Caramel Cashew Asparagus Muffin Squares

Ingredients:

1 cup organic unbleached white flour
¾ cup oat flour
1/3 cup organic cane sugar
2 slightly rounded teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon finely ground sea salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
½ cup of puréed asparagus
¼ cup water
2 large organic free-range eggs
1/3 cup naturally sweetened applesauce
½ cup sunflower oil
½ cup organic whole milk
1 teaspoon organic vanilla extract
3 cups roasted salted cashews
2/3 tablespoons caramel*

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Instructions:

1. Prepare Caramel in advance.

2. Preheat over to 350°F.
   Grease a square baking pan.

3. Sift the dry ingredients together in a large mixing bowl (flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon). Set it aside.

4. Rinse and chop the asparagus into 2” chunks. Steam 1 cup of the chopped asparagus until it’s soft. In a food processor, purée the steamed asparagus with ¼ cup of water. The purée will be slightly chunky. It should be a ½ a cup of puréed asparagus. Set it aside.

5. In the meantime, in a separate bowl, whisk the egg, applesauce, oil, milk and vanilla until creamy.

6. Add the asparagus purée to the liquid ingredients, whisking until combined.

7. Make a well in the middle of the dry ingredients.

8. Add the liquid mixture into the well of the dry ingredients and blend together.

9. Chop the cashews coarsely and folds 2 cups into the batter (save ¼ cup of chopped cashews).

10. Drizzle 2-3 tablespoons of caramel into the batter, and gently fold it in further so there are ribbons of caramel in the batter.
    Pour the batter into the baking pan.

11. Bake for 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

12. Let it cool sometime in the pan, and then place a cutting board over top of the pan, carefully flipping the pan over with the cutting board on top. Remove the pan and the muffin square should be left on the cutting board upside down.

13. When the muffin square has cooled, cut it into smaller squares.

14. Reheat the caramel in a microwave if necessary, and lightly drizzle ribbons of it on top of the muffins.

15. Top with the remaining crushed cashews.

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Caramel

Ingredients:

1 small Ball jar with lid
¾ cup organic cane sugar
2 tablespoons of organic salted butter
½ cup organic heavy cream
1 teaspoon organic vanilla extract

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Instructions:

1. Have everything ready, including a clean jar, because making caramel goes fast.

2. Use a medium non-stick pot (instead of a pan) because the caramel will bubble up when you add the cream.

3. Melt the sugar over medium-high heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon until the granules dissolve, being careful that the sugar doesn’t burn.

4. Add the butter and stir constantly until it melts into the sugar making it a creamy consistency.

5. Add the cream slowly, stirring constantly, until it is all blended and creamy. Be careful because it will bubble up when adding the cream.

6. Turn off the heat and add the vanilla.

7. Stir until it is creamy and smooth. While it is still hot, pour it into the jar.

8. Cool it until its room temperature and then refrigerate until you’re ready to use it (you’ll need to reheat it before using it – you can do that in the microwave).

*Shortcut: use store bought caramel sauce instead of homemade Caramel.

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DID YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE?

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