Gone are my days of Google searching for recipes, I found the idea for these cupcakes on a recent fall into the black hole that is Pinterest. I was on the hunt for ideas for sweets free of refined sugars, so when I stumbled across this recipe, they looked worthy of a red-hot go. Oh, and there’s no cacao in the recipe either – my first non-cacao no refined sugar sweet. Go me! This recipe differs from the original due to Bubba being asleep and my pantry being bereft of the right amount of a few of key ingredients. Ah, it’s always an experiment, right?

As for toppings, these little babies are delicious on their own, but I’m having a moment with nuts and fruit. I’m also having a moment with pistachios. Thus my Christmas coloured topping {yes, I do believe this is the first time I have mentioned the most wonderful time of the year – I almost made it to November}. Next time I make them though, I’m going to try a sugar-free chocolate ganache. Oh yes I am.

What do you need?
cakes
2½ cups almond meal
½ cup desiccated coconut
½ teaspoon bi carb soda
2 organic eggs
1 lemon {juice and zest}
½ cup organic honey
1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
¼ coconut oil, melted then cooled
¼ cup natural yoghurt {or Greek yoghurt but we didn’t have any in the fridge; or coconut cream for dairy free!}
glaze
¼ cup dried cranberries {unsweetened}
¼ cup pistachios
1½ tablespoons rice malt syrup {or maple syrup, but this will make a more liquid glaze}
Super cute sous chef {optional}

Now what do you do with it?
Preheat your oven to 160*C {320*F}. Mix dry ingredients {almond meal, desiccated coconut and baking soda}. In a separate bowl, mix remaining ingredients {eggs, lemon juice and zest, honey, vanilla, oil and yoghurt}. Combine all ingredients and mix well. Spoon mixture into cupcake tray, we’re trying out our new square one. Pop them in the oven and bake for 30 minutes. At 30 minutes check them, you’ll want them to be starting to look a nice caramel colour – ours ended up needing about 3 more minutes. They should be dense and dewy.

While your cupcakes are getting their tan on in the oven, pop your cranberries, pistachios and rice malt or maple syrup in a mortar and pestle and get your daily arm workout. If you think your mixture is too thick, you can add a little water. Put to the side until cupcakes are ready to be dressed. Or just ‘test’ it with a couple of mouthfuls of yoghurt. Oh yeah.

When cupcakes are done, remove from oven and cool slightly in the tray. Once they are not so hot that you’re going to burn your fingers, take them out of the tin to continue cooling on a wire tray. It’s at this stage you want to spoon your glaze on, so it melts a little into the cupcakes. We’re going for a rustic look here, not perfection {that’s what I told myself anyway}.

These were delicious still warm, but store well in an airtight container in the fridge.

These are gluten-free, dairy-free {if you use coconut cream instead of yoghurt}, grain-free, refined sugar-free, and around 250 calories per cake. They are super dense though so quite a filling little snack. If you can stop at one.

Is it snack o’clock yet?