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:
I made up a frosting for these for my son who can’t eat sugar and my kids loved it. I made greek yogurt, almond butter, and agave nectar with a few organic chocolate chips on top for decoration. It takes like a cookie dough frosting.
Hi Katie! I am so happy to see your recipes when they aren’t 12 or 24 cupcakes. I don’t want to make so many for myself as much as I like to bake. Not only that, when you are trying out recipes you don’t want to waste your food. I love that you incorporate xylitol and gluten free items in your recipes too. I tried to make my own cupcakes using this recipe: http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/jamie-easons-livefit-recipes-pumpkin-protein-bars.html and it came out horrible. I used almond meal instead of the oat flour and flax seed egg instead of the egg whites. Let me tell you. flat, wet and horrible. I’ll leave the experimenting up to you! I would love to try these mayo cupcakes!
I want to make alllll the recipes on your blog! Haha. I made these cupcakes and they were very good– I topped them with peanut butter and found myself eating them for breakfast, oops.
I wonder if you could use Greek yogurt instead of mayo?
These were AMAZING and only 71 calories each! i topped it with a tbsp of kraft chocolate cream cheese and some shredded coconut.
this recipe seems really tasty, but it’s the 3rd time now that i’ve baked it and my cupcakes keep deflating as soon as they’re removed from the oven. they’re also not cooking through very nicely. any tips from anyone on what i might be doing wrong? i think i’ve followed the recipe correctly!
What “mayo” are you using? Please give as many specifics about ingredients as possible (flour, sugar type, etc.) 🙂
i used Earth Island original vegenaise and red mill gluten free all purpose flour.
i think i figured out what i did wrong! I didn’t notice the “non-Dutch” cocoa powder, and, to be honest, before today i had no idea that there was such a thing! i’m super new to baking but wanted to make these for my friend for her birthday (she’s gluten and dairy free).
i ran out this morning and bought some non-dutch cocoa powder and just popped a batch in the oven 🙂
hope it works and that that was my mistake 🙂 (i did do your reese’s frosting last night and it’s delicious! 😀 thanks, katie!)
it worked!!! it was definitely the dutch-processed cocoa powder that i was using! i should’ve known better (i’m a chem major :p) but now i know.
these are delicious! thanks so much for all your recipes, katie 🙂
I made these and they caved in on themselves. What did I do wrong??? I did double the batch and then there was still only enough to fill the cups about half way up but you didn’t put specifically how much to put in each cup.
I made these for a birthday get together. Vegan and gluten free, 100% delicious. I made three other things from this site and brought them, all fabulous. These cupcakes are perfect. Not too light and airy or dry, perfectly moist. You cannot tasre the mayo (it’s basically oil anyway!). I topped them with the coconut milk frosting. I piped it on and The cupcakes were perfect. My boyfriend, who wouldn’t eat a sandwich with mayo even if he were starving dove right into the cupcake and ate every crumb!
These are absolutely delicious and I’ve made them several times. Would it work if I doubled the recipe? Also, which do you prefer, these cupcakes or your Chocoholic cupcakes? Thanks.
Shun the non-believers…These were fantastic!!! 😉 I also made your healthy nutella frosting for them. It worked perfectly! AND, I’m happy to report my cheapo $30 Black & Decker food processor handled the frosting with ease…okay and a lot of noise. HA! Anyway, thanks for another tasty recipe Katie! 🙂 Chocolate covered hugs to you!