From the UK Telegraph:
The two star ingredients in BabyCakes treats are agave nectar and coconut oil, which stand in for sugar and butter. To McKenna, they are miracle foods. 'Coconut oil engages your thyroid, strengthens your metabolism and helps you lose weight. There have been tons of studies. You should check it out on the internet,’ she says as she slides her cupcakes into the oven. As someone who taste-tests everything in the bakery, McKenna is certainly proof that coconut oil isn’t fattening. She brags that models also know they won’t get fat on BabyCakes, which is why they are such fans. 'We just did a big delivery for Sophie Dahl,’ she grins.
Agave nectar, sometimes called agave syrup, is the main sweetener in nearly all her products. Agave comes from the Mexican agave plant. It is sweeter than honey but less viscous and has a low glycaemic index which, McKenna says, 'means it breaks down in your system at a slower rate and doesn’t shoot up your blood sugar’. People who find themselves exhausted after consuming sugar, high fructose corn syrup or honey (which is sometimes contaminated with corn syrup) are usually able to consume agave without any side effects. As a result, agave has become the must-have item for health-conscious New Yorkers.
With the cupcakes out of the oven, McKenna sets about her favourite task of slathering on the frosting – essentially soy milk, soy powder, coconut flour, coconut oil and agave, this is naturally coloured (with a dash of turmeric to make yellow, blueberry juice to make purple, raspberry or beetroot to make pink, and chlorophyll to make green). The frosting is so addictive that it has developed a fan base all of its own. Some people just come in for a $1.50 frosting shot that they can knock back like a tequila or a 12oz take-out tub to devour at home.
They've also got her carrot cupcake recipe:
500g white spelt flour (available from dovesfarm.co.uk
or glebe-flour.co.uk )
1 tbsp baking powder
1 tbsp bicarbonate of soda
1 tbsp ground cinnamon
2 tsp ground ginger
½ tsp ground nutmeg
160ml coconut oil (tiana-coconut.com)
240ml agave nectar or syrup (available at Tesco and Waitrose)
240ml rice milk
1 tbsp pure vanilla extract
250g carrots, grated
Preheat the oven to 160C/gas mark 3. Line two 12-hole muffin trays with paper cupcake cases.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and 1½ teaspoons of salt.
Add the coconut oil, agave, rice milk and vanilla to the dry ingredients. Stir until a thick batter is formed. Add 120ml of hot water and continue mixing until the batter is smooth. Using a plastic spatula gently fold in the carrots until they are evenly distributed throughout the batter.
Gently pour batter into each of the cupcake cases, filling them nearly to the brim. Bake the cupcakes on the centre rack of the oven for 25 minutes. Rotate the tray 180 degrees after 14 minutes. The finished cupcakes will bounce back slightly when pressed and a toothpick inserted in the centre should come out clean. Let the cupcakes stand for 20 minutes before removing from the trays, and then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely before frosting. Gently spread one tablespoon of vanilla frosting (see below) over each cupcake.
Store the cupcakes in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to three days.
For the frosting (requires six hours to set)
355ml soya milk
135g soya powder (available from most health food shops)
1 tbsp coconut flour (tiana-coconut.com)
60ml agave nectar or syrup (Tesco, Waitrose)
1 tbsp pure vanilla extract
360ml coconut oil (tiana-coconut.com)
2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
In a liquidiser or food processor, combine the soya milk, soya powder, coconut flour, agave and vanilla. Blend the ingredients for two minutes. With the machine running, slowly add the oil and lemon juice, alternating between the two until both are fully incorporated.
Pour the mixture into an airtight container and refrigerate for six hours for it to set.
The frosting will keep in the fridge in an airtight container for up to a month.
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