Healthy citrus & poppyseed muffins

As requested by Miss 8, mummy's homemade version of her coffee shop favourite . . and do they stack up?? Miss 8 says "These are way better mummy . . plus they are healthy!" . . . Ha! Nothing escapes my daughter! 

These yummy wholesome muffins are citrus-y, moist and light and come with considerably less guilt than your average citrus poppyseed muffin . . .being lower in fat and sugar, and higher in dietary fibre.

Apple, orange & lemon poppyseed muffins

As this recipe uses the whole fruit, skin and all . . . I'd recommend you try to use an organic apple, orange and lemon for this recipe if possible, or at least wash the fruit thoroughly with a fruit and vegetable wash. Virtually nothing goes to waste in this recipe! These will be great for the school lunch box. . .

ingredients

1 whole apple (I used Pink Lady)
1 whole medium orange or tangelo
zest of 1 lemon (plus juice for icing)
2 large eggs
30g coconut oil, melted if solid (or use melted butter)
50g natural yoghurt
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp bicarb
120g white spelt flour
120g wholemeal spelt flour
100g sucanat (rapadura) sugar or raw sugar
1-2 tbsp poppyseeds

method

1. Preheat oven to 170°C and prepare a 12-hole muffin pan.
2. Peel the zest from the lemon and add to the TM bowl and grind for 30 seconds on speed 9, decant and set aside.
3. Core and quarter one apple. Add to the TM bowl and chop for 10 seconds on speed 4. Scrape down the sides.
4. Add 20g water and cook for 8 minutes at 100°C on speed 1. MC lid off.  
5. Cut a whole orange into quarters. Remove the stem piece and slice down the centre of each wedge to remove the white pith and any obvious pips. Add to the TM bowl and blend on speed 7 for 10 seconds. 
6. Return the lemon zest to the TM bowl. Add the eggs, coconut oil and natural yoghurt. Mix on speed 8 for 10 seconds until well combined. 
7. Add baking powder, bicarb, flours, sucanat and poppyseeds and mix for about 8 seconds on reverse speed 4 until mixture just comes together. Do not over-mix.
8. Spoon the muffin mixture into prepared muffin holes filling each to the top, and place in preheated oven to bake for about 12-15 minutes or until golden and a skewer comes out clean. Makes 12. 
9. Juice the zested lemon and make a lemon icing to drizzle over the muffins as pictured (100g icing sugar + 1-2 tbsp lemon juice), or enjoy without to avoid the extra sugar. My girls had fun icing them :-)

 

no thermomix?

• grate lemon zest using a grater, cook up chopped apple on a stovetop or in the microwave. Use a blender or food processor to blend the orange before combining with the remaining ingredients.

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Healthy-ish cacao cupcakes

June is always a crazy month here in Hong Kong. School breaks up for the year at the end of this month . . . so being a teacher I'm busy writing reports, marking assessments etc. Plus every weekend in June (and most weeknights too) seem to be booked up with something social in an effort to cram things in before everyone takes off for our Summer holidays over July-August. . . .just over two weeks to go yay! What I'm secretly looking forward to is more Thermomix 'play' time, as well as quality family time of course! :)

Last weekend . . the first weekend I have neglected to post a recipe on my blog so far :( . . . both our girls were involved in performing for their end of year dance shows over two days! Lucky for mummy (not) they were in two different shows, so I was busy getting them to their rehearsal (1hr away by bus, ferry & taxi - such is HK life without a car) and then hanging out til they performed hours later two days in a row! . . . So needless to say it was a long weekend and they needed something nutritious (and fun to eat) to help them (& mummy) last the distance. . . that's where my chocolate cupcakes (or muffins) come in!  My girls adore cupcakes, as does any child really, so I thought I'd use this as an excuse to have a play and develop a healthy-ish version of their chocolate favourite! BTW my girls delighted us with their performances as we knew they would, so all the effort was well worth it. I just have to share this photo of Miss 8 with you . . my elegant ballerina performing to Swan Lake :)

I must say that I am no stranger to formulating healthier versions of this chocolate treat! I have cleverly disguised spinach & carrot inside a chocolate cupcake/muffin in the past, but this time I thought I'd not go quite as far and settle for making them something which is healthier than the standard recipe, but not quite as adventurous as earlier versions :)

