Feijoa-banana protein cupcakes (60 calories, gluten free)

snugglesworthjr

Feijoas are small, oval-shaped green fruits. According to wikipedia they're also called pineapple guavas?? Never heard of them called that before, but anyway, they're lovely in flavor- fragrant, tangy, and sweet! If you can't find them at your grocery store, you can substitute the feijoas for some other type of tangy fruit like raspberry, blueberry, etc.

1/3 cup feijoa puree (5 large feijoas)
1 ripe banana, mashed
3/4 cup vanilla yogurt
3/4 cup egg whites
1/4 cup water (or milk)
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup vanilla whey protein powder
1/4 cup buckwheat flour (or any other type of flour)
1/4 cup coconut flour
1/4 cup stevia (or 1/3 cup splenda or regular sugar)
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt

Mix everything together except for the feijoa puree. Fill cupcake molds 2/3 of the way with batter. Place a heaping teaspoonful of feijoa puree on top of the center of each cupcake. As it bakes, the puree will sink into the middle of the batter, creating a jelly donut effect. Bake at 325F/160C for 22-24 min.

This recipe is very much a work in progress. The flavor of the cupcakes is excellent, but the texture, though moist and fluffy, is a cross between a cupcake and an egg custard. I welcome feedback and suggestions on how to make these more cupcake and less custard. Happy baking!

Makes 18 cupcakes
Per cupcake:
60 calories
6.5g carbs (1.0g fiber and 2.1g sugar)
7.1g protein
0.7g fat