Healthier Cupcake recipes

[cindygenit]

Hi All...

I have been on a cupcake spaz lately and I need to find healthier options to my current recipe... Can I substitute plain flour with wholemeal (?) flour without compromising the texture and taste? I also NEVER use full cream milk in my recipes... I usually use Hi-Lo, and sometimes skim. I also heard that I could substiture butter with marge (but never tried this before).

Some of my own recipes that I dreamed up in my head are:
1. Banana oatmeal Honey Cupcakes (tried it, LOVE it)
2. Green tea cupcakes
3. Strawberry cupcakes

I guess I am planning to make these in the next week or so... Just hoping someone can tell me if wholemeal flour will make the cupcakes taste less nice?

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 8/24/2009 12:02:48 AM
Author:cindygenit
Hi All...

I have been on a cupcake spaz lately and I need to find healthier options to my current recipe... Can I substitute plain flour with wholemeal (?) flour without compromising the texture and taste? I also NEVER use full cream milk in my recipes... I usually use Hi-Lo, and sometimes skim. I also heard that I could substiture butter with marge (but never tried this before).

Some of my own recipes that I dreamed up in my head are:
1. Banana oatmeal Honey Cupcakes (tried it, LOVE it)
2. Green tea cupcakes
3. Strawberry cupcakes

I guess I am planning to make these in the next week or so... Just hoping someone can tell me if wholemeal flour will make the cupcakes taste less nice?

I would have thought wholemeal flour wouldn''t work with cupcakes Cindy and it would also make the cakes very heavy.

 

[cindygenit]

Nah, Lorelei, when you use wholemeal flour... it basically becomes a mini muffin!!! LOL

 

[fleur-de-lis]

FYI, a mini-cupcake is actually pretty low on the calorie scale before you put the frosting on. It''s the frosting that kills the calorie count.

As for the wholemeal flour substitution, different people have different standards. Best thing to do is to run a test demi-batch this week and see how it turns out!

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 9/4/2009 9:59:21 AM
Author: cindygenit
Nah, Lorelei, when you use wholemeal flour... it basically becomes a mini muffin!!! LOL

Thats what I was thinking they would go more muffin like and wouldn''t be so '' cakey'' as normal cuppies but no harm in trying!

 

[cindygenit]

Lorelei, ur bunny is mesmerising. Why can''t i stop staring at it????????? LOL

 

[Camille]

Hi cindygenit, in mho: marge is pretty bad. Using canola oil or a mixture of real butter/applesauce can be a good option, light sour cream and water can replace dairy and some 50% fat part in the recipe, we often use light olive oil in chocolate recipes.
I use soy for most of my baking [in fact my grandmother's brioche recipe uses it] and buttermilk is low in fat the enzimes in it are good for you [as yogurt] making everything velvety-tender.
Sugar, I'm on auto when it comes to this item. CUT, as much as you can, specially with frostings.
As for flour, replacing 25% of the white for wheat may be a good start. Some use 50/50 to achieve lightness of cake flour and goodness of wholemeal.
The one I'd think may be tricky is the green tea cuppie, if your recipe calls for self rising you may have to add Bpowder and salt to compensate your sub.
Portion, another measuring tool, ditto fleur de lis, minis are standard at home, my kids get 2 in their lunch boxes, I get the same.
Good Luck

 

[cindygenit]

Date: 9/5/2009 6:23:48 PM
Author: Camille
Hi cindygenit, in mho: marge is pretty bad. Using canola oil or a mixture of real butter/applesauce can be a good option, light sour cream and water can replace dairy and some 50% fat part in the recipe, we often use light olive oil in chocolate recipes.
I use soy for most of my baking [in fact my grandmother''s brioche recipe uses it] and buttermilk is low in fat the enzimes in it are good for you [as yogurt] making everything velvety-tender.
Sugar, I''m on auto when it comes to this item. CUT, as much as you can, specially with frostings.
As for flour, replacing 25% of the white for wheat may be a good start. Some use 50/50 to achieve lightness of cake flour and goodness of wholemeal.
The one I''d think may be tricky is the green tea cuppie, if your recipe calls for self rising you may have to add Bpowder and salt to compensate your sub.
Portion, another measuring tool, ditto fleur de lis, minis are standard at home, my kids get 2 in their lunch boxes, I get the same.
Good Luck

Thanks camille!

First off, what is buttermilk? I usually use just hi-lo (normal milk) in my recipe.

I also use all butter. I try to cut the amount though. For 1 1/6 cup of flour, the recipe calls for approximately 60 g of butter. I usually use my judgement and use whatever necessary to ensure the batter has a strong hold.

For my green tea cuppie, i just plan to replace the vanilla extract in the recipe with green tea powder (to taste). I use plain flour (not self raising) so i do add bpowder and salt. Can you explain why extra baking powder+salt is necessary for self-raising flour? I was under the impression that you don''t need those two ingredients when the recipe calls for self-raising.

Thanks in advance!

 

[Camille]

Hi Cindygenit, w/o going wild on buttermilk this is my personal take on it: It used to be the residue of butter making, nowadays is low fat milk with cultures [like yogurt] fermented for 2 weeks. Some sub 1 C milk+1 Tb lemon juice or vinegar to achieve this, it doesn't really work for me.
Fresh can be frozen in Cup portion up to 3 months and defrost overnight in the fridge for baking, the powdered form last a year and always handy in my pantry. Bmilk is higher in lactic acid than milk at 90 cal per cup and 2g of fat vs milk 160/9g fat [depending on the brand] and great for digestive system.
Glad to hear you use butter at 60 g, it's a little over 4 Tb, not bad at all.
Please disregard the extra BPowder/salt, I thought your recipe called for Selfrising flour [being replaced with Wm]
For the 1 1/6 C APurpose flour I'd sub 1/2C [60g] of wholemeal and take it from there. Who knows, maybe 70g in the future may work, I'd also add a tiny pinch of extra Bpowder for insurance and bit more liquid as Wmeal tends to absorb more.
Just keep in mind that you are providing more fiber but about the same nutrients as enriched APflour, so replacing more than half = dense/coarse product.
Good luck!

 

[cindygenit]

Thanks for the info on buttermilk.

My recipe calls for it, but i have never figured out what it was till now so I have been using hi-lo or skim.

I made almond flavoured cupcakes today (with raw sugar replacing 1/3 of required sugar amount) and instead of icing (the bad stuff), i shaved some dark chocolate on the batter and baked it.

Almond cupcake with melted dark chocolate shavings on top is a hit in the office today.

 

[Camille]

 

[TooPatient]

I substitute soy milk for whatever milk is in the recipe. Never had a problem.

Instead of butter or shortening I use a vegan buttery stick from Natural Balance. It is very good. Never had a compromise in quality with this. It is so good I even put it on regular toast and B doesn''t know the difference.

I usually leave the rest of the recipe alone the first time through and adjust from there.

Reducing sugar is usually no problem.

Sometimes I''ll substitute my homemade applesauce for some of the butter & sugar.