The 'Baci' inspired healthy 'buttercream' (or nut-buttercream) or frosting . . call it what you like! . . actually started out as my experiment for a raw ice-cream which is reminiscent of a soft-serve in texture. . . velvety and smooth. . I fell in love instantly! Frozen banana is a very common ingredient in raw ice-cream, but blend it with raw cacao and ground hazelnuts and it is divine! I'm not a huge fan of the banana flavour, so the addition of these flavourings effectively camouflages this taste for me :) You have to try it!  Of course, the frosting doesn't travel well, especially sitting around all day in 36 degree heat! So I did save it for the leftover cupcakes we finished off at home.

And here is the recipe . .
Healthy-ish cacao cupcakes
These cupcakes are rich, dark, moist and fluffy and considerably healthier than most conventional chocolate cupcakes or muffins with about half the fat and sugar. The topping is so healthy it doesn't count :) . . . it's made from banana, hazelnuts and antioxidant-loaded raw cacao . . . 

ingredients
2 small apples, peeled & quartered
3 fresh meijool dates
1 tbsp water
1 large egg
50g organic extra virgin macadamia or avocado oil 
70g natural yoghurt

80g coconut milk 
1 tsp vanilla bean paste (or liquid extract)

150g organic white spelt flour

20g organic brown basmati rice flour (mill first in your Thermomix)

50g organic raw cacao powder
2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp bicarb soda

70-80g organic sucanat (rapadura) sugar (+ 1 tsp stevia powder - optional)

optional: add choc chips to the batter

'Baci' inspired choc-hazelnut frosting:
50g hazelnuts
120g frozen banana pieces
4 fresh meijool dates
1 tbsp raw cacao powder
1 tsp vanilla paste

method

1. Preheat oven to 170°C. Line a 12-hole muffin pan with cupcake liners.
2. First cook (stew) the apples & dates to make your own apple sauce which works well as a fat replacer, plus the dates add some natural sweetness. Add the apple and dates to the TM bowl. Chop finely on speed 4 for 10 seconds and scrape the sides. Add 1 tbsp water and cook at 100°C for 10 minutes on reverse, speed soft. Allow to cool for 5 minutes.
3. Add egg, oil, yoghurt, vanilla and coconut milk to the TM bowl. Mix on speed 3 for 10 seconds or until well combined.
4. Add cacao powder, spelt flour, baking powder, bicarb soda, rice flour and sucanat and mix until just combined on speed 5 (it is important that you do not over-mix).
5. Spoon the batter evenly into cupcake liners and bake for about 12-14 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean. Allow to cool for a couple of minutes in the pan before transferring to a wire rack. Now wash your TM bowl ready to make the frosting / healthy 'buttercream' !

For the healthy frosting: place the hazelnuts in the TM bowl and grind on speed 9 for 1 minute. Add the frozen banana and dates and chop on speed 4 for 30 seconds. Add the raw cacao and vanilla and blend for 5-10 seconds or until smooth and light on speed 6. 

Spoon the frosting into a disposable piping bag and attach your tip of choice! This frosting keeps well in the fridge for up to 5 days. It is a good idea to store the frosting in the bag and pipe it onto the cupcakes just prior to serving. Enjoy!

variations

• If you have a sweet tooth, you might like to add stevia or use extra sucanat. Personally, I love the rich, dark chocolate flavour, but your children are likely to prefer a little more sweetness.
• Add 1/2 cup chocolate chips for a little more fun! Combine on reverse or using the spatula at the last step.
• You could use coconut oil instead of macadamia oil, but it does tend to give the cupcake a coconut flavour because the recipe also includes coconut milk. If you want to use coconut oil, perhaps swap the coconut milk for another plant-based milk or more yoghurt.

no thermomix?
make recipe as per your usual method for muffins/ cupcakes. . . mix all the dry ingredients first in a large bowl, then in a separate bowl or jug whisk the liquid ingredients together, and then add to the dry ingredients. This is the two-bowl method. Mix only briefly by hand or using an electric mixer until just combined. If you over-mix your cupcakes/ muffins they will be tough and heavy. Of course, you will have to stew up the apples and dates in a saucepan or in the microwave and blend to a puree first. 

