By Joanna: When I made my first batch of cupcakes a few years ago, I was gob-smacked by the ingredients list. Butter. Sugar. Flour. Icing - more butter and sugar, plus food colouring. Decorating with pre-made cupcake decorations from the supermarket (imagine the ingredients) made it feel like an art project. Fun - but obviously unhealthy.
Sometimes I crave cupcakes and their sweet taste. There's something about them too (more than the sweet-hit) Cupcakes are just fun to eat. What's a birthday party without cupcakes?
I was certain I could make my own healthy alternative for my son's pre-school lunch box that would be healthier than the typical packet-mix or old-school recipe. I feel proud feeding these to my 2 little boys ... Yes, even a crawler can eat these!
* Gluten-free
* Sugar-free
* Dairy-free
- No additives
- No artificial colours or flavours
What IS in them? Hidden fruit, almonds and coconut, mostly. Plus the super-food Chia Seeds. (It's the mix of black Chia Seeds with banana that inspired the lovable name 'Speckled Monkey'.)
You will need:
- 1 cup almond meal
- 1/4 cup dessicated coconut
- 2 eggs
- 250ml apricot nectar (or pre-made banana smoothie, or coconut milk)
- 1 tbsp honey
- 2 bananas, mashed
- 1/2 cup of coconut cream
- 2 tbsp black chia seeds
- 1 tbsp honey (extra)
- 1/2 a mashed banana (extra)
- cupcake decoration such as puffed corn or little pieces of fresh fruit
Directions:
1. Pre- heat oven to 180 degrees Celsius.
2. In a large mixing bowl, mix the almond meal and dessicated coconut with a wooden spoon. Make well in centre.
3. Break 2 eggs into a measuring cup. Add the honey, and apricot nectar. Close the lid and shake to combine (or whisk with a fork).
4. Pour the wet mixture into the dry mixture, add the mashed bananas, and combine well with the wooden spoon.
5. Spoon heaped tablespoons into cupcake wrappers on a baking tray.
6. Optional: if you don't plan to put icing on your cupcakes, you can spoon a dollop of coconut cream onto the top of each cupcake and swirl it around gently. This will give a nice little creamy-look effect on the finished baked product.
7. Bake in oven for 25 minutes, or until the cupcakes are starting to deepen in colour. Poke a knife in to test the cooking progress - if it comes out clean, the cupcakes are cooked.
ICING
While the cupcakes are baking you can prepare your icing.
1. In a mug, mix the coconut cream with the black chia seeds, extra honey and extra mashed banana.
2. Put the mug in the fridge for your icing to set (20 minutes).
3. When the cupcakes are baked and have cooled, use a knife to spread the icing over the cakes. Then dress with something you love, like a date, or an almond, or a slice of banana or strawberry. My little guy chose to dress ours with puffed corn.
Warning: These little monkeys are more- ish!
Enjoy!
