Junk Food Makeover: Hostess Cupcakes
You will not find these cupcakes in your convenience star. (Photo: Getty Images)
OK, so we’ve hit mid-January. This is about the time when people start straying from their new year’s resolutions. Here’s a childhood favorite that will satisfy your mid-month craving and keep you on track. We love using coconut oil as our go-to healthy fat, as it makes for a super moist cake and helps keep you feeling fuller longer.
Cake:
¼ cup of coconut oil
½ cup of water
2/3 cup cocoa powder
8 ounces of dark chocolate
2/3 cup of maple syrup
1 ¼ cup of quinoa flour
2 tablespoons of flax meal
½ teaspoon of baking powder
½ teaspoon of baking soda
½ teaspoon of sea salt
2 farm eggs, separated
1 teaspoons of vanilla extract
1/3 cup applesauce
Filling:
½ cup of coconut butter
¼ cup of brown Rice syrup
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
2 tablespoon of water
½ teaspoon of chia seeds
Topping:
12 ounces of 70 percent dark chocolate
1 tablespoons of coconut oil
1 teaspoon of coconut nectar
2 oz. white chocolate, melted
Yield: 24 cupcakes
Preheat oven to 350°F. Place coconut oil and water in a saucepan. Bring to a boil and remove from heat. Whisk in cocoa powder, chocolate, and maple syrup. Let cool. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, flax meal, baking soda, baking powder, and sea salt. In a separate bowl, whisk together the cooled cocoa mixture, egg yolks, apple sauce, and vanilla extract. Add chocolate mixture to the flour mix and combine thoroughly. Beat egg whites at medium speed using an electric mixer. Beat until stiff but not dry. Gently fold the egg whites into cake batter. Spoon into non-stick (preferably silicon) muffin pans and fill about half way. Bake for 15 minutes.
Meanwhile, in a blender, combine the coconut butter, brown rice syrup, vanilla, chia and water. Blend to combine. Chill the filling in the fridge until it’s cold. In a double boiler, melt combine the semi-sweet chocolate, coconut oil and nectar. Stir until melted. Transfer to a small mixing bowl and cool. Separately, melt the white chocolate and transfer to a fine-tipped piping bag.
For the topping, heat all ingredients in a double boiler until melted and smooth.
Slice the tops off the cupcakes using a serrated knife so that tops are flat. Using a small round cutter, remove about one inch from the bottom center of each cupcake. Save the very bottom, about ¼-inch of each piece removed; discard the rest. Scoop or pipe 1 tablespoon of filling into each cupcake and cover with reserved cake.
Spread each filled cupcake with about two tablespoons of semi-sweet chocolate. There should be a thick topping, but the sides will not be covered. Cool in the fridge until the chocolate has solidified. Decorate cupcakes with melted white chocolate.
Tricia Williams is a chef and nutrition educator and founder of Food Matters NYC, a customized meal delivery service in Manhattan.
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