Toddler Treats
Secretly Healthy Chocolate Cupcakes
Free from white refined sugars, they’re naturally sweetened using maple syrup and banana. With only a little butter too they’re light and fluffy sweets.
Secretly healthy chocolate cupcakes, so good the kids will never know the difference!
Summary
Prep: 10 minutes
Cooking: 20 minutes
Ages: Toddlers – Teens
Difficulty: Easy peasy
Makes: 10 cupcakes
How to Make Healthy Chocolate Cupcakes with Yogurt?
These healthy chocolate cupcakes are so easy to make you only need 1 bowl.
Mash the banana well and mix it with your wet ingredients. Add in your dry ingredients, stir and the batter is ready.
Spoon it into cupcake cases and bake on the middle shelf of an oven until cooked through.
You can serve the cupcakes plain as healthy homemade treats, or you can swirl this healthy ricotta cheese icing onto them.
Just keep in mind that after icing, the cupcakes should be stored in the fridge, (as the healthier icing is made from cream cheese).
Healthy Chocolate Cupcakes with Yogurt
Ingredients
Wet ingredients:
- 1 ripe banana, mashed
- ½ cup maple syrup (120 ml)
- 45 grams butter, melted
- 1 egg
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon natural yogurt
Dry ingredients:
- ¾ cup self-raising flour (90 grams)
- ¼ cup cocoa powder (25 grams)
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
Icing:
- 220 grams ricotta cheese (just under 1 cup)
- 4 tablespoons maple syrup
- ½ tablespoon cocoa powder
Instructions
Healthy Chocolate Cupcakes
- Preheat an oven to 180°C or 350°F. Grease a muffin tray or line it with paper cupcake cases.
- In a medium mixing bowl, mash your banana well with a fork.
- Mix in the maple syrup and melted butter. Then beat in the egg and vegetable oil.
- Finally add the vanilla extract and natural yogurt.
- Pour in your dry ingredients to the bowl starting with the self-raising flour. Then add the cocoa powder, baking powder and baking soda.
- Mix until just combined. You should have a thick chocolatey batter.
- Spoon the mixture into each of your cupcake cases until about ⅔ full.
- Bake on the middle shelf of the oven for 20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
- Let the cupcakes cool to room temperature while you make the icing.
Cream Cheese Icing
- Mix the ricotta cheese with the maple syrup and cocoa powder until smooth.
- If you can, chill the mixture in the fridge for an hour or so to firm it up.
- Spoon into a piping tool or a plastic food bag with the corner snipped off.
- Hold the bag over a cupcake and push the mixture through the hole while moving it in concentric circles to make swirls of icing.
- Decorate with sprinkles or chocolate chips (optional).
How to Make Healthy Chocolate Cupcakes Without White Refined Sugar
Combine the Wet Ingredients
In a medium sized mixing bowl, start by mashing the banana until it’s an even texture.
Add in the maple syrup, melted butter, vegetable oil, beaten egg, vanilla essence and natural yogurt.
Mix it all well.
Stir in the Dry Ingredients
Stir in the self-raising flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and baking soda.
Mix everything until there are no lumps and it’s evenly distributed.
Spoon into Cupcake Liners
Spoon the batter into cupcake liners until they’re about ⅔ full. (The cupcakes will rise quite a bit in the oven.)
Bake on the middle shelf of a preheated oven at 180°C or 350°F fan setting for about 20 minutes.
Check that a toothpick comes out clean.
Remove the cupcakes from the oven and leave them to cool to room temperature.
Make the Ricotta Icing (optional)
To make the icing you simply mix the ricotta cheese with maple syrup and cocoa powder until well combined.
Chill in the fridge if you are able to make it firmer.
Then spoon the icing into a piping tool or a plastic food bag with the corner snipped off.
Push the icing out of the bag to make a swirl over each cupcake.
As the icing is made from cream cheese, the cupcakes should be stored in the fridge afterwards.
Pin it for Later – Secretly Healthy Chocolate Cupcakes
Secretly Healthy Chocolate Cupcakes
Ingredients
Wet Ingredients
- 1 ripe banana
- ½ cup maple syrup (120 ml)
- 45 grams butter melted
- 1 egg
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 1 tablespoon natural yogurt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla essence
Dry Ingredients
- ¾ cup self-raising flour (90 grams)
- ¼ cup cocoa powder (25 grams)
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
Cream Cheese Icing
- 220 grams ricotta cheese (just under 1 cup)
- 4 tablespoons maple syrup
- ½ tablespoon cocoa powder
Instructions
Healthy Chocolate Cupcakes
-
Preheat an oven to 180°C or 350°F. Grease a muffin tray or line it with paper cupcake cases.
-
In a medium mixing bowl, mash your banana well with a fork.
-
Mix in the maple syrup and melted butter. Then beat in the egg and vegetable oil.
-
Finally add the vanilla extract and natural yogurt.
-
Pour in your dry ingredients to the bowl starting with the self-raising flour. Then add the cocoa powder, baking powder and baking soda.
-
Mix until just combined. You should have a thick chocolatey batter.
-
Spoon the mixture into each of your cupcake cases until about ⅔ full.
-
Bake on the middle shelf of the oven for 20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
-
Let the cupcakes cool to room temperature while you make the icing.
Cream Cheese Icing
-
Mix the ricotta cheese with the maple syrup and cocoa powder until smooth.
-
If you can, chill the mixture in the fridge for an hour or so to firm it up.
-
Spoon into a piping tool or a plastic food bag with the corner snipped off.
-
Hold the bag over a cupcake and push the mixture through the hole while moving it in concentric circles to make swirls of icing.
-
Decorate with sprinkles or chocolate chips (optional)
