Paleo Mango Cherry Lime Muffins
 
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
 
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Recipe type: Baking, Muffins, Snack, Breakfast, Dessert
Yield: 8 large (4 ounce) muffins
Ingredients
  • 56g (½ cup) dried tart cherries
  • Hot water to cover cherries
  • 2 mangoes¹ (12-13 oz each), ripe but not mushy, divided
  • 3 large eggs, room temperature
  • 52g (¼ cup) coconut oil, melted
  • 34g (¼ cup) coconut sugar
  • 60 ml (4 Tbsp) plain, unsweetened dairy free milk
  • 10 ml (2 tsp) freshly squeezed lime juice
  • 5 ml (1 tsp) vanilla extract
  • 105g (¾ cup) cassava flour (I use Otto's Naturals)
  • 55g (7 Tbsp) tapioca starch
  • 24g (¼ cup) finely ground almond meal (I use Bob's red Mill)
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • ¼ tsp baking soda
  • ½ tsp salt
  • ½ tsp ground cardamom²
  • Grated zest of 1 lime
Procedure
  1. Preheat oven to 350F. Line the outer eight wells of a 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners, or grease and flour them.
  2. Place dried cherries in a small heatproof bowl and cover with hot water. Leave cherries to soak and rehydrate while you prepare remaining ingredients.
  3. Peel one mango. Cut all four sides from the pit, and discard pit. Choose one of the smaller pieces, and cut into uniform slices. Cut those slices in half and set aside for garnish.
  4. Puree the remaining pieces in a food processor or blender until liquefied and smooth. You should have about a half cup of puree - if you have more than that, remove the excess and reserve for another use (it’s great as a topping for yogurt or oatmeal). Add eggs, coconut oil, coconut sugar, nut milk, lime juice, and vanilla, and pulse or blend until smooth.
  5. Peel the second mango, slice off all four sides, and chop or dice into small pieces about ¼ inch in size. This should yield about 1 cup chopped or diced mango, which you’ll fold into the batter. If you end up with more than one cup, set the excess aside for something else (the extra moisture will make the muffins too wet).
  6. In a large bowl, whisk together cassava flour, tapioca starch, almond flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cardamom. Pour contents of food processor or blender into flour mixture, and stir until uniform. Batter will be very thick. Fold in diced mango and lime zest; drain cherries very well, and fold into batter.
  7. Use a spring loaded 4-ounce scoop (or a dry quarter-cup measuring cup) to portion batter into prepared pan, and press one of the reserved mango slices into the top of each portion. Fill the empty wells of the pan about a quarter of the way with water to prevent warping and ensure even baking.
  8. Bake on center rack of oven until muffins are nicely browned and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with only a few crumbs clinging to it, about 28 minutes.
  9. Transfer the pan to a wire rack to cool for 5 minutes, then transfer muffins directly to rack to cool completely.
Notes
¹ I used Kent mangoes since they’ve been available in my area lately. They’re large and the skin starts out green, eventually developing a lovely blush as they ripen. Feel free to use another variety such as Haden, Tommy Atkins, Keitt, or Palmer. Note that if you’re using small Ataulfo (aka champagne) mangoes you *may* need to use an extra one to yield enough of the diced mango for folding into the batter, though they do yield a higher ratio of usable pulp since their pits are smaller.

²Feel free to substitute ground ginger for the cardamom, or omit the spice and double the vanilla extract.
Recipe by Good Health Gourmet at https://goodhealthgourmet.com/paleo-mango-cherry-lime-muffins/