Passover charoset cupcakes

Making a decent Passover dessert (where flour is forbidden) is hard enough. Making a Passover dessert for someone who is also allergic to milk products (as was one of our guests) is nearly impossible. These cupcakes fit both bills, and aren't half bad! My coworkers loved them and didn't even notice the lack of flour, milk or butter.

The recipe starts with charoset, the traditional Passover mixture of apples, dried fruits, nuts, ginger, cinnamon and grape juice or wine. Since it's only made once a year we mix up a huge batch and eat it as a snack for weeks.

The cupcake batter is quick and simple, until the addition of the beaten egg whites. These are folded in slowly and carefully, making sure not to deflate the batter.

The batter is dosed out and topped with a spoonful (or two) of the charoset.

Here's what they look like just before popping them into the oven.

And here they are fresh out of the oven! The charoset on top cooks slightly, intensifying the fruit flavors.

The smell of these cupcakes in the oven had our cat, Cinderella, ready for the Passover seder!

Passover Charoset Cupcakes
From cupcakeproject.com
Makes about 16 cupcakes

5 eggs, separated
1 1/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup safflower oil
Juice of 2 lemons
Grated zest of 2 lemons
1 1/4 cup matzo cake meal (not matzo meal)
About 2 cup charoset (I'll post our recipe soon)

Preheat oven to 350. Mix egg yolks and sugar on high speed until light and fluffy. In a separate bowl, combine oil, lemon juice and zest. Add matzo cake meal and oil mixture to yolk and sugar in alternating doses (we added about 1/3 at a time). Beat egg whites until stiff but not dry. Using a rubber spatula, fold 1/4 of the beaten egg whites into the batter until well blended. Carefully fold in remaining beaten egg whites. Fill cupcake liners about halfway with batter and top with a spoonful of charoset. Bake for 30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.