Hawthorn & Red Clover Cupcakes
Did you know Red Clovers are a powerful ancient tonic for healing a variety of menstrual issues? If you have a history of endometriosis, PMDD or are in menopause, taking red clover could be very helpful.
I've seen red clovers popping up on large patches of green grass all over the state of New Jersey, where I live, as I've driven around and walked about this summer.
Red clovers are in the legume family and all parts of the blossom and leaf are edible. You can even eat them raw! I'm not sure I'm quite ready for that yet but I have added some dried and powdered red clovers into these muffins. You may be familiar with the clover already. You've likely seen it's cousin, the white clover, all all over your lawn.
Although white clovers have many medicinal properties, they are not as medicinally beneficial as red clovers.
I've also added powdered hawthorn berries to these cupcakes as well. Hawthorn is one of my favorite mood, heart and spirit lifters. It has a soothing and comforting presence that I love adding to all kinds of treats and baked goods.
Ingredient Explanations:
Tigernut flour: Tigernuts are not actually nuts at all but small tuberous vegetables that are grown similarly to potatoes. They have a sweet, nutty taste and have a number of nutrient dense health benefits. Most importantly, they are 100% anti-inflammatory. I would best describe the tigernut as a fantastic replacement for almond flour. Whereas almond flour can be a source of inflammation for many folks, tigernuts have no known inflammatory markers making them a safe and delicious flour to consume
Tapioca starch: Tapioca starch comes from the cassava plant and is made the starch of the cassava root.
Arrowroot starch: Arrowroot is native to Guyana, Eastern Brazil, Southeast Asia, Australia and South Africa. Once this tuberous root vegetable begins to become starchy, it is harvested, dried and powdered.
Coconut: I use coconut in my baked goods quite often. Coconut flour comes from the flesh of the coconut plant. It is then dried and powdered. One of my favorite things about coconut flour is that it can be eaten raw! If you don’t like the taste of coconut flour or milk, I assure you it is just because your taste buds have not gotten used to it yet. I
Eggs & Gelatin: If you are allergic to eggs, you may use gelatin as a substitute instead. Gelatin is the safest alternative for folks with allergies and gut health issues. I recommend using bovine gelatin to replace your egg. See notes below for how to make it
Hawthorn berries: Hawthorn is a berry that comes from the hawthorn plant. The berries as well as the flowers are edible. I purchase my hawthorn powder here.
Substitutions:
Tigernut flour: If you don’t have access to tigernut flour, you may use almond flour instead. It has a similar texture but comes from the almond nut whereas tigernuts are not a nut at all but a tuber. I use the gemini brand of tigernut flour which can be purchased at whole foods or on amazon.
Arrowroot flour & Tapioca Starch: These are basically interchangeable in most of my recipes. When indicated, you may swap one out for the other. I purchase these either from almost any grocery store - HMart, 99 Ranch, Whole foods, etc and also on amazon.
Coconut milk: I use a lot of coconut products. If you are allergic to coconut milk, I recommend trying almond or cashew milk. Alternatively, you may try making your own nut milk using tigernut flour or making some banana milk with banana and some water.
Coconut flour: If you allergic to coconut flour I recommend using cassava instead. If that doesn’t work you can also use plantain flour. I prefer coconut in this recipe because it gives a nice consistency. I am not brand specific but I like purchasing coconut flours like this one from Anthony’s
Cashew Butter: I prefer artisana cashew butter but if you can’t have cashew butter, you may use tigernut butter, coconut butter or some non dairy yogurt instead.
Gelatin Egg:
To make your gelatin egg, bring a small amount of water to a boil. Add 2 tbsp boiling water and 1 tbsp room temperature to a small dish. Then slowly pour in 1 scoop or 10g of bovine gelatin to the mixture. As you pour, stir with a spoon or chopstick to ensure you get a smooth blend. Pour this mixture directly into your bake. It will harden as you continue working.
Ingredients:
1 egg or 1 gelatin egg
1 large banana
3/4 cup full fat coconut milk
3/4 cup tigernut flour
1/4 cup coconut flour
1/4 cup tapioca starch
1/4 cup powdered hawthorn berries
2 tbsp powdered red clovers
Frosting:
1 tsp rose petal powder
2 tsp purple carrot powder
25g cashew butter
450g japanese sweet potatoes, peeled and steamed
1/2 tbsp coconut milk or water
Preparations:
Preheat your oven to 375F.
Make your wet ingredients first. Beat 1 egg in a large bowl. Then, mash in the banana.
If using gelatin instead of an egg wait to add it later. Mix the egg and banana together until smooth. You can also use a hand whisk for this. Add in the coconut milk and stir again.
Now add your dry ingredients in. Sift the tigernut flour into the bowl. Sifting this is essential. When you don't sift tigernut flour it clumps together in your bake, which is not what we want.
Next, add in the coconut flour, tapioca starch, hawthorn berry powder, red clover, salt, baking soda and cinnamon. Just like with the tigernut flour, I always sift in my baking soda to prevent it from clumping.
Bake this for 10-15 minutes at 375F, then turn the oven down to 350F and bake the rest at this temperature. This is what will allow them to rise well.
While these are baking make you frosting.
Start by peeling your sweet potatoes and roughly chopping them. Then lay them in a pan and pour two cups of water on top. This will allow them to steam quickly. They should be fork tender in about 15 to 20 minutes.
Once they are, remove them from heat and drain under running cold water to stop the cooking process.
Add the sweet potatoes to a food process along with the cashew butter, coconut milk, carrot and rose petal powders. Blend together until smooth and creamy.
Then, remove from the food processor and mash them again through a stainless steel sifter or a potato masher. This is done to ensure that you don’t have any sweet potato clumps in your frosting, which happens to me way way too often.
Remove the cupcakes from the oven and allow them to cool completely before frosting. If you’re getting impatient or tired you can place them in your freezer for 10 minutes to speed up this process.
Then, use a piping bag to pipe on a frosting of them. Top with some edible flowers.
Consume immediately or store in the refrigerator for up to five days.