This week- Blueberry

Healthy Whole Wheat Blueberry Cupcakes

Ingredients

• 2 cups whole wheat flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 cup milk
• ½ cup maple syrup
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1-1/2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a 12-cup cupcake pan with cupcake liners and spray with non-stick cooking spray.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture and add the eggs, milk, maple syrup and vanilla. Whisk until mixture is thick and well combined. Gently fold in the blueberries with a spatula or wooden spoon.

Divide mixture evenly among prepared cupcake liners, filling each one about ⅔ full. Bake for 13-15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cupcakes comes out with a few crumbs on it. Let cupcakes cool in pan for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

This week- Pumpkin

Healthy Pumpkin Recipe

Ingredients

• 270g white whole wheat flour
• 2 ¾ tsp  pumpkin spice 
• 1 ½ tsp baking powder
• ¾ tsp baking soda
• ½ tsp salt
• 7g coconut oil or unsalted butter, melted
• 2 large egg whites, room temperature
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 15ml vanilla stevia
• 183g pumpkin purée 
• 60g  Greek yogurt
• 150ml nonfat milk

          To prepare the cupcakes, preheat the oven to 350°F. Line 12 muffin cups with paper liners, and coat the liners with cooking spray.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, pumpkin spice, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk together the coconut oil, egg whites, vanilla, and vanilla stevia. Stir in the pumpkin purée and Greek yogurt. Alternate between adding the flour mixture and the milk, beginning and ending with the flour mixture, and stirring just until incorporated. (For best results, add the flour mixture in 3 equal parts.)

Divide the batter between the prepared paper liners. Bake at 350°F for 19-21 minutes or until the centers feel firm to the touch and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool in the pan for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

This week- Vanilla

Healthy Vanilla Cupcakes

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup coconut oil, at room temperature 
• 2 eggs, large
• 1/2 cup maple syrup or raw honey
• 1/3 cup applesauce, unsweetened
• 3/4 cup any milk 
• 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1 3/4 cups + 2 tbsp  wheat  flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
  
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
  
• 1/4 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and spray non-stick 12 muffin tin with cooking spray or line with cupcake liners . 
In a large mixing bowl, add the wet ingredients and beat with a mixer until smooth. Add the dry ingredients and process until smooth. Batter should be like for the cake consistency, thicker than for pancakes but thinner than for muffins. Pour batter into prepared muffin tin and bake for 20 minutes, or until tops spring back to the touch or a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Remove from the oven and let cool completely.

This week – Carrots

Healthy Carrot Cupcakes

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 white flour
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/16 tsp uncut stevia 
• 1/2 cup applesauce
• 1/3 cup oil 
• 2 tsp white or apple cider vinegar
• 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1 packed cup shredded carrot (200g)

Preheat oven to 350F and place 9 cupcake liners in a muffin tin. Combine all dry ingredients in a mixing bowl, then set aside. In a large measuring cup, combine all liquid ingredients (including carrot). Mix wet ingredients into dry and immediately portion into the baking cups and place in the oven. Bake 19 minutes, then allow the healthy carrot cake cupcakes to cool before removing from the tray. These healthy and vegan carrot cake cupcakes are soy-free and can be gluten-free .

8 tips for cooking cupcakes

       Everybody knows how to make cupcakes, right? It’s like a cake, but in a smaller version. I’m not here to tell you how you should make them cause i’m no expert myself, but i’ll share with you some of my tips and tricks that i’ve found along this tasteful journey. So, here are 8 helpful( hope so)  tips:

1.    Quality ingredients – Always use quality ingredients. Don’t try to save 2 dollars on that chocolate cause you will taste the difference. Literally.  
2. Ingredients at room temperature– When starting to prepare the dough, make sure all the ingredients are at room temperature. Not only it will be easier for you to work , but there is also some science involved.
3. PRE-HEAT the oven – This is a vey important step in the whole process. 
   ALWAYS, BUT ALWAYS pre-heat the oven.  Otherwise the dough won’t rise as much as you’d like.
4. Adapt your recipe -I know everybody is saying stick to the recipe, but i don’t see a problem replacing a flavour or adding an extra ingredient if you like it. Maybe you like the whole concept of the cupcake , but you are not a big fan of the white chocolate( for example). Why not change it and make it your way? Go nuts.
5. Greasing the paper cups – Before pouring the mixture into the cups, make sure that they are greased with oil so that you will be able to get it out once it’s done and that it won’t stick to the paper.
6. Overcooking in the pan – This is one that i found out later after i started baking and sincerely, it made a lot of sense. After you take out the pan out of the oven, let the muffins rest in the pan only for 2-3 minutes. After that the muffins will overcook and it will be dry by the time you will eat them, something that we don’t like around here.
7. Storing the cupcakes– If you have leftovers,(which i don’t think will be the case) the best way to store is to freeze them. Or if you leave them outside the oven, at least cover it, so it doesn’t get dry.
8. Have fun– Cooking is a way of relaxing, so try and have fun while doing it.