Black Bean Brownie Cupcakes

So this is a recipe from the Trim Healthy Mama cookbook and we make it a LOT!!  Those ladies are a huge resource for me recipe wise, visit Trim Healthy Mama to check out more recipes.   I have a love for black beans that runs deep… it’s actually a standing joke in our house that mom ads black beans to everything… even dessert!

 

This time, we tried this recipe as cupcakes and they came out rather well if I do say so myself!  I usually use a 9×9 pan and cook for 30-35 minutes at 350 degrees to make a cake, but my son wanted to make cupcakes so I cut the bake time to 15 minutes at 350 degrees for 24 cupcakes.  I think next time I will only make 12 cupcakes, just didn’t want overfill this first time as I didn’t know how much they would rise! That would increase the cooking time a bit, just watch them and when a toothpick in the center of the cupcake comes out clean (or pretty clean as I like them moist) then take them out and let them cool on a wire rack.  **Update: I made 12 and they came out perfectly!  I upped the ricotta a bit and the baking powder and baked for 20 mins and they were super moist! 

This recipe is so easy, even a non-baker like me can make it happen!  Just throw all the ingredients into the blender, let it blend for 4-5 minutes!  I let my son help put the ingredients in the blender, we counted and looked for letters he knew, and he was also in charge of the blending, so I had him turn it on and set a timer on the microwave for 4 minutes, then it was his job to turn off the blender when it was done!  He loves to cook, but there is a level of patience you have to have with kids helping with cooking… but it makes them feel soooo important.

Here is what you need:

• 1 can of black beans, drained and rinsed
• 2 eggs and 4 whites (or 2/3 cup of egg whites for the 4 whites.  But keep the whole eggs)
• 4 TBS Cocoa powder
• 1 1/2 tsp. baking powder  (you could make this 2 tsp. if you want them a little fluffier)
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 2 TBS. coconut oil (or butter)
• 2 tsp Vanilla extract
• 1/3 cup skim milk ricotta (or cream cheese) I prefer ricotta but play around with both (I upped this to 1/2 cup and they were SUPER moist!)
• 1-1/2 tsp. powdered stevia (or sweetener of choice)  you can taste after blending and add more if needed before baking

Put all ingredients into blender and let it rock for 4-5 minutes until it’s nice and smooth.  This is a key step, so don’t skip out on time here… Put into baking dish/cupcake pan and pop into oven!  Make sure to not over cook so it’s nice and moist.  I used organic vanilla frosting on ours (my boy had one right when they came out of the over… hence why the frosting looks terrible).  But for adults, they are good on their own with coffee or you could make some coconut whipped cream with full fat coconut milk and a little of the powdered stevia.

**UPDATE: I used this glorious little product called chocolate hummus to frost these cupcakes!  Holy potatoes they are GOOD!!! 

Boom, that’s it!