I’m sure you’re wondering what the heck are cupcakes doing on the “healthy recipe day”, right?? Believe it or not I have found a recipe for healthy cupcakes! Well, they are at least INFINITELY better for you than the regular ones. After adding up some of the nutrition facts on these, I don’t even want to think about the amounts of sugar, fat and calories in regular cupcakes. Gulp! Not good, not good at all. Which is why they are a TREAT and should be eaten in moderation.
But I digress….let’s back to these fabulous, nutrition-packed little cakes, shall we?
What if I told you that the flour in these was replaced with a black beans?? Say whaaaaat?? Yep, black beans…you know the things that go in your burritos, soup and make a mean chip dip? Yes, those! Now I’ve seen many recipes lately for brownies made with black beans, all with mixed reviews, so I was very intrigued by this cake and I have to admit that the pictures of it looked so good, I just had to try it. As I mixed up the batter and was filling my muffin cups, my curiosity got the best of me and I tried a little taste…umm, it was good!! Tasted just like regular cake batter. Ok, I was hopeful at this point. Things started looking even better as they baked..they smelled amazing and were actually rising, even though they never quite formed a “dome” like regular cupcakes.
Once I had them cooled off, I couldn’t resist trying one, despite what the original poster of the recipe said about letting them set overnight to lose any “black bean” taste. To my delight the cake was super moist and had no bean taste at all!! I loved them. And I was totally shocked! This is seriously revolutionary for me people..I see many experiments in the future!
As for the frosting, I really wasn’t sure how to make a “healthy” frosting, especially since I didn’t want to use powdered sugar. I did some research online and found some recipes that used cream cheese with honey or butter and vegan shortening, but I really wanted something as healthy as possible. I finally decided on Neufchatel cheese (which I’ve recently discovered and LOVE..way better than cream cheese and less fat!) with some honey. I threw in a little almond milk which I think I’d omit because it made the frosting less sturdy and more like a super thick yogurt. For natural pink color and super delicious flavor, I threw some freeze-dried cherries in my food processor until they were a fine powder. The cherries were actually quite expensive so feel free to buy a less costly berry…or you can omit the powder all-together but I’m not sure how the consistency will be if you do. I was pleased with the end result (as in, I was eating it with a spoon…oooops), but will probably keep working on frostings and experimenting to get a thick, creamy more “normal” frosting.
Anywho, that’s the story of my first healthy cupcake. In my mind it was a total success and I couldn’t be happier. Guess I gotta stock up on black beans now!
Recipe adapted from healthyindulgences.net
- 1, 15 oz. Can Unseasoned Black Beans, drained and rinsed (shake off ALL excess water)
- 3 Large Eggs, 4 Egg Whites
- 1 T. Pure Vanilla Extract
- ½ t. Sea Salt
- 4 T. Unsalted Butter
- 2 T. Unsweetened Applesauce (or pumpkin...I was out, otherwise I would have used it)
- ½ c. Honey
- 6 T. Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
- 1 t. Baking Powder
- ½ t. Baking Soda
- 12 oz. Organic, Neufchatel Cheese
- ½ c. Honey
- 2 T. Almond Milk (optional--don't recommend)
- 1 T. Pure Vanilla Extract
- ½ c. Ground, Freeze-Dried Tart Cherries
- Dried, Naturally Sweet Tart Cherries (for topping)
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line two, regular-size muffin tins with cupcake liners (only need 16).
- Place beans, the 3 eggs, salt and vanilla in a blender and blend on high until beans are completely liquified. In a small bowl, whisk together the cocoa powder, baking powder and baking soda. Set aside.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter, applesauce (or pumpkin) and honey on medium-high speed until light and fluffy (I beat for about 10 minutes..never really got "fluffy" but wasn't total liquid either). Add the egg whites one at a time. Pour in the bean mixture and mix thoroughly. Gradually add the cocoa powder mixture and beat on high for one minute, until smooth. Place three tablespoons of batter into each lined muffin tin. Bake for 25 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the middle comes at clean. Cool completely.
- Cream the Neufchatel in the bowl of an electric mixer until smooth. Beat in the honey. Beat in vanilla, almond milk (if using) and ground, freeze-dried cherries. Let sit in refrigerator for a couple of hours to stiffen up.
- Top each cupcake with a heaping spoonful of frosting and smooth with an off-set spatula. Top with a dried cherry.
- Serve immediately or store in the refrigerator until a few minutes before serving.
