Yesterday was one of those unique holidays, that people don’t know about. Cupcake Day is celebrated the third Monday of August each year. I sometimes enjoy participating in these celebrations although I initially passed this one up since traditional sweets are on my “no” list.
I felt like being creative in the kitchen however, and inspired by the egg free wacky cake my mom made when I was a child, I adapted a recipe to create my own version of healthy wacky cupcakes.
Healthy Wacky Cupcake Recipe
This simple cupcake recipe comes together in minutes.
Wacky Chocolate Cupcakes
1 1/2 cups gluten free flour (I used gluten free oat flour)
1 cup coconut sugar
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons light olive oil
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1 cup cold water
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Drop 12 cupcake papers into a cupcake baking pan.
Mix gluten free flour, coconut sugar, salt, baking soda and cocoa powder in a large bowl, stirring until well combined. Make three wells in the dry mixture. Add olive oil to one well, apple cider vinegar to another, and vanilla to the third. Pour cold water over the top of everything. Using a wooden spoon or a spatula, hand mix batter until mixture is smooth and slightly bubbly.
Immediately pour batter into cupcake papers, dividing evenly among the 12 compartments. Bake 20-25 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in cupcake comes out clean. Top with whipped coconut cream, unsweetened dried fruit, fresh fruit or nuts.
Visually the batter reminded me so much of Mom’s wacky cake. I sampled it by swiping a finger along the edge of the bowl, and it tasted like her cake. The kitchen smelled wonderful as the cupcakes baked while I cleaned up. I ended up baking my cupcakes for 24 minutes.
Refined sugar is not on my diet. Coconut sugar, which resembles unrefined brown sugar, or pure maple syrup or raw honey are the only sweeteners I use. So no frosting allowed for these wacky cupcakes. Instead, I topped my mini cakes with unsweetened shredded coconut and wild blueberries, thawed.
Taste Test
After the cakes cooled and the wild blueberries thawed it was time to sample the wacky cupcakes. They smelled wonderful but how would they taste?
These little treasures were perfect…tender, full of chocolate flavor, and not too sweet. The shredded coconut and wild blueberries made an excellent topping. Next time I create these I want to try making my own whipped coconut cream for a topping.
I could not have wished for a better way to celebrate Cupcake Day, in my own way. Healthy Wacky Cupcakes made a great special treat!
