About

Cost: $ $ $ $ $

Difficulty: • • • • •

Time: 2h00

Serves: 12

Clean Cakes
Mesquite is a naturally sweet superfood powder, made from the large bean-like pods of the mesquite tree. It is low-GI, rich in calcium, lysine and magnesium, and has a unique flavour – slightly spicy, sweet and malty with caramel notes. It pairs beautifully with the sweet and juicy cherries submerged in a soft pistachio sponge.

Makes 12 muffin-sized cakes

Posted by Creative Publishing international • Published 19th February 2016 • See Creative Publishing international's 96 projects » © 2024 Henrietta Inman / Jacqui Small · Reproduced with permission. · Clean Cakes: Delicious pâtisserie made with whole, natural and nourishing ingredients and free from gluten, dairy and refined sugar by Henritta Inman, photographs by Lisa Linder is published by Jacqui Small, £20.

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Creative Publishing international published her project Cherry And Pistachio Upside Down Cakes With Mesquite 19 Feb 09:00

Step 1
Preheat the oven to 170°C/325°F/Gas Mark 3. Grease a 12-hole muffin tin. Line a baking tray with baking parchment.
Step 2
On the lined baking tray, lightly toast the pistachio nuts for 5–7 minutes until they are just beginning to colour. Leave to cool, then finely chop.
Step 3
Mix together 1 tbsp coconut sugar with 1 tsp mesquite powder and sprinkle about ¼ tsp of the mix into the bottom of each mould. Stone the cherries, breaking them in half with your fingers as you do so. Fill each muffin mould with three cherries (six halves), arranged in a circle, slightly overlapping. Pour in any extra cherry juices and sprinkle over any leftover sugar and spice mix. Set aside.
Step 4
Mix together the rest of the sugar and mesquite powder, ground almonds (almond meal), flour, baking powder and salt. Add the chopped pistachio nuts.
Melt the butter and add to the dry ingredients, followed by the eggs, and mix well. Divide the mix between the 12 moulds, spooning it on top of the cherries, and bake for 10 minutes, then rotate the tin and bake for a further 2–4 minutes, until the cakes are just firm to touch, slightly golden round the edges and some juices might be bubbling up.
Step 5
Leave to cool in the tin then remove and top with fresh cherries and chopped pistachio nuts. These cakes are also delightful served with a chunk of my homemade chocolate, chocolate ice cream or whipped coconut cream.
Step 6
VARIATIONS
Rhubarb and pistachio cakes
Follow the above recipe, but replace the cherries with 200 g (7 oz) rhubarb, chopped into ½ cm (⅕ inch) pieces, dividing the rhubarb equally between the bottom of the muffin tins. Serve with extra rhubarb compote.

Blueberry and pistachio cakes
Follow the above recipe, but replace the cherries with 180 g (6¼ oz/scant 1¼ cups) of blueberries, divided equally between the muffin tins.