Sweet Pea Cupcakes

After the success of our "blue food challenge" (featuring blueberries in various recipes), we started a "green food challenge" (featuring peas). One unusual recipe we tried was pea cakes, which is a terrible name in our humble opinion, so we renamed it Sweet Pea Cupcakes. We adapted this recipe.

We cut it down to make 6 cupcakes (small enough to bake in our toaster oven on a hot day).

• 3/4 cup frozen peas
• 4 1/2 tablespoons butter
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 3/4 teaspoon vanilla
• zest and juice from 1/4 of a lemon
• 3/4 cup cake flour (or all purpose flour)
• 3/4 tsp baking powder
• 1/8 tsp salt

1. Preheat the (toaster) oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit. Line tin with cupcake papers. Microwave frozen peas until thawed and warm (about 2 minutes, with stirring in between). Drain and rinse with cool water. Place peas, vanilla and lemon juice in a food processor and puree until smooth. Set aside.

Not sure about this ingredient

Visualizing whirled peas

Getting some zest with our special tool

Juicing what's left of the lemon

2.  In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt. Whisk to combine.

3.  Cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg, and then add the pea mixture and lemon zest. On low-medium speed, add the flour until  just incorporated.

Using hand-shaped whisks

4.  Spoon into cupcake papers. Bake for 20 minutes or until it passes the toothpick test. Cool cupcakes completely.

Uncooked

The results were perfect.

Cooked

To make the cakes more presentable, we made some simple lemon icing (butter, powdered sugar, lemon juice and zest) and sprinkled green sugar on top.

Icing

Finished product

The most important part of the cakes is, of course, the taste. After that horrible face in the first picture, what will my daughter's reaction be to the final product?

Taking a bite

Mmm....good!