These muffins are made with no flour or refined sugar. The base is cashew butter, which you can make by finely grinding cashews until it turns into a smooth, buttery paste (you can also buy it, of course!). This is mixed with eggs, cocoa, maple syrup, a little vanilla, salt, and baking soda, and then baked into giant puffy muffins.
I love to make these in giant muffin pan (that holds 6 instead of the usual 12) for a fabulous oversized muffin (for maximum live-forever-properties, you see), but you can also make it in a regular muffin tin or even a loaf pan.
You’ll Need:
- 1 1/2 cups smooth cashew butter (substitute almond, pecan or other nut butter, but make sure it's a very smoothly ground butter--nothing course or crunchy), slightly warmed until easily stir-able
- 5 large eggs
- 2/3 cup maple syrup (substitute honey; do not use agave)
- 2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
Instructions:
- Preheat oven 350 degrees. Grease an extra-large muffin tin (or use a regular muffin tin).
- Beat together cashew butter and eggs with an electric mixer until smooth and fluffy (about 5 minutes). Beat in maple syrup, cocoa powder, vanilla, salt, and baking soda. Mixture will be smooth, thick, and glossy (like a brownie batter).
- Divide batter into prepared muffin tin. Bake 15-20 minutes, or until puffed up and cracked on top. A tester inserted into the center should come out clean. Remove from oven and let cool in pan about 5 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack.