Chocolate Quinoa Cupcakes with Raspberry Cream Cheese Icing

Chocolate Quinoa Cupcakes with Raspberry Cream Cheese Icing

It’s berry season again and we’ve found a new local berry farm with an amazing range of delightful berries.  It’s Raven’s Creek Farm in Moriac and while they mainly have raspberries they also have loganberries, silvanberries, blackberries, youngberries and more!  They’re easy to pick and it’s makes a fun day out for the kids especially with the gorgeous little cafe which has great coffee, sweet and savoury treats and a produce store.  It’s only around 15 minutes from our home so I can see we’re going to enjoy the season!

the kids loved the raspberries best...

So with fresh berries galore and some free range roadside eggs I had a great idea to trying my new recipe discovery... Chocolate quinoa cake.  And with a 2 year old morning tea birthday party tomorrow I thought I’d turn them into Chocolate Quinoa cupcakes topped with raspberry cream cheese icing and a pretty raspberry on top.  Simply delightful.

a mixture of fresh berries...

Chocolate Quinoa Cupcakes with Raspberry Cream Cheese Icing

2/3 cup quinoa (well rinsed to remove bitterness)

1 ½ cups of water

100g raw or rapadura sugar

120g butter or coconut oil

1 tsp vanilla essence

4 free range eggs

80g milk or coconut milk

80g cocoa powder

1 ½ tsp baking powder

½ tsp salt

• Rinse quinoa well to remove bitterness.  I’m using the lovely Mt Zero Australian Organic Quinoa at the moment.
• Place quinoa and water in a saucepan and bring to boil.  Then reduce to a simmer for around 15 minutes until the tails have fallen off and remove from heat to cool.  (or steam in your Thermomix)
• Grease muffin tins or use silicon moulds.  ( I found this mix made 12 medium and 12 mini cupcakes so I’m guessing it would make about 12 large ones)
• Preheat oven to 180° C
• Place sugar, butter and vanilla in Thermomix bowl and cream for 10 seconds on speed 6
• Add eggs and milk and mix for a further 10 seconds on speed 4
• Add cooled quinoa, cocoa, baking powder and salt and mix for a final 20 seconds on speed 4 scraping down if needed
• Spoon into tins and bake for 20 minutes for smaller cupcakes or 30 minutes for larger (or until they spring back when touched)

Raspberry Cream Cheese Icing

200g cream cheese

50g butter

Punnet of fresh or frozen raspberries

• Place all ingredients in Thermomix and blend or 10 seconds on speed 4
• Allow to cool in fridge for around 10 minutes before spreading over cooled cupcakes and decorating with a fresh raspberry on top

Banana, Raspberry and Coconut Loaf

Grandma's beautiful orchids

Isn’t it amazing how much kids love their Grandparents.  My daughter Summer was so excited this morning because Grandma and Grandpa were coming to visit. She even sat at the front window gazing out waiting for them saying repeatedly “I just want Grandma and Grandpa to be here...”  When I asked her what sort of cake I should make for them she suggested a raspberry cake.  I was thinking a banana loaf so guess what we came up with?


Banana, raspberry and coconut loaf with Grandma's orchids

A delicious and delicate tasting wholesome treat.  Bananas keep the loaf moist and healthy, the raspberries add a wonderful burst of flavour (and Summer’s favourite colour), and the coconut adds natural sweetness and even more taste.  Using part wholemeal flour adds extra fibre and nutrition without affecting the texture.  The addition of walnuts adds Omega 3 essential fatty acids which are great for healthy brains (which they even look like!).   And while raw sugar can be used, rapadura sugar is unrefined and retains many vitamins and minerals because the molasses is not separated from the sugar cane juice it is extracted from.  Check out this great document I came across about rapadura on the Quirky Cooking website.

Banana, Raspberry and Coconut Loaf

60g walnuts
2 ripe bananas (mine were approx 180g)
1 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
80g grapeseed oil
130g milk
80g rapadura sugar
100g SR flour
100g wholemeal SR flour
30g coconut
½ tsp cinnamon
1 cup raspberries (I used frozen but fresh is great if in season)

• Place walnuts in Thermomix bowl and grind for 5 seconds speed 7
• Add bananas, vanilla, eggs, milk, and oil and mix for 10 seconds speed 6
• Add flours, sugar, coconut and cinnamon and mix for 10 seconds speed 4
• Add most of the raspberries and mix on Reverse for 5 seconds speed 1
• Pour into lined loaf pan and sprinkle with remaining raspberries
• Bake at 180° for 45-50 minutes or until inserted skewer comes out clean

Enjoy!