Mini carrot cupcakes:2/3 C sunflower seeds, soaked and drained well
1/3 C pumpkin seeds
7 dates (to taste)
2 medium carrots, grated
4 tbsp organic cold pressed vegetable oil
( dried, unsweetened & unsulfured shredded coconut)
2-3 tbsp pure maple syrup (to taste) or raw honey
cinnamon, ground ginger, nutmeg to taste
Process the sunflower seeds and dates into a paste (slightly chunky). Add grated carrots (organic carrots don't have to be peeled), maple syrup and oil. Add in coconut flakes, about half a cup until consistency is thick enough to roll into balls in your hands. Taste and adjust spices. Roll into tiny balls (1 inch wide or so) and place in mini cupcake molds. Dehydrate for an hour or so, you want them to firm up a notch but not dry out.
After you've dehydrated the cupcakes, it's time to make the glaze.
Pecan lucuma glaze:
handful of chopped pecans
1-2tsp lucuma, cinnamon to taste
agave nectar (or honey), coconut oil
Chop nuts and mix with lucuma and cinnamon by hand. Stir in agave and coconut oil (a spoon is a good tool), until you have a thick chunky syrup. Make sure you taste it each time you add sweetener or oil to make sure it doesn't get too sweet. The cupcakes themselves are not that sweet, so the glaze can be a bit more on the sweet side.
Coat the cupcakes with the glaze and place in the fridge for as long as you can control yourself. Right before you are ready to serve, sprinkle some coconut flakes on top for garnish. We tasted some right away, they were good, but sticky to eat because the frosting was runny.
After they had spent the night in the fridge, the glaze firmed up and you could eat them just like regular cupcakes. These were a hit with my bro and husband and I enjoyed them too. If you don't like the flavor of sunflower seeds, you could substitute (part of) them for your favorite nuts. Their flavor however is far milder if you have the patience to allow them to cool and set properly.
I like sunflower seeds, for many reasons. They are an excellent source of calcium and other nutrients, they are cheap and the taste is nice. This recipe was improvised on the spot when I had my brother come over to visit us and wanted to have something nice for the coffee table. I soon discovered that we were out of almost everything, the only nuts we had were a handful of pecans and we were completely out of honey. So I kind of just got the idea of using our last 2 carrots for something but doubted it would mount to anything good. This recipe really surprised me, especially considering I had no idea what I was doing when I started throwing things in the food processor :)
9 comments:
Delicious sounding cupcakes:-) I wish we could get lucuma powder here but I haven't found it anywhere yet. A few years back I spent some time in Lima,Peru, twice, and there lucuma is very popular. The fruit can't be eaten as it is,but wonderful things are made of it, like ice cream, youghurt and drinks.
I too like sunflower seeds,they are good for many things.
Yummy! Nice to have someone posting about lucuma and actually present a recipe. I have been playing with the idea of having it since I saw it in Ruohonjuuri where they are offering it in special price this month.
Thank you, Yaelian. Can you order it online? I don't know about Tel Aviv, but a friend of mine living in Egypt said it is fairly impossible to receive mail from abroad because things get stolen/lost. Lucuma does have an incredible flavor and beneficial nutritional profile.
Okriina, that's how I bought my lucuma. I think I'm going to order it online from now on though, because the price at Ruohonjuuri is gigantic (compared to price in US). I'm glad you find my recipe useful!
I made these cupcakes again today, with some adjustments. I replaced 1/3 of the sunflower seeds with pumpkin seeds, which turned out to be a great idea. I also omitted the shredded coconut, the batter was easily spooned into the molds even without it. Even tastier this time! So the recipe is quite versatile :)
Here the postal services function much better than in Egypt so things usually arrive as they should. I guess I can order it from Amazon.
Yaelian, that's good news =)
From now on I'm probably going to order my lucuma from iHERB because they ship over here for 6 dollars and the exchange rate really makes the items even cheaper.
http://www.iherb.com/Navitas-Naturals-Lucuma-Power-Lucuma-Powder-8-oz-227-g/12304?at=0
Thanks for that link,I will try that:-)
Hi, and thanks for great blog. I have been reading it for a while with interest. I especially like the desserts (of course) This recipe was great, even my kids liked it. I didn't have any lucuma, maybe it would have been even better with it. Must try next time.
Another great recipe of yours is the fennel sallad with oranges. I have made it a couple of times and it is really good.
Thank you Pirta for your comment! Sorry for the late reply. I'm glad you have succeeded in serving your children healthy treats, it is amazing. You are giving them a great gift by teaching them how to eat right.
The fennel salad is tasty :) I hope I will be able to provide you with more interesting recipes in the future.
Organic lucuma powder is a lightly sweet fruit which can be used to fill pastries and truffles. This product is very good and has great taste.
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