Kale Cupcakes with Orange Frosting
Kale cupcakes! These vibrant cupcakes are packed with greens – but you can’t actually taste the kale. Instead they are orange-flavoured sponge topped with a zingy orange icing.
Servings: 12
Calories: 348kcal
Cost: $10
Equipment
- Pot
- Blender
- mixing bowl
- 12-hole muffin pan
Ingredients
For the cupcakes:
- 2 cups raw kale leaves (100 grams)
- 2 eggs
- 1 orange zest and juice
- 1 ¼ sticks butter at room temperature (150 grams)
- ⅔ cup granulated sugar (150 grams)
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour (plain flour) (200 grams)
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
For the icing:
- ¾ stick butter at room temperature (75 grams)
- 1 ½ cups powdered icing sugar (250 grams)
- 2-3 tablespoons orange juice
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 170°C/325°F. Line or grease a muffin tray.
- Cut the kale leaves into bite-sized pieces and boil or steam for a few minutes until tender. Refresh in cold water, then squeeze out excess moisture.
- Add the kale to a blender with the orange juice and eggs, and blend until smooth.
- In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Then beat in the kale, vanilla and orange zest.
- Sift in the flour, baking powder and salt and stir to gently combine.
- Fill the muffin cups ¾ full with the batter and bake for 20 minutes or until an inserted skewer comes out clean. Allow to cool in the tins for 10 minutes then remove and allow to cool completely on a wire rack. Frost with the buttercream when cold.
For the orange frosting
- In a large bowl, cream the butter until fluffy. Sift in the powdered sugar and beat until thick. Add enough orange juice to make it a frosting consistency. Store in the fridge until ready to use.
Notes
When blending the kale, the orange juice should make it easier to puree, but it will still be a little bit stringy. The more pureed you get it the greener the cupcakes will be.
Don't over-mix the batter when combining the wet and dry ingredients. Over-mixing will create a more dense cupcake that won't rise as much.
Let the cupcakes cool for at least 30 minutes before decorating them with frosting so they don't melt them.
Only fill the cupcake liners ¾ full so they don't spill over when baking.
Nutrition
Calories: 348kcal | Carbohydrates: 48g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 16g | Saturated Fat: 9g | Cholesterol: 67mg | Sodium: 114mg | Potassium: 164mg | Sugar: 34g | Vitamin A: 1370IU | Vitamin C: 17.2mg | Calcium: 57mg | Iron: 1.1mg