Description
These Healthy Chocolate Cupcakes are a nutritious twist on a classic treat, made with wholesome ingredients like coconut sugar, applesauce, and spelt flour. Moist and rich in chocolate flavor, they are perfect for a guilt-free dessert or snack, offering a lower-fat and natural sweetener alternative without compromising taste.
Ingredients
Scale
Dry Ingredients
- 1 cup spelt flour (120g) (alternatively oat flour, white flour, or gluten free all purpose flour)
- 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2 tbsp Dutch cocoa powder (or additional unsweetened cocoa powder)
- 1 cup coconut sugar (or xylitol)
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
Wet Ingredients
- 1/2 cup water
- 1/2 cup applesauce (or mashed banana)
- 1/4 cup coconut oil (or additional water)
- 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
Instructions
- Prepare Ingredients and Equipment: Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C). Grease or line a cupcake tin with cupcake liners to prevent sticking.
- Mix Dry Ingredients: In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the spelt flour, unsweetened cocoa powder, Dutch cocoa powder, coconut sugar, baking soda, and salt until fully combined and evenly distributed.
- Add Wet Ingredients: Add the water, applesauce, coconut oil, vanilla extract, and apple cider vinegar to the dry ingredients. Stir gently with a spatula or spoon until you form a smooth, well-combined batter without overmixing.
- Portion Batter: Spoon the batter into the prepared cupcake tin, filling each cup about two thirds full to allow room for rising.
- Bake: Place the cupcake tin in the preheated oven and bake for 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out mostly clean with just a few moist crumbs attached.
- Cool and Serve: Remove the cupcakes from the oven and let them cool completely in the tin before frosting or serving unfrosted. For improved texture and easier liner removal, loosely cover the cupcakes and let them sit overnight at room temperature if possible.
Notes
- Using spelt flour provides a nutritious alternative, but other flours such as oat, white, or gluten-free all-purpose work fine.
- For low-fat variation, allow cupcakes to rest loosely covered overnight; this enhances taste and makes liners peel off more easily.
- Applesauce or mashed banana acts as a natural fat replacement and adds moisture.
- Coconut sugar can be substituted with xylitol for a lower glycemic index sweetener.
- Be careful not to overmix the batter to keep cupcakes tender.