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Easter egg cake pops!

Happy Easter everyone! I'm currently out of Hong Kong for the school holidays and a little sad to be away from my Thermomix (sick I know), but it's lovely to be enjoying some quality family time in my homeland of Australia. I'm a little late with this entry which I created for a get together for my big girl and her baby group a week ago now. These are my first attempt at real cake pops and I'm pleased to say that they were a huge hit! 

I decided to go with an Easter theme, owing to the time of year, and naively thought that my egg idea was an original one . . . of course no idea is original these days! Just Google it and you can be sure that someone has thought of it before you :)  Of course, you could always make the traditional ball-shape cake pops with this recipe, for anytime of the year. 

I used my Nanna's faithful vanilla cupcake recipe for the cake crumbs which I have converted for the Thermomix. Nan always made butterfly cakes (also known as fairy cakes), with this recipe which were a big favourite of her grandchildren growing up. Her recipe works well for cake pops because it is not overly sweet like so many cake recipes. There certainly is enough sweetness in this recipe coming from the buttercream used to combine the cake crumbs and of course the white chocolate covering. 

This is also my favourite buttercream recipe at the moment. Something I have developed after playing with a few different recipes, and adapted for the Thermomix. I have made it several times now with great success. The meringue powder is a recent recommendation from a friend, it helps to stabilise the buttercream. Using a Thermomix you achieve a light and fluffy result in a fraction of the time you would normally need to spend beating the mixture using a traditional mixer. If you like to decorate cupcakes with buttercream, this recipe is just perfect! 

Easter egg cake pops 
makes 14

Directions for making the cake pops . . 

You will need:

500g Nanna's vanilla cupcakes (recipe below)

100g Light & fluffy vanilla buttercream (recipe below)

350g white chocolate melts

14 lollypop sticks (or use paddle pop sticks or bamboo skewers)

a thick slab of styrofoam to hold your cake pops

1. Line a baking with a sheet of wax or baking paper.
2. Break cooled cupcakes into pieces and add to the TM bowl (my daughters love to help with this). Crumb on speed 4 for 20-30 seconds or until the cake resembles breadcrumbs. 
3. Add 100g freshly made buttercream (see recipe above). Combine for 10-20 seconds on reverse speed 4. Test a small amount between your thumb and finger, it should be fudgy and hold together well. 
4. Squidge a tablespoon (20ml size) against the side of the TM bowl. Remove the cake mixture from the spoon and shape and roll into an egg shape. Carefully place the egg shapes onto the prepared tray.
5. Melt 20g white choc melts in a small microwave safe bowl on MEDIUM for about 30 seconds. 
6. Dip the tip of lollypop sticks in a little of the melted chocolate and insert into the cake pop eggs (insert less than half way). Place the tray in the fridge for at least 5 minutes to set the sticks and firm up the cake balls. 
7. Melt half of the remaining chocolate melts in the microwave on MEDIUM. Always remove the chocolate from the microwave and check at 30 second intervals. Do not wait for the chocolate to melt completely. Stir well until smooth. 
8. Carefully dip firm cake pops into the melted white chocolate by holding the lollypop stick and rotating until completely covered, then remove and softly tap and rotate until the excess chocolate drips off. Don't tap too hard or the cake ball will fall off too :( 
9. Place your coated Easter egg cake pops in the styrofoam block and allow to dry. 
10. Decorate to your liking using a toothpick and melted chocolate as an adhesive for sprinkles and coloured sugar. I tried to use edible pens but they didn't write well on the chocolate. 

Nanna's vanilla cupcakes
makes 12 

ingredients
120g butter
120g raw caster sugar
240g self-raising flour
2 eggs
120g milk (I like to use buttermilk)
1 tsp vanilla essence

method

1. Preheat oven to 180°C. Grease a 12-hole muffin pan or line with patty cases. 
2. Chop butter into chunks and add to the TM bowl with the eggs and buttermilk. Beat for 1 minute at 37°C on speed 4.
3. Add the caster sugar and SR flour to the TM bowl. Mix on speed 4 for 10 seconds, scrape the sides of the bowl, then mix for a further 5 seconds or until just combined.
4. Spoon into the muffin holes, filling almost to the top edge.
5. Bake for 12-15 minutes or until done when tested with a skewer.
6. Allow the cakes to cool for a few minutes in the pan before removing to a cooling rack.

