Clean Cupcakes and Something Better

Jul 19th, 2009 Posted in Cupcakes | no comment »

I didn’t bake anything last week.  My husband and I started eating clean about a week and a half ago and I didn’t want to cheat.  It was worth it because we both feel great.  I’ve even managed to lose pounds pretty quickly.  Seven pounds so far.  That’s four more pounds than I had been able to lose on my own by just trying to eat healthier.  

Tomorrow is my husband’s birthday.  You have to have SOMETHING sweet on your birthday right?  I wanted to make cupcakes of course.  I thought about doing Raspberry Eggplant’s Vanilla Cupcakes with a yummy blueberry or chocolate raspberry twist.  Those are his two favorite flavors.  Then, I decided that if I could find a “clean” cupcake recipe instead that might be better.  

In the Kids Version of the eating clean cookbook there is a cupcake recipe.  It’s not like any cupcake recipe I had seen before.  There carrots in there.  Lemon rind and agave nectar are not additions to any cake recipe I’d tried before.  I was determined to keep an opened mind though.  

Things did not start out well.  I put together the egg whites, lemon juice and salt, but these babies would NOT form stiff peaks.  The suggested 4 to 5 minutes came and went… twice.  Not a peak to be seen.  So, I dumped the liquid egg white mixture and started fresh with whites straight from eggs (instead of a carton).  My carrots would not puree in the food processor.  I guess they weren’t cooked enough and just turned grainy.  So, I had to mess with them for a while.  

After finally getting everything the right consistency and well combined, I filled the cupcake liners and popped the goodies in the oven.  The cutest thing about the cupcakes I took out of the oven were the silicone flower liners I had put them in.  The Eat Clean cupcakes are chewy.  There is a light sweetness to them, but I can’t get over the texture.  I love light and fluffy in my cake.  Heavy and moist is fantastic when I’m in the mood for that too.  Chewy… no.  Brownies, sour patch kids,and  starship navigators can be chewy.  No no no no chewy cupcakes please!  

I have yogurt straining in the fridge to make the “clean” frosting for these little disasters.  Not sure if it’s going to improve things at all.  We’ll see!  I’ll post pictured of the finished product if I can bare to this week.

In the meantime… Check out Bakerella’s Retro Bakery post and drool with me.  I’ve never been there, but now that I’ve been alerted to it’s presence I’m SO tempted to go.  It’s just minutes from my house.  ~sigh~  No! I must not!   Must eat clean… must eat clean… must eat c a k e… must eat cake! Aaaaaah!