Chances are…
Chances are, you took one look at the title of this post and you…
RAN THE OTHER WAY.
I know these cupcakes sound crazy, but they are also crazy good. The unexpected secret ingredient keeps them soft, light, and super fudgey, without any added oil. They taste almost like a brownie in the shape of a cupcake, and they’re so rich they don’t even need any frosting!
Using mayonnaise to add depth and flavor to cakes is hardly a new concept. The idea is much older than me, and it’s probably older than most of you as well. Also known as Wacky Cakes or Chocolate Depression Cakes, the origin of mayonnaise cakes can be traced back to the Great Depression, when ingredients such as butter, eggs, and milk were scarce, which forced bakers to get creative.
Today I’m posting a healthier cupcake adaptation of my grandmother’s popular Wacky Cake recipe. (Her version of the classic cake is most likely similar to other versions you’ll find either online or passed down from generation to generation in your own families.)
I’ve played around with the original recipe’s ingredient proportions in order to cut back on the sugar while still maintaining a delicate and fluffy texture—these rich and decadent cupcakes turned out so much better than I’d even hoped.
Instead of frosting, I topped them with Healthy Nutella.
They’re also delicious without any frosting at all!
Why the recipe works:
Vinegar reacts with the baking soda, which forms bubbles and thus makes the cupcakes rise, without needing any eggs. Just be sure to follow the recipe instructions and bake immediately after pouring wet into dry, as the vinegar reaction begins as soon as the two ingredients meet. You’ll find vinegar in many of my recipes, such as Eggy Breakfast Bread or the Chocolate-Chip Biscuits, as it’s a trick I often employ for light, fluffy baked goods.
In this particular recipe, the vinegar present in the mayonnaise is what reacts with the baking soda. I can vouch for the recipe working with Vegenaise (low-fat or regular) as well as Earth Balance Mindful Mayo. If you want to use a homemade mayo-type spread: although I can’t vouch for every single homemade mayo spread out there, it should work as long as your mayo spread includes vinegar (or lemon juice) and a fat source such as oil or cashews. If you are using a homemade mayo-type spread, I highly recommend omitting any onion powder and mustard that might be called for in your recipe!
 Chocolate Mayonnaise Cupcakes
(or Devil’s Food Cupcakes)
- 1/2 cup spelt or all-purpose flour (65g) (Arrowhead Mills gf also works.)
- 3 tbsp cocoa powder (15g) (not Dutch)
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup xylitol or sugar of choice (90g)
- 1/4 cup mayo-style spread, such as Vegenaise (See above paragraph for other brands that work.) (58g)
- 1 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1/3 cup plus 1 tbsp water (95g)
Preheat oven to 350 F and place 6 cupcake liners inside a muffin pan. In a large bowl, combine first five ingredients and sift very well. In a separate bowl, combine remaining three ingredients and whisk until the mayo is completely smooth. Now pour wet into dry and stir until just combined. Immediately divide among the cupcake liners—it won’t seem like a lot of filling, but these cupcakes rise a lot! Bake 21 minutes, then let sit 15 minutes before removing from the pan. These taste ten times more fudgey and rich the next day, so bake the day before eating if possible. Store in the fridge. (Cupcakes in the photos are frosted with my healthy Nutella recipe linked below the second photo on this page.)
View Chocolate Cupcakes Nutrition Facts
Are you brave enough to try them?
Or have you ever tried using mayonnaise in baked goods before? Honestly, I think this might be the best cupcake I’ve ever eaten!
Link of the Day:
…….Vanilla Chai Breakfast Shake
Love your blog! I have a question – I need to make cupcakes for my son’s 6th birthday party this weekend and I am trying to decide between these cupcakes and making your cauliflower cake into cupcakes. They need to be gluten free and will be adorned with frosting and sprinkles. Any suggestion on which recipe would work out the best? Half of the party-goers are used to GF/DF and the other half are not. Thanks so much – keep the recipes coming!
I’d go with these!
And happy early birthday to him :).
Yes, go with these! I have made both and both are good. (I used the pumpkin instead of cauliflower for the other cake.) However, these would be better for the birthday party. I have a four year-old and he loved this. Thanks so much for all your great recipes!
I used gf pantry all-purpose flour and the end result was amazing!!!!!!!!!
We love chocolate covered Katie!!!!!!!!
Thank you so much for trying them!
I just had to make these as soon as I saw the reciepe half an hour ago. They’ve got 5 minutes cooling time left, so I can not wait to try these – they look lovely fluffy just now.
The un-baked mixture tasted amazing (nothing like mayo what so ever) and you could really hear it popping and sizziling when I poured the wet ingriedients into the dry. I’d suggest pouring the mixture into 7 cupcake molds instead of the 6 Katie mentions as about half of my cupcakes went a bit skewered as there was to much cupcake mixture. However my cupcake moulds may just be tiny.
Thank you for this lovely reciepe Chocolate Covered Katie!
Next time round I make these, I’m tempted to add a bit of lemon extract or zest into the mixture – I think that sharp tang of the lemon would work well with the sweetness of the chocolate.
I love your idea! Orange would work probably well, too.
I have never even heard of this concept. It is wacky, like the name. I am curious. Going to have to try it. Thanks!
i read the title and thought “what the hell?, Katie has gone mad’ lol… gonna make these to kill the curiosity lol….
To be honest, I’m sure they’re delicious but I’m just not convinced yet…must be because I’m not much of a mayo fan! I’m sure they’re delicious though as everything is on your blog! 😉
These are amazing! I made them today, hopefully they will last me a few days, but I doubt it! I had heard of putting mayo in cake before and had tried it years ago with a boxed mix, it def. made them moist. It was a super simple recipe and all the ingredients are pretty basic, I happened to have some reduced fat veganaise, and used a Sucanat and powdered sugar combo because I had no other sugar. Thanks for this awesome recipe!
Thank you so much for trying them :).
Does alcohol do something similar with baking soda, I wonder?
My friend has a family recipe for banana bread that includes 1T of red wine. It’s not enough to taste the red wine at all but you add it with the baking soda and I’ve NEVER been able to get banana bread as moist or wonderful as her’s.
But mayo is made from eggs, anyway…
Jess,
This is a vegan blog and therefore the mayonnaise used is not made with eggs.
If you read the full post, she uses vegan mayo.
Oh man, I’ve never heard of mayo cupcakes before. Very interesting. They look very good! And I definitely find that strange combos usually turn out really well!