Last week I made a batch of cupcakes for Laura and me, but I ended up eating every last one of them because she didn't like the bitter taste associated with using Stevia rather than regular granulated sugar. I'm cooking without sugar, so I'm not going to please my daughter as often as I will be creating a more healthy and alternative lifestyle in the kitchen. She can get over it. I agree with Laura that the Stevia was rather bitter, but the good news is, last week when I made the dark chocolate cupcakes, the bittersweet chocolate I used made them taste like they are supposed to taste. She's just not a big chocolate fan. Don't ask me where she came from, I really have no idea.
This week, because I can, I decided to make another batch (6) of dark chocolate cupcakes, but this time I used monk fruit rather than Stevia. WOW. What a huge difference. I also used coconut oil instead of vegetable oil. I used baking powder and baking soda, rather than just the powder, and I also used almond and coconut flour rather than regular flour. If you use coconut and/or almond flour, you need to realize they are so much denser than regular all-purpose or cake flours, and you will have to use that extra egg and you will have to use more liquid. If you don't you'll have cookie dough on your hands rather than cupcake batter. Truth.
So, I take the recipe online, cut it in half, and mix the wets in one bowl, stir them all up nice and fluffy, then in another bowl I blend the drys. I fluff with a spatula before pouring in the sugar/egg mixture and I use a whisk to mix it up. This time, like I said, you have to pay a bit of attention to the thickening of the batter if you substitute flours. I did, and I needed more milk; just a tad, but it was necessary. I decided to use the little paper cups in the cupcake pan since it's older and has a little rust going on with it. I sprayed the inside of the papers very very lightly, and I added the right amount so the cupcakes would not build over the paper, but come flush with the tops. Perfect.
The centers of these cupcakes had a bit of a concave look to them, I'm not sure why. That typically means they're wet heavy, but when I tested them the top bounced right back up again. I removed them from the oven, let them set for 30 minutes before adding the icing, and there you go - - happy camper. I am not lying when I say I could sell these things. I'm not sure I'd make a whole lot of money on them, but they are worthy to eat and people love chocolate. If you break it down the cupcake is about 60-70 calories, and has zero sugar! I love that. The icing is another story, but since I'm not really a diabetic I feel that it's OK if I use confection sugar for the icing as long as I am not sharing them with anyone who could be harmed. Laura appreciated it too.
I didn't have a squeezy thing to put the icing on with so Laura told me I could use the corner of a Ziplock sandwich bag. You have to cut the corner tip and it supposedly flows out right on top like a real live squeezy thing. It didn't. I didn't cut the tip correctly, but it was a new and fun experience, and I did get a really good laugh out of it. I like experimenting. It's not beyond me to get really messy when I do. Nothing says "go ahead and take the challenge" in the kitchen than experimenting with chocolate icing! It's a win-win no matter what happens. Things could get really sticky, and end up in a glorious mess, but OK...I'm up for that too. As long as I'm laughing at myself and learning something. It's all good.
No really, it is all good! Every bit of it. These cupcakes are amazing.
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