Sunday, February 22, 2009

Oh Nuts!


A huge thank you to from Tamara at Oh Nuts for sending me some fantastic goodies to sample!! I kept seeing Erin's dried kiwi and just had to try it (i had opened the package already...). Dried cantaloupe (on the right) was alos something that I don't know if I've ever seen in a store!

There was one piece of information that I looked for on the website, but didn't seem to find-- whether their dried fruits had added sugar. Turns out the cantaloupe does, and I have no idea about the kiwi. The first taste- the cantaloupe was way too sweet, almost cloyingly so. The kiwi however I did enjoy on its own, not too sweet or tart. And you don't have to peel them :) I eat enough fiber, don't need to eat fuzzyness!

With some snow in the forecast, I was inspired to make some cupcakes for work that could bring us to somplace warmer. I give you, Tropicakes :)

can you see the chunks of kiwi and cantaloupe?? :)

Tropicakes
adapted from this recipe
Yield: 12 cupcakes


heaping cup of chopped dried cantaloupe and kiwi
2c all-purpose flour (or half AP and half whole wheat)
1/4c granulated sugar
1 1/2t baking powder
1/2t baking soda
1t salt
2/3c light coconut milk
4T butter, melted (I used smart balance 50/50)
1/4c egg substitute and 2 egg whites, lightly beaten
zest of 1 lime
2T honey
2t pure vanilla extract


Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line a muffin tin with paper/foil liners (or use nonstick spray).

Combine dry ingredients (flour thru salt) in medium bowl.

Lightly beat egg whites and egg substitute in a large bowl. Add coconut milk and butter, whisk well. Add zest, honey, and vanilla and whisk until combined. Add flour mixture and stir until just combined. Fold in dried fruit. Divide batter evenly into 12 cups.

Bake for 16-20 minutes (mine were done at 16min), or until the tops are golden and a cake tester inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean. Transfer the pan to a rack to cool for 5 minutes before removing each muffin and placing on a wire rack to cool.

I brought these into work unfrosted, and brought along some frosting to add. (Thus no picture of the final product) Next time I think I'd just sprinkly coconut on top of the muffins before baking, as in the original recipe, as they were sweet enough :) Or maybe cream cheese frosting...

27 comments:

LizNoVeggieGirl said...

Looove the Oh! Nuts company products!! And I love those cupcakes :-)

Anna said...

I tried some dried cantaloupe the other day for the first time... it was REALLY sweet! and kind of bland, actually. Didn't taste like much else besides sugar.

Heather said...

yum!! that sounds really good! i've never had (or seen!) dried cantaloupe and kiwi before, but it sounds fabulous! i really like your tropicakes!mingitu

Balance, Joy and Delicias! said...

I never tried Nuts company's products, but have seen them in many blogs. They seem interesting!
the cup cakes look even better! good work! your coworkers will love them!

Meg said...

Great recipe! I love that you used coconut milk.

Mrs. LC said...

Wow, those dried fruits sound great! But I share the same pet peeve of added sugars in dried fruits. It drives me mad when I see that.

Reeni said...

I didn't even know there was such a thing as dried cantaloupe and kiwi!! Dried pineapple is super sweet, too, I can only eat a bite or two even of the low sugar kind. Great idea to make tropi-cakes, they look delicious!

Sara said...

Those cupcakes look so good. I love dried cantaloupe!

Anonymous said...

Dried cantaloupe and kiwi sound interesting and look delicious in the cupcakes!

HEAB said...

I've been dying to try that dried kiwi. Love the tropicakes - such a good idea!

BOBBI McCORMICK said...

oooo how yummy!

Anonymous said...

man.
you are an AWESOME COWORKER.

I think the Toddler is hiring around here if you wanna move jobs.

Anonymous said...

Oh wow, I've never heard of dried kiwi or cantaloupe. Your muffins look great!

Anonymous said...

Isn't dried kiwi the absolute best? They sell it at the local market in Cleveland - I LOVE IT!

pigpigscorner said...

Dred kiwi and cantaloupe?? That's new! Looks really delicious, and I see them!

Anonymous said...

You are my favorite kind of coworker! :)

Maria said...

I love dried kiwi! I have never tried cantaloupe though!! Great cupcake creation!

Anonymous said...

An excellent idea.

Let me know what you think about ART!

Esi said...

Dried kiwi sounds interesting.

Anonymous said...

Those cupcakes sod fantastic. I love dried cantaloupe, but the kiwi I had once before was super-sugared and way too sweet. I hope this one was better.

Anonymous said...

i've been interested in trying oh! nuts dried fruit too- good to know about the added sugar. great cupcakes!

Anonymous said...

Ahhh ever since I saw that dried fruit on Erin's blog, I've been really wanting to try kiwi, too! I'm glad that you enjoyed it. I'd never heard of dried cantaloupe, but I think it's awesome that you incorporated both into your Tropicakes! I could definitely use a trip to someplace warmer right now (real or imaginary)!

Every Gym's Nightmare said...

SO GOOD! Im assuming. until you send me some ;)

Kelly Turner
www.everygymsnightmare.com

Anonymous said...

"Tropicakes", hehe so cute, and look tasty! I've never had Oh Nuts before but now I really want to try them.

Anonymous said...

Uhhh...you KNOW they've got sugar! That's what makes 'em so good!

Anonymous said...

So jealous of your dried kiwi! It looks yummy.

(The other day at work I decided to make tropical muffins as the muffin of the day, because I felt like we needed a reminder of warmer climes. Mine were coconut, pineapple and banana.)

Anonymous said...

Tropicakes - such a cute name!

www.IamBee-Steph.blogspot.com

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