Yes, you read it correctly. Cupcakes with kale, green cupcakes, healthy cupcakes, superfood cupcakes and even better……they don’t taste of kale, really, they don’t. For super fresh, organic kale order a veg box from Ten Mile Menu, it’s in season in November through February.
These are super cool orange-flavoured-green-cupcakes. They still contain the same calories, sugar and fat as a standard cupcake but the addition of the kale gives them extra nutrients. Try varying the flavour by using lemon or lime instead of orange, add dark chocolate chips or a tablespoonful of raw cacao powder, omit the citrus and add dried fruit, chopped nuts and some spices such as cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger. Click for the YouTube version.
100g kale, leaves only, stalks removed
150g soft butter or margarine
150g caster sugar
3 eggs
150g self raising flour
Zest of 2 oranges
For the cream cheese icing:
50g soft butter
75g cream cheese
350g icing sugar, sieved
Zest of 1 orange, plus extra for decorating
A little freshly squeezed orange juice
Makes 12 standard or 24 mini cupcakes
- Preheat the oven on to 180c/gas 4. (AGA: Roasting oven, shelf on oven floor)
- Steam the kale for 3-4 minutes until tender, drain, rinse in cold water and squeeze gently to remove as much water as possible.
- Cream the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy.
- Add the eggs and flour together and mix well, gently fold in the orange zest.
- Split the mixture between 12 cupcake cases in a muffin tin and bake for 20-25 minutes until golden brown and springy to the touch.
- Remove the cakes from the oven and transfer to a cooling rack, allow to cool completely before icing them.
- Make the icing: beat the butter and cream cheese until very soft, add the icing sugar with the grated orange zest and a little orange juice until it combines, then beat well to achieve a soft icing.
- Ice the cupcakes and sprinkle with a little more orange zest.