Marzipan Maca Hibiscus Cups

These marzipan maca hibiscus cups are utterly delightful and so simple to make.
The marzipan filling is made by blending blanched almonds with coconut sugar, almond extract, and a pinch of maca. They have a perfectly balanced flavor with a subtle sweetness to them. The maca adds a wonderful lift to your energy while the hibiscus adds a tangy citrus quality that also provides antioxidants.

Marzipan Maca Hibiscus Cups [Vegan, Gluten-Free]

Serves

18-20 cups

Ingredients

For the Marzipan:

• 2 1/2 cups raw almonds, blanched
• 1 1/3 cups coconut sugar
• 2 tablespoons almond extract
• 2 teaspoons yellow maca powder

For the Chocolate:

• 1/2 cup grated cacao butter
• 1/4 cup grated cacao paste, divided
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• 1/3 cup cacao or cocoa powder
• 2 tablespoons coconut sugar
• 1 teaspoon yellow maca powder

For the Garnish:

• 3 tablespoons hibiscus flowers, powdered

Preparation

To Make the Blanched Almonds:

1. Bring about 4-5 cups of filtered water to a boil. Once boiling, add the almonds and put on a timer for 55 seconds.  Immediately dump into a colander and let cool. Peel the skins off the almonds and place on a paper or kitchen towel to dry. Do not overcook or they will become bitter.
2. Immediately dump into a colander and let cool. Peel the skins off the almonds and place on a paper or kitchen towel to dry. Do not overcook or they will become bitter.

To Make the Chocolate:

1. In a small double boiler or a glass or ceramic bowl fit snug over a small saucepan of water, add the cacao butter, half of the cacao paste, and maple syrup on medium-low heat until it is completely melted.
2. Take off the heat and stir in the rest of the cacao paste until melted. Next, stir in the cacao powder, maca, and coconut sugar. Make sure no water gets into the chocolate or it will seize up.

To Make the Marzipan:

1. Place the dry almonds in a food processor and pulse it a bunch of times to break them up evenly, then turn it on until it turns to a fine crumb.
2.  Add in the coconut sugar and maca, then turn the processor on and slowly add in the almond extract. Make sure and scrape the sides and bottom. Sometimes the extract will stay on the bottom. Pulse until it starts to stick together.
3. Scoop out the marzipan with a measuring tablespoon and firmly press it into the spoon while making it level. Scoop it out of the measuring spoon with a spoon or your fingers. Shape into 20 discs a little smaller than the moulds or liners and set aside on a plate.

To Assemble:

1. First, grind the hibiscus flowers in a coffee or spice grinder to a fine powder. Set aside
2. There are two ways you can make the cups. For the first method, take butter cup moulds (or reusable cupcake moulds). Swirl a round pastry brush around the chocolate to load up the brush. Swirl the chocolate around the cup moulds starting on the bottom and swirling up the sides. Put into the freezer. Repeat one or two more times, if needed.
3. Drop the marzipan discs into the bottom and press down. Top with chocolate and smooth it out with a rubber spatula. Sprinkle on the hibiscus powder.
4. Place back into the freezer until completely hard. You can tell if they are ready by looking at the bottom to see if it is dark brown or if it has lifted.  It will be cloudy looking. Turn them over and pop them out onto a plate. You can either use kitchen shears to trim up the edges or carefuly use a paring knife.
5. For the other method, spread out 18-20 cupcake liners on a baking sheet. Pour in about 1 1/2 teaspoons of chocolate into cupcake liners to cover the bottom and then spread the chocolate around with a spoon.
6. Drop the marzipan discs into the liners and making sure to leave room for the chocolate to spread around the edges of the marzipan. Drizzle about a half teaspoon over the top of the marzipan or until it is covered. Spread the chocolate around and sprinkle on the hibiscus powder. Place back into the freezer until the chocolate completely hard.

http://www.onegreenplanet.org/vegan-recipe/marzipan-maca-hibiscus-cups/