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Happy Monday, friends!
Last week I announced that I’ve started two new collaborations and told you about the first. Today will be dedicated to the second: SteVia’s, that belongs to Bio Mondo, a health & wellness family-run business based in Northern Italy. They have been the first, in Italy, to produce and market organic, top-quality and sugar-free products sweetened only with stevia.
But what is stevia? It’s a perennial plant (scientific name Stevia Rebaudiana Bertoni) native to Brazil and Paraguay, where it has been used for centuries. It is naturally sugar-free, calorie-free and hypoglycemic. Stevia has an incredible sweetening power (of up to 350 times more than sugar!) thanks to its components: stevioside, dulcoside, rebaudioside A., C., E., F. and M.
In short, stevia is a natural sweetener with zero calories, with antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. Its sweetening power depends on how pure or refined the product is, but, for instance, for these 12 cupcakes I only used less than ¼ of a teaspoon of powdered stevia!!
You may not know that stevia has a slight licorice aftertaste. Personally I like licorice so I don’t mind, but there are certain strong flavors that mask it, such as cacao.
The good folks at SteVia’s gave me a code that all of you can use when you purchase on their website. Enter code “01.0.06.B.A.” and you will be gifted a bag of sugar-free candies with your first order!
STEVIA-SWEETENED CARROT CAKE CUPCAKES {vegan + sugar free}
by Marta Giaccone
Recipe
yields 12 cupcakes
prep time: 10 mins, cook time: 22 mins, total time: 32 mins
Cupcakes
1 + ½ cup / 240 gr flour (I used whole spelt)
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
½ tsp cinnamon
pinch powdered ginger
pinch turmeric
pinch salt
3-4 scoops powdered Stevia Sweet
1 cup / 250 ml plant-based milk
3 tbsp / 45 ml light oil (I used organic cold-pressed sunflower oil)
1 tbsp lemon juice
2 cups / 200 gr carrots, grated (about 4 medium carrots)
1 + ½ tbsp ginger, grated
zest of 1 lemon
¾ cup / 100 gr raisins
¾ cup / 75 gr walnuts, chopped
mixed seeds (optional)
Method
- Preheat oven to 375°F/180°C.
- Sift and combine all dry ingredients (flour to salt). About the stevia: either add to the dry ingredients and mix really well or dissolve in a tbsp of water and add together with the wet ingredients.
- Add wet ingredients (milk to lemon juice) and combine.
- Fold in all other ingredients (except the mixed seeds).
- Distribute batter evenly in a lightly oiled or lined muffin tray. Sprinkle with mixed seeds.
- Bake for 22 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle of a cupcake comes out clean.
- Turn oven off, open the oven door and keep the cupcakes inside for 5 minutes. Then transfer to a rack and let cool before removing them from the tray.
Frosting
1 cup / 250 ml unsweetened plant-based yoghurt (I used plain soy)
cinnamon
powdered ginger
seeds of ½ a vanilla bean or vanilla paste/extract
1 tbsp lemon zest
a squeeze of lemon juice
Method
- Let yoghurt drip overnight or for a few hours over a fine mesh over a colander placed over a small bowl. The longer the thicker it will get.
- Stir in the other ingredients (add according to taste).
- Spread over the cupcakes with a knife, spatula or piping bag.
- Store frosted cupcakes in an airtight container in the fridge.
