MAKE THE CUPCAKE BATTER:

1) Preheat the oven to 175C / 155C fan.

2) Wash the spinach thoroughly and drain it well. Add the drained spinach, avocado, banana and the lime juice into a blender and blend until smooth. If using a hand blender, it might take a bit longer for you to achieve desired consistency.

3) In a clean bowl, mix the white spelt flour with the baking powder.

4) Put the eggs and sugar into a stand mixer bowl, and using a balloon whisk; beat them together on a medium to high speed until pale and fluffy. (You can also use an electric whisk and a clean glass bowl). Reduce the speed to the lowest setting and add the sunflower oil in a continuous slow stream.

5) Swap the balloon whisk for a paddle attachment, add the spinach mixture and gently mix into the egg-sugar mixture. Add the spelt flour with the baking powder in two additions, mixing well after each one.

6) Line a cupcake pan with cupcake cases and spoon the batter into them. You should get circa 14 cupcakes.

7) Bake in the preheated oven for 25 minutes. To test if the cupcakes are done, you can lightly press them with your finger. They should feel firm and lightly springy to the touch. You can also insert a cocktail stick into one of them to see if the stick comes out clean. If so, the cupcakes are baked. Take them out of the oven and let them cool down directly in the pan. Once cooled, remove them from the pan.

MAKE THE CREAM CHEESE FROSTING:

1) It’s important to stick with the ratio 50:50. In other words, if you use 220g of the Mascarpone cheese, then use 220ml of the cream. There is no need to whip the cream separately, just add it into a bowl with the Mascarpone cheese and the sugar. Make sure both the cream and cheese are cold, right from the fridge; before you start whisking. The easiest way to make the frosting is in a stand mixer. Using a balloon whisk, start whisking slowly and then increase the speed to high. Keep an eye on the frosting at all times to make sure that you don’t over-whisk it. As soon as you see the frosting being nice and firm, switch the mixer off. If you’d carry on whisking, it would curdle and you wouldn’t be able to save it.

2) I prefer the sugar-free variant, but if you like things sweet, then you can adjust the amount of sugar to your liking. One thing to mention is that the more sugar you use, the higher the chance that the frosting will turn out runny.

DECORATE YOUR CUPCAKES:

1) Using a large grater, grate two cooled down cupcakes into a small bowl.  This is your edible moss.

2) Decorate all cupcakes with the cream cheese frosting and sprinkle with the edible moss. Make sure to use enough of the edible moss to cover the whole frosting. Decorate with your favourite toppings, e.g. fruit or edible flowers such as edible pansies.

Recipe from @LelísCupcakes