Healthy Hostess Cupcakes!
Hostess cupcakes iced with Hot Chocolate Butter.
Along with yesterday’s Healthy Cookie Dough Dip, I brought these cupcakes to Sunday’s pirate party.
For a while now, I’d been looking for an excuse to try making a healthier version of the popular creme-filled cupcakes. So when I discovered I could stretch the “yo ho/ ho ho” pun and pass these off as pirate-themed, I knew they had to be made. Unlike Hostess’ cupcakes, mine are whole-grain, low in fat and calories, and free of high fructose corn syrup and trans fats.
But seriously, people will eat them up!!
Healthy Hostess Cupcakes
Inspired by My Favorite Chocolate Cupcakes
- 1 cup spelt, white, or Bob’s gf flour
- 3/4 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp plus 1/8 tsp salt
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar or xylitol
- 1/4 cup cocoa powder
- 1 and 1/2 tbsp cornstarch
- 1 and 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup vanilla yogurt of choice, such as SoDelicious
- 1/4 cup applesauce
- 3 tbsp oil
- 1/2 cup milk of choice
- marshmallow fluff – I use my Vegan Marshmallow Fluff
Directions: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix dry ingredients, then add wet – excluding marshmallow fluff. Don’t overmix. Pour into cupcake tins, and bake for 15-20 minutes. Allow cupcakes to cool, then cut or poke holes in the tops and scoop in the cream. Re-cover the tops. (Recipe continues below.)
Frost cupcakes with warmed Hot Chocolate Butter or with melted chocolate chips. Then put the cakes in the fridge for the frosting to harden. Once hard, you can use an icing writer for the tiny squiggles if you wish. Yes, I know the icing isn’t healthy. But it’s only like a 1/8 tsp, so I still feel justified in calling these cupcakes healthy.
An alternative to the creme:
Try stuffing them with Healthy Cookie Dough Dip.
Or, you could imitate some of the people at the party and dunk these cupcakes into the cookie dough dip. Sugar on top of sugar. So much for this being a healthy dessert blog!
They are so adorable!!!!! Katie, the pictures are fabulous! Great job 😀
I remember eating a hoho once when I was little…they made me sick even back then! Blech! So sweet and processed…
looks like I replied in wrong post about piraets…oops!!
Haha no worries… these are pirate cupcakes, so it’s still relevant! 🙂
Yum! These look amazing. What do you use to poke the holes in them? I always make such a mess doing that! But that means more scraps to taste, so it’s not the end of the world 🙂
You have options :). You can cut holes out with a knife from the top (and then replace the tops after filling), or you can poke a hole with your finger or the bottom of a knife. Or you can even shove a filled pastry bag up the bottom. I know that sounds bad lol!
I use a frosting gun/tip and put it through the top of the cupcake. The the hole is covered by the frosting top. (And I realize I’m commenting nearly a year later but if it still helps…) 🙂
Your baked version looks delicious, like all your recipes. Gorgeous pics. I make a good raw version, too, (http://rawdorable.blogspot.com/2008/11/fauxtess-gone-raw.html), but I still would try one of your healthy baked chocolate cream-filled cupcakes.
Gah! Gorgeous!!! But then again, I shouldn’t be surprised. You’re the same person who made INCREDIBLE raw girl scout cookies. (I still point people to that page all the time!)
You’re right; this does work with the wrong info. I accidentally left it blank. Too funny. I think you knew it was me 🙂
Wow, these look too good! I could fancy a whole batch of them right now!
Wow! What a sweet recipe! They look even better than the hostess cupcakes 🙂
Hi Katie. For some weird reason this is saying that i’m logged in as Katie or something. Huh? Anyway i follow a baking blog that i really love. I stumbled on a post that made me laugh out loud! HILARIOUS! It certainly brightened my day, and i think you would like. Here is the link- hope you enjoy. http://www.joythebaker.com/blog/2011/02/lemon-cornmeal-breakfast-cake/ Please understand i’m not trying to spam you or anything, sorry if it looks that way. Also be assured, i am not related to this person and don’t know her personally. I just wanted to brighten your day 🙂
Sarah
Thanks for sharing, Sarah. Her photography is spectacular!
isn’t it? But, you’re photography is just as gorgeous as hers, no i am not a flatterer 🙂 it’s just the truth
mmmm fauxtess! that’s what the vegan bakery around here calls them. i’ve had one or two. sadly one did NOT have filling. no skimping on filling, ok bakers?
Yes!! That’s the most important part! (Maybe they ate it all as they stuffed, and that’s why not enough ended up in the cupcakes? I had that problem with a cake I was trying to make today… I kept eating the filling. Oops.)
So PRETTY!! I want to eat my screen mmm 🙂 Your photography is so so amazing!!! And since your offering, I definitely take the cupcake!! But I might have to save it for later because I may or may not have just had four slices of your cake… 😛
Ooh I just had two. You beat me. Better go have two more…
Hi Katie, these look delicious! Thanks for posting.
Which brand of icing writer have you used? Or if you made your own, can you share the recipe. I have a hard time finding vegan icing writer. Thanks.
I actually used Betty Crocker! As I said, it’s not exactly healthy, but it’s just a small amount. And it is vegan :).
Ingredients: corn syrup, sugar, water, cornstarch, salt, carrageenan, titanium dioxide, sodium benzoate, citric acid
ignoring a lecture because I can’t stop staring at these..bravo champ
Holy fudgemonkies girlfriend!!!!! Send me some please in a college care package?! <3
I love the authentic Ho-Ho swirls on top 🙂 But shouldn’t there be frosting in the middle of the cupcake too?
There’s marshmallow fluff inside! Even better than frosting! 🙂
Ok I totally missed that part — and I even read the title thinking “where is the cream?” DUH 🙂
I dropped the ball on this. I need to do another post showing the cream filling photos! Where is my head???
You must be everyone’s favourite party guest! I might try these with brown rice syrup or agave nectar. Thanks!
Krysta