Light & fluffy thermomix buttercream

This recipe is half quantity of what I usually make to ice about 2 dozen cupcakes. The buttercream will keep well stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a month. Simply bring to room temperature and re-whip for a couple of minutes in the Thermomix to use.

ingredients 

240g butter, softened, cut into cubes

1 tsp vanilla paste
2 cups icing sugar, (TM made preferably)

method

1. Add cubed butter to the TM bowl and chop on speed 5 for 10 seconds.
2. Add vanilla paste plus the icing sugar one cup at a time, mixing at speed 4-5 until well combined after each addition. Scrape down sides of the TM bowl if necessary. If your icing sugar is a little lumpy you may need to mix for up to 2 minutes. There is no need to sieve when you have a Thermomix! The buttercream should be very smooth, light and fluffy. . . almost velvety :)

Choc-mint crazy

My older daughter is a huge fan of anything choc-mint (just like her mummy), and requested choc-mint cupcakes to take into school for her class for her 8th birthday. Too often cupcakes go to waste as children rarely get through them. You know the story. . . you slave away in the kitchen just so a child can lick off the icing and leave the cake behind or only make it half way through! This lesson has taught me to stick with smaller, bite-size portions for birthday treats like mini cupcakes. In years gone by I have sent teacups into school. They are always a big hit and so very simple to put together when you don't have time to bake. Australians would be familiar with these, they sell for about $2 AUD in some cafes. You assemble them to look like a mini teacup using an Arnott's tic doc biscuit as the saucer, a marshmallow for the cup with half a musk lifesaver secured onto the side as a handle, plus a chocolate freckle on top to represent the frothy hot drink inside the cup . . . I'll post a photo when I make them next for my daughter's party. Anyway, back to the choc-mint cupcakes, this year I developed my own recipe for the Thermomix and for something different stuck a lolly pop stick in the bottom! Much like a cake pop without all the extra work :) 

Choc-mint mini cupcake pops
makes 30

ingredients
100g Lindt Mint Intense dark chocolate
120g butter, softened
190ml buttermilk (or use half natural yoghurt + half milk)
3 large eggs
140g raw caster sugar
240g self-raising flour
30g raw cacao

method

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees C. Grease a mini muffin pans or line with patty cases.
2. Break the chocolate into pieces and add to the TM bowl. Grate for 8 seconds on speed 8.
3. Chop butter into chunks and add to the grated chocolate together with the eggs and buttermilk. Beat for 1 minute at 37°C on speed 4.
4. Add the caster sugar, SR flour and raw cacao to the TM bowl. Mix on speed 4 for 10 seconds, scrape the sides of the bowl, then mix for a further 5 seconds or until just combined.
5. Spoon in the muffins holes, filling almost to the top edge. You want the muffins to rise with a rounded top over the lip. 
6. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until done when tested with a skewer.
7. Allow to cool in the pan before removing to a cooling rack.
8. Ice with melted white chocolate tinted with green food colouring and flavoured with peppermint essence. I used 300g of white chocolate to ice 30 mini cupcakes. Sprinkle with chocolate sprinkles or a crushed Peppermint Crisp bar. 

Variation ideas                                                                                                                                         

• If you can't get hold of mint chocolate, use a good quality 70% dark chocolate and add 1 tsp of peppermint essence or 4 drops of peppermint oil.   
• Ice with dark chocolate melts and decorate with green sprinkles. 
• A green tinted, mint flavoured buttercream would also go really nicely if you serve up these cupcakes without the lolly pop sticks either as the mini or full-size version. 
• You could use half white & half wholemeal flour, even spelt for this recipe :)

No Thermomix?                                                                                                                                  

• Use a food processor for step 2 and combine the wet and dry ingredients together in an electric mixer. Be careful not to over-mix or your cupcake will be tough rather than light and fluffy.
• Take the eggs and buttermilk out of the fridge at least 30 minutes before you make the cupcakes. Room temperature eggs will give you more volume on beating than refrigerated eggs.