cupcakes for two challenge: low carb/gluten-free

I really loved this post from How Sweet It Is (even though Joe and Oli did NOT like the cupcakes; I didn't try them) and Kelsi's vegan version on her blog... but I don't eat sugar and try to avoid flour... and don't really give a shit about eating vegan.

Changing one thing in a recipe is difficult enough... I changed two.  I've made two attempts so far and plan to keep trying but I think my second try wasn't so bad.  In place of flour I've used great northern beans and in place of sugar I've used Truvia.  I thought the problem was going to be the bean taste but that wasn't a problem at all... the challenge was in how wet the batter gets.

What's great about the original recipe is that it can be mixed up in a single bowl and only makes two cupcakes.  The recipes I've seen in the past for bean cakes required the beans to go in the blender but that kind of defeats the whole purpose so I just forked 'em.

Awesome shit: I found these silicon cupcake... cups ($5.99) and liners ($0.99) from IKEA.  Eff yeah... now I don't have to wash the unwieldy 12-count cupcake pan!

So as far as the cupcakes go... they're pretty good, they're vanilla-y, they're a little nutty (from the almond meal), and slightly healthy tasting but they do not taste like beans.

White Bean Cupcakes (pour deux)

Ingredients:
1/4 cup great northern beans- rinsed and drained WELL
1 egg white
2.5 tsp Truvia (or 2 tbsp equiv of sugar)
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 tbsp of almond meal

Directions:
preheat oven to 350º
fork drained beans until just mush
mix all the rest of the shit together
depending on consistency of batter, you may need to add more almond meal
fill cupcake liners and bake that shit for about 22-26 minutes.

I made buttercream frosting for the top but it was really fucking rich and I think next time I'll just whip up some lightly sweetened heavy whipping cream instead.

but here's the buttercream recipe anyway:

1/2 stick of butter, softened
1/2 cup of powdered erythritol
dash of vanilla extract
1 or 2 tsp heavy whipping cream or milk
2-3 drops of liquid sucralose (stevia would also work)

directions: whip it.  whip it real good.  (mix it with a handmixer)

Chemistry lesson!


In this recipe, I used baking powder... but next time I'm gonna change things up.  So what's the difference between baking soda and baking powder?  You don't need a whole fucking chemistry lesson but here's the principle, they both create carbon dioxide in your baked goods (make 'em rise).  Baking soda is its own thing... it reacts with an acid (lemon juice, buttermilk, vinegar...) to do its job... baking powder is baking soda AND an acid (but it doesn't react until it gets wet).  So DON'T use baking soda when you don't have an acid, but it's cool to use both baking soda and baking powder if you want a big top to your muffins and cupcakes.