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Not Your Usual Chocolate Cupcakes!
December 30th, 2008 Madhuram Posted in Food Blog Events, Muffins/Cupcakes, Vegan Baking | 
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Yes, unlike the usual chocolate cupcakes these cupcakes are rich in fiber and protein. 18gms protein and 21gms fiber in total! Wondering how? One and half cups of pureed black beans is mixed with the batter and the beauty is, you wouldn’t taste the black beans or anything different! You can make these cupcakes even more healthy by using whole wheat pastry flour instead of all purpose flour. I adapted this black bean chocolate cupcakes recipe from the book Vegetarian Times Fast and Easy. I made a couple of changes to make it vegan.
Like the other healthy cupcake which I baked earlier, these chocolate cupcakes taste very good the day after baking. I baked these yesterday and I when I tasted soon after it cooled I felt that something was missing, maybe sweetness. But today the flavors were complete, it had the perfect amount of sweetness and tasted like any other ordinary cupcake.
1 and 1/2 cups of cooked beans)
Yield: 12 regular size cupcakes and 12 mini cupcakes. (or 16 regular size cupcakes)
2 Drain the black beans from the can, rinse it well under running water and puree it in a food processor/blender using approximately 1/4 cup of water. The puree should be very smooth without any lumps.
3 To this also add the sugar, prune puree, 2 tablespoons of water, canola oil and vanilla extract. Process/blend it again for another 2-3 minutes. Transfer it to a large bowl.
4 In a small bowl whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and baking soda.
5 Add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients in 3 parts. That is, first add 1/3rd of the flour mixture to the bean and prune puree, mix it well. Then add another 1/3rd and then the last 1/3rd of the flour mixture. Having some lumps is fine. I found that using a wire whisk to mix the batter worked well than using a spatula. The batter was in the consistency of pancake batter. Initially I felt that the quantity of the wet ingredients was way too much, but once I started mixing it to the flour I was relieved to find out that the proportions were getting right.
6 Fill the muffin wells 2/3rds full, around 3 tablespoons of the batter. For the mini muffin tin, just use 1 tablespoon. I placed both the muffin tins in the same rack. The mini muffins were done by 9 minutes and the regular size muffins around 14 minutes. Oven temperatures may vary so check for doneness by inserting a toothpick in the center and it should come out clean.
7 Cool in pan for 5 minutes. Slide a knife around the edges of the cupcake and invert the tin slowly. The cupcakes will fall down, cool them on a rack. Frosting is optional.
2 Melted butter or any vegan butter substitute can be used in place of the canola oil. The original recipe called for soy margarine.
3 I didn’t have cupcake liners at home, so I used vegetable shortening to grease the pans instead of coating it with non-stick cooking spray. I have noticed in the past that while using the latter, pans get grease stains which are very difficult to clean.
4 I recently have found out that using 1/4 teaspoon of baking soda for each egg replaced gives the light and airy texture to the baked product. In this recipe I used 1/2 cup of prune puree to substitute 2 eggs, so I used 1/2 teaspoon baking soda in total. The result was eggless chocolate cupcakes with the spongy texture of the usual cupcakes.
5 We can also control the sodium in the recipe by using low-sodium or no salt added canned beans. Or better soak dried beans and cook it ourselves without salt and add a pinch of salt to the flour mix, because salt enhances the flavor of any sweet dish.
These vegan chocolate cupcakes goes to:
1. Egg Replacement Event – Pureed Fruit hosted by me.
2. Baking for Beginners hosted by Vandana.
3. Santa’s Holiday Challenge hosted by JZ.
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January 2nd, 2009 at 11:05 am
Madhu, i was in india for a month and didn’t get to check your blog. Just came back few days back and want to say that i love all the recipes that you have posted in december, especially the sneaky ones
My toddler is going thro’ a very picky phase now and am sure some of them will help me stay sane 
You rock girl!
Thank you very much Vidya. I guess all toddlers are alike at least in this aspect! Have a wonderful New Year!
January 2nd, 2009 at 10:23 am
Madhuram, what lovely cupcakes. I’ve heard of brownie and cake recipes before that use prune puree but have never tried it before myself. Now I’m quite inspired!
You don’t taste the prune at all. In the past I had found out that silken tofu and cocoa produced fabulous results. Now I add prune puree also to that list.
January 2nd, 2009 at 9:17 am
Black bean in a muffin. Sound so cool. Healthy muffins, with full body…. Nice try….YUM!
Happy new year!!!!….
Happy New Year to you too Sukanya.
January 1st, 2009 at 2:25 pm
Madhu,
With Prunes and beans I thought they would make fireworks for the new year
They are awesome , thanks for the treats. My son had them for dinner ,breakfast and lunch .
You’re welcome SS. I’m glad he liked it.
January 1st, 2009 at 7:53 am
Hello Madhuram,
Excellent site and excellent recipes. Which cocoa do you use in your chocolate base recipes?
Thanks,
Aashi
Thank you Aashi. There are 2 types of cocoa powder Dutch Processed (eg. Droste brand) and Naturally Unsweetened (eg Hersheys). Sometimes the recipe specifies which type to use. If not mentioned in the recipe, I generally use what I have in hand. For this recipe I used Hersheys cocoa powder. Also Dutch processed cocoa powder is costly than Hersheys.
December 31st, 2008 at 8:43 pm
There’s beans in those cupcakes???!!! Wow! What will you think of next, Madhu?
Wish you and your family a very happy and healthy new year!
December 31st, 2008 at 5:59 pm
Madhu,
What will you think of next??
Well, one look at your blog and I am confident that you and your family will definitely have a healthy and creative New Year
Anjali, I found this recipe in the book which I’ve mentioned, so I cannot take the credit. Happy New Year to you too.
December 31st, 2008 at 7:23 am
Hi there,
Beans in cupcakes..I never would have guessed, but I’m impressed.
These cupcakes are so cute!
Happy new year!
- Chan
December 31st, 2008 at 5:49 am
Hey Madhuram, firstly..wow..bean sneaked in muffin:!: Prune puree an egg substitute? WOW! Just amazing Madhu..looks like our usual cupcake too! Your son had it, means its a ‘must try’ one now!
Do u by any chance know abt the Japanese Dorayaki, ie. Dora cakes? They use a azuki paste (sweet bean paste filling)..link here, may be of help to you (http://japanesefood.about.com/od/japanesecake/r/dorayaki.htm) I have yet to try that out, the beans are not available here. HAPPY NEW YEAR TO U N URS!!
December 30th, 2008 at 11:22 pm
Bean in cake
Wishing You and your family a wonderful Year!