These are perfect served straight from the oven when they are still warm. Xylitol is a natural sweetener and when I feel like sugar is just not on the agenda, it is my go-to alternative. Rich chocolate is lightly spiced with cinnamon and thyme for a deliciously indulgent treat.
Advertisement
Cinnamon + Thyme Chocolate Cupcakes
Makes 12
Ingredients
- 1½ scant cups (140 g) ground almonds
- ½ heaped cup (80 g) arrowroot
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- a pinch of salt
- ⅔ cup (80 g) xylitol
- ½ scant cup (40 g) cocoa or cacao powder
- 4 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme, plus extra to decorate
- 3 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 4½ tablespoons (70 g) coconut butter, melted and cooled
- 4 tablespoons light olive oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
- 4 eggs
- extra-virgin olive oil, to drizzle
- pink Himalayan salt, to sprinkle
Advertisement
Preparation
1. Preheat the oven to 325°F (170°C) Gas 3. Grease and dust a muffin pan with cocoa or cacao powder.
2. Sift together the dry ingredients, herbs, and spices. Any remaining lumps in the sieve can be put in the mixture.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk together the coconut butter, oil, vanilla, and eggs. Whisk this into the dry mixture.
4. Divide evenly between the pan holes and bake in the preheated oven for 15 to 20 minutes.
5. Drizzle with a tiny bit of oil, extra-virgin olive oil if you have it, and the tiniest sprinkle of pink Himalayan salt and thyme leaves, if desired.
Excerpted from Perfectly Paleo
Advertisement
Rosa Rigby is a chef and private caterer. Formerly pastry chef and recipe developer for Pure Taste (London’s first Paleo fine-dining restaurant), she now works as sous chef at The Wheatsheaf pub in Chilton Foliat, Wiltshire, UK, where the focus of the menu is on sustainability from locally sourced, ethical British produce, including honey, fresh fruit and vegetables from Hungerford Park. Rosa regularly runs Paleo popup events and retreats with fellow fitness and nutrition figures. This is her first book.