was there ever a time in your life that you visited a grandparents house for dinner and the minute dishes and leftovers were put away , they cracked open the Neapolitan Ice cream?

It’s basically the grandparent/summer staple dessert that everyone enjoys, but it’s nobodies favorit. Thankfully, It’s is an ingenious idea and a great starting point to making any dessert better! Natalie, Daniel and I all agreed Neapolitan ice cream needed a face lift so we recreated it into the best darn vegan and gluten free cupcakes you can get your hands on!

The strawberry icing uses only 2 ingredients and is super flavorful and versatile! If you take anything away from the recipe, is that vegan frosting is NOT a myth and is super simple to accomplish! The freeze dried strawberries and the coconut cream make a lovely couple that definitely beats the artificial strawberry taste you usually find. The layers are fluffy and moist with the perfect punch of chocolate and smooth vanilla flavor! All coming together to make a perfect trio of vanilla, chocolate & strawberry!

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup applesauce

• 1/4th cup coconut oil

• 1 cup almond milk

• 1/3rd cup agave

• 1 tsp. vanlla

• 1 3/4th cup oat flour

• 1 1/4th cup almond flour

• 1/4th cup tapioca flour

• 1/4th cup cocoa powder

• 2 tsp baking powder

• 1/2 tsp baking soda

• 1/2 tsp. salt

Strawberry Frosting

• 1 cup coconut cream

• 1 cup freeze-dried strawberries

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350F

2. Whisk together the applesauce, coconut oil, almond milk, agave, & vanilla.

3. In a separate bowl, whisk together the almond four, oat flour, cane sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt until lump-free

4. Add the wet to dry and stir to combine

5. Separate batter into 2 bowls. Stir the tapioca starch into one half and the cocoa powder into the other.

6. Line a cupcake pan with paper liners (or spray with nonstick spray)

7. Fill each cupcake halfway with the vanilla batter. Top with chocolate batter, filling almost all the way to the top

8. Bake for 20-25 minutes at 350F. When done they should spring back when lightly press in the center.

9. Allow cupcakes to cool completely before frosting.

10. For the frosting, grind the freeze-dried strawberries to a fine powder. Whisk into the coconut cream until smooth and pink. Chill until ready to frost.

11. Frost cooled cupcakes, top with sprinkles if desired, and enjoy!