most motivated women I have ever met, and we have the same goal of sharing a balanced, healthy & active lifestyle.

We brainstormed together to bring you the recipe for these Vanilla Cupcakes with Champagne Buttercream Frosting. Inspired by our mutual love for bubbly & health and wellness as well as my love for buttercream frosting. The cupcake is a health(ier) take on a normal cupcake. The frosting is definitely a treat--so make sure to enjoy every bite!

Without further ado--let's get baking!



Cupcake Ingredients

• 1 cup almond flour 
• 1/2 cup coconut flour 
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp sea salt 
• 1/2 cup unsalted grass-fed butter (you may also use earth balance vegan sticks!) 
• 3/4 cup coconut sugar 
• 4 large eggs 
• 1/4 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract

Frosting Ingredients

• 1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks) 
• 3 cups powdered sugar 
• 2 tbsp champagne (of choice!) 

Cupcake Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350°F
• Place cupcake liners into your baking pan, set aside. 
• Combine almond flour, coconut flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl; mix well. Set aside. 
• Cream together 1/2 cup unsalted butter and coconut sugar in a mixing bowl; beat on medium speed for approximately 1 minute. 
• Add eggs one at a time; beat until well blended. 
• Add 1/4 cup almond milk and extract; beat until blended. (The mixture will look watery--do NOT worry!) 
• Add almond flour mixture to butter mixture slowly; beat until creamy; scraping the sides of the mixing bowl as needed 
• Spoon batter into prepared cupcake pan; filling liners about 3/4 full. 
• The batter will be a bit sticky. Spoon it into the cupcake liners and gently smooth the tops as best as you can. (don't worry too much about the tops because--well, CHAMPAGNE FROSTING!) 
• Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. 
• After 5 minutes transfer to cool on a baking rack.

Frosting Instructions

• Cream butter in mixture until very smooth 
• Add 2 cups of powdered sugar 1/2 cup at a time, blending each cup until smooth. 
• Add in 2 tbsp of champagne, mix thoroughly 
• Add in final cup of powdered sugar, blend until smooth 
• (optional) add in a fun natural food coloring to make it your favorite color! 

These are the perfect treat for birthdays, mother's day, and any celebration. ESPECIALLY if you love champagne and cupcakes! Enjoy!

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Fall Football Series: Gluten Free Vanilla Cupcakes with Buttercream Frosting

Baking is my favorite. I absolutely LOVE to bake. It is a huge stress reliever for me. It also is something fun to do with Gabe. He enjoys dumping all of the ingredients into the mixer and counting how many things we need to put into the recipe! He also loves to peek through the oven door to make sure everything is going okay. I also adore decorating cupcakes and cakes. It's become a passion of mine. Cupcakes (and buttercream frosting) are totally my weakness. I wanted to make a healthier version of the cupcake so when we treated ourselves we could really love up on that buttercream. (I was not about to sacrifice that frosting.) So to round out this Fall Football Series, I have our dessert: Gluten Free Vanilla Cupcakes with Buttercream Frosting

Cupcake Ingredients

• 1 Cup Almond Flour 
• 1/2 Cup Coconut Flour 
• 2 tsp Baking Powder (gluten free) 
• 1/4 tsp Sea Salt 
• 1/2 Cup Unsalted Butter 
• 3/4 Cup Coconut Sugar
• 4 Large Eggs 
• 1/4 Cup Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Milk
• 1 tsp Pure Vanilla Extract

Frosting Ingredients 

• 1 Cup (2 sticks) of Unsalted Butter
• Powdered Sugar (see instructions for amounts) 
• Splash of Almond Milk 
• 1 tsp Pure Vanilla Extract
• 1 tsp Pure Almond Extract 

I'm going to take you step-by-step exactly how I make these cupcakes. Let's jump right in!

Instructions (Cupcakes)

• Preheat oven to 350°F
• Place cupcake liners into you baking pan. Set aside. 
• Combine almond flour, coconut flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl; mix well. set aside. 
• Cream together 1/2 cup unsalted butter and coconut sugar in a mixing bowl; beat on medium speed for approximately 1 minute. 
• Add eggs one at a time; beat until well blended 
• Add 1/4 cup almond milk and extract; beat until blended
  The mixture will look watery--do not worry! 
• Add almond flour mixture to butter mixture slowly; beat until creamy; scraping the sides of the mixing bowl as needed.
• Spoon batter into prepared cupcake pan; filling liners about 3/4 full.  
• The batter is a bit sticky. Spoon it into the cupcake liners and gently smooth the tops as best as you can 
• Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. 
• After 5 minutes transfer to cool on a baking rack. 

The tops of the cupcakes come out a bit bumpy, but, that's okay because, well... FROSTING! Which is my favorite part. It's definitely a treat, so I make sure to enjoy every second of it.

Instructions (Frosting)

• Cream Butter in mixer until very smooth. 
• Add Powdered Sugar 1/2 cup at a time, blending each 1/2 cup into the creamed butter until smooth. 
• After about 1 1/2 cups of powdered sugar, add in almond and vanilla extract, mix in. 

• Continue adding powdered sugar (We normally do 3-3 1/2 cups) to taste. 
• Add in a splash of almond milk (about 1 Tbsp) and blend. 
• Now you're ready to frost! I love using piping bags and piping tips, but you can spread it on with a knife too. Enjoy!!
  
  
  
  
  If you enjoy these cupcakes, please let me know! I love hearing from those who are reading the blog!