Apricot Couscous Cupcakes

What happens if you take all of the flour in an apricot cupcake recipe and replace it with cooked couscous?  Being the mad cupcake scientist that I am, I had to know.  It turns out that you get a delicious, satisfying, dense cupcake reminiscent of baked oatmeal.  Leave the couscous cupcakes unfrosted for a grab-and-go breakfast or frost the cupcakes with apricot cream cheese frosting and sprinkle them with cinnamon-dusted couscous for a special brunch treat. 

You can also experiment with using part flour and part couscous in the couscous cupcake recipe.  The recipe for the cupcake on the right in the photo above contains no flour.  The recipe for the cupcake on the left has two cups of couscous and one and one half cups of all-purpose flour.  The latter has much more of a cupcake consistency, but still has a little texture from the grit of the couscous.  

Apricot Couscous Cupcake Recipe

Yield: 14 cupcakes

Cupcake Ingredients:

• 8 ounces dried apricots (You will be reconstituting these to make one cup of pureed apricots.  I have not tried this recipe with fresh apricot puree, but I suspect it would be great.)
• 4 eggs
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
• 2 cups cooked couscous, room temperature
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (optionally, replace this with an additional 1 1/2 cups couscous)
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon ginger

Frosting Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
• 8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 1/4 cup apricot puree (left over from making cupcakes)
• a handful of cooked couscous
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

Cupcake Directions:

1. Place the dried apricots in a saucepan filled halfway with water.
2. Bring water to a boil and simmer for fifteen minutes.  The apricots should now be plump.
3. Drain the water out. Note: To make the cupcakes extra yummy, you could use the apricot-flavored water to cook the couscous.
4. Food process the apricots until you have a pasty puree.
5. Preheat oven to 350 F.
6. In a medium-sized bowl, mix the eggs and sugar until combined.
7. Mix in the melted butter.
8. Mix in the couscous, flour, baking powder, and ginger until just combined.
9. Mix in 1/2 cup of the apricot puree.
10. Fill cupcake liners to the top.
11. Bake for 20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Frosting Directions:

1. In a medium-sized mixing bowl, mix butter and cream cheese until light and fluffy - about two minutes.
2. Slowly mix in the powdered sugar until fully combined.
3. Mix in the apricot puree.
4. Spread or pipe onto cooled cupcakes.
5. In a small bowl, mix couscous with cinnamon until coated.
6. Sprinkle over frosting.