Category Archives: Cupcakes
Sweet Potato Cupcakes With Chai Frosting
I found these little guys in my Women’s Health magazine (see link at bottom for original recipe). I’m a big fan of chai and these were touted as a low-cal cupcakes so why not give it a whirl? Once I got around to making and tasting them they were wonderful! Easy to make and a delicious treat. But, I had a little problem with the sweet potato part.
I didn’t really grow up eating sweet potatoes. There is no real reason for this, it just wasn’t a staple in our house. Until this recipe, I had never purchased a sweet potato which turned my grocery store trip into a tale of embarrassment…and confusion.
The original recipe says fresh or canned sweet potato. Since I adore cooking from scratch, I headed to the produce aisle first. I thought I knew what sweet potatoes looked like. I identified them over by the potatoes. Just to make sure, I went to look at the produce label but it was missing. Crap. Then, I started to wonder if I was dealing in yams instead? Was there a difference? I’ve never bought a yam either. Damn. There was a young gal shopping next to me and I swallowed my pride and asked her (holding up my rogue potato): “Um…do you think this is a sweet potato?”. She looked at me and smiled (which I read to mean [idiot]) and said “It should be… or a yam.” Well, that was helpful. Why is this so hard? I put the rogue potato down and scattered off to the canned foods – because I know cans are labelled. Ha! Sure enough I came across a can that says “YAMS, sweet potatoes in syrup”. You’ve got to be kidding me. As I stared at the can with confusion and disgust, an employee asked me if she could help. Despite being pretty certain that I was beyond help, I accepted and told her my problem. She assured me that what I saw in the produce section was, in fact, a sweet potato and she told me to cook it just like a baked potato in the microwave. Good idea! And that is just what I did. I’m still lost on the yam vs. sweet potato issue but I’ll deal with that later.
Makes 16 mini-cupcakes or 8 regular cupcakes (about 144 calories for 2 mini-cupcakes or 1 regular cupcakes)
Ingredients:
Cupcakes
1/2 cup oat flour
6 tbsp all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
6 tbsp granulated sugar
2 tbsp unsalted butter, softened
1 egg white
1/4 cup cooked sweet potato*
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
2 tbsp skim milk
*Wash your sweet potato and dry it. Pierce it in several places with a fork. Microwave for 4-5 mintes. Let it cool for a few minutes and then scoop out the pulp.
Icing
1/4 cup confectioners’ sugar
3 tbsp reduced-fat cream cheese, at room temperature
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp ground cardamom
1/8 tsp ground cloves
Directions:
1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Line the appropriate cupcake pan with cupcake liners.
3. In a bowl, cream together sugar and butter with an electric mixer on medium.
4. Add egg white, sweet potato, and vanilla – beat on low until well combined. Do not overmix.
5. Fill liners until 3/4 full.
6. Bake for 15-18 minutes (until a toothpick comes out clean)
7. Cool for 10 minutes in the pan and then remove from the pan to cool completely.
Icing
1. In a bowl, beat confectioners’ sugar, cream cheese, and spices until smooth.
2. Frost your cooled cupcakes and enjoy!
Original Recipe, click here.
Oatmeal Raisin Cupcakes With Cream Cheese Frosting
Faced with challenge of finding an unusual birthday treat (no vanilla or chocolate cupcakes), I decided to find a way to turn a favorite cookie into a spectacular cupcake. By all accounts at my office, these were a hit!
True to form, I only read the ingredients before selecting this recipe. It wasn’t until I actually got started that I noticed the more relevant (or difficult or inconvenient portions of the recipe. This happens to me constantly. The recipe below was adapted from the Food Network (link at the bottom of this post). The original recipe specifically calls for a free standing mixer with a paddle attachment (like this). I don’t have one of those so I went with my trusty old hand mixer. This was fine. I’m fit. 10 minutes holding the hand mixer? No prob. But I’m no octopus. It is rather difficult to run the hand mixer while simultaneously tossing various ingredients in the bowl. It was a workout but, in the end, mission accomplished.
Makes 36 cupcakes
Ingredients:
Cupcakes
3 3/4 cups old-fashioned rolled oats, divided (2 cups/1 3/4)
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cup oat bran
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 1/2 cups unsalted butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
4 large eggs 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 cup sour cream
1 1/2 cup raisins
1 cup sweetened flaked coconut
Icing
4 oz cream cheese
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
Pinch of salt
2 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar
Directions:
Cupcakes
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Whisk 2 cups of oats with flour, oat bran, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon in a medium bowl.
3. With an electric beater, cream the butter and both sugars on medium-high speed until pale and fluffy.
4. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, beating until each is smooth, scraping down the side of the bowl, as needed.
5. Beat in the vanilla.
6. Turn the speed to low, add the flour mixture little by little until combined.
7. Beat in the sour cream.
8. Stir in the raisins by hand.
9. Transfer 2 3/4 cups of batter to a small bowl and stir in the coconut and the remaining 1 3/4 cups of oats.
10. Divide the plain batter among the cupcake liners, and then top each with 1 tbsp oat-coconut batter.
11. Bake until golden, about 18-20 minutes.
12. Transfer pans to cooling racks. Cool cupcakes completely before icing.
Icing
1. In a bowl, using an electric mixer, combine the butter, salt and cream cheese on medium-high speed until creamy.
2. Turn the speed to low and beat in confectioners’ sugar 1/2 cup at a time.
3. Increase speed to medium-high until light and fluffy.
Ice your cupcakes by spreading or piping the icing onto the cooled cakes. Enjoy!
Adapted from the Food Network.
