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Chocolate and cherries are always a good combination.
When I was at the Fancy Food Show, one of the vendors was passing out plump bing cherries covered in chocolate sauce. I decided to whip up my own chocolate cherry concoction when I got home.
I adapted this recipe from Eating Well, making it gluten-free and sugar-free. And quite tasty, too!
Though the batter was quite thick, I decided not to add any extra buttermilk because I knew the cherries would release some of their juices as they baked. It was the right move. They’re a little denser than a typical cupcake, not too sweet, and have a prominent chocolaty flavor.
Delicious. And healthier, too. With only 1/4 cup of oil, they’re lower in fat but get lots of moisture from the buttermilk and cherries.
Any fruit would work well in this recipe – strawberries, blueberries, or even raspberries would be nice. Another option would be dumping the batter into a cake pan and making a chocolate snacking cake. That would be divine.
I used my Whipped Cream Cheese Frosting. I love how it pairs with chocolate and it holds it’s shape beautifully when piped.
Happy 4th of July!
Joe and I are staying home for the holiday – we’ve both been traveling and are ready for a quiet weekend at home. More importantly, our dogs are scared of the fireworks. We’ll be at on the floor with our babies, reassuring them that the loud booms will pass.
What are your holiday plans? Are you cooking anything special?
This recipe was adapted from Eating Well.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup garbanzo bean flour
- 1/2 cup garfava bean flour
- 1/2 cup cocoa powder
- 3 tablespoons potato starch
- 1 tablespoon tapioca starch
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum
- 1/4 cup grapeseed oil
- 3/4 cup palm sugar, divided
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup lowfat buttermilk
- 1 1/2 cups pitted cherries, chopped
- 10 cherries with stems for garnish
- one batch whipped cream cheese frosting
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line 10 of the 12 holes of a standard muffin tin with cupcake liners.
- Sift together the garbanzo bean flour, garfava bean flour, potato starch, tapioca starch, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and xanthan gum. Whisk until uniformly mixed.
- Add grapeseed oil to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle. Gradually add 1/2 cup of palm sugar while mixer is running on medium speed until sugar and oil mixture is grainy. Add egg and vanilla and mix well. Add remaining palm sugar slowly and mix until smooth.
- Add the dry ingredients and buttermilk, alternating, starting and ending with the dry ingredients. Scrape down the bowl as needed. Fold in the chopped cherries. Use a standard spring release ice cream scoop to divide the batter evenly.
- Bake for 20 – 22 minutes, rotating 180 degrees halfway through, or until a toothpick tests clean. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Once totally cool, top with whipped cream cheese frosting and garnish each cupcake with a cherry.
Barbara @moderncomfortfood
posted on July 2, 2010 at 5:36 am
Chocolate, cherries, whipped cream, and cream cheese are such a winning combination, and you’ve certainly pulled them together in an irresistible package here. I just love what you’ve done with these scrumptious cupcakes!
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abbie
posted on July 2, 2010 at 6:41 am
oh,these look delightful! A tiny blue flag…and 4th of July ready.
I am so excited that this is another way to use garbanzo bean flour! I haven’t heard of garfava beans. Are they similar to fava and garbanzo beans when not ground into a flour? I’ll have to try this one.
Also, your recipe calls for grapeseed oil. I’ve been seeing this one all over. I have come to use safflower oil, probably because of cost. I get it expeller pressed. Is there a grand difference in nutrition? Or taste? Do you like cooking with grapeseed oil especially?
Thanks for this chocolate-y inspiration!
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Liz@HoosierHomemade
posted on July 2, 2010 at 8:35 am
Oh Amy, those look amazing! I finally had a couple minutes to catch up on some reading, so glad I popped in.
I have a blogging buddy, Charlene, that has begun a sugar free lifestyle. I pointed her in your direction.
Hope you have a great holiday!
~Liz
btw – Miss You!
[Reply]
SnoWhite
posted on July 2, 2010 at 9:43 am
oh man… these look wonderful!! love chocolate and cherry together.
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megan
posted on July 2, 2010 at 9:48 am
WOW! who says gluten free/ sugar free is not delicious? Because you can prove them wrong!
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Alisa - Frugal Foodie
posted on July 2, 2010 at 11:57 am
Wow, that looks incredible. I really must learn to pipe frosting and work on presentation.
Have a relaxing 4th!
[Reply]
Amy Reply:
July 2nd, 2010 at 3:00 pm
@Alisa – Frugal Foodie, I just used a big star tip and a throw away pastry bag. The tips with a wider mouth give a bigger “wow” presentation on cupcakes, at least for this simple swirl topping.
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Kim
posted on July 2, 2010 at 12:08 pm
These remind me a lot of the Back Forest Cakes and Cupcakes my mom used to always make when I was a kid! Chocolate and cherries are still one of my favorite flavor combos! These look so yummy!
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Amy @ MomsToolbox
posted on July 2, 2010 at 1:45 pm
Wow! Those sounds absolutely delicious and combine some of my favorite flavors. I can’t wait to give this a try!
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Cara
posted on July 2, 2010 at 3:10 pm
Amy, you must be in my head – I have a chocolate cherry muffin in the blogworks
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Alta
posted on July 2, 2010 at 3:43 pm
These look incredible. I hope you and your puppies survive the 4th! Have a great and safe weekend!
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Tawra@Living On A Dime
posted on July 3, 2010 at 11:33 am
Wow those look great. So far any attempts at GF baking have been a huge flop but I might have to try it again making these.
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Amy Reply:
July 3rd, 2010 at 11:58 am
@Tawra@Living On A Dime, I can always help…just let me know. Hugs.
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Tawra@Living On A Dime Reply:
July 3rd, 2010 at 1:56 pm
Thanks! Here’s my last flop. http://www.livingonadime.com/blog/?p=4445
It’s funny because I’m a cookbook author so I should be able to figure it out but…it’s been pretty bad!
After this last try hubby said “Dear, just give up on the baking”. LOL
I will ask if this one fails.
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Amy Reply:
July 4th, 2010 at 5:06 pm
@Tawra@Living On A Dime, I looked at your post and at the recipe on Gluten-Free Girl. It’s hard to tell without you sharing step by step what you did. When I first started baking gluten-free I often made ‘adjustments’ that would have worked with normal flours but they just don’t with gluten-free. I too thought I was a great baker but it took a while to figure out when using products that behave differently. Let me know how the cupcakes go.
Aubree Cherie
posted on July 5, 2010 at 9:53 am
These are sooo cute! The presentation is fabulous; they look too good to eat
~Aubree Cherie
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Heather Davis
posted on July 6, 2010 at 3:38 am
These look great! Well done.
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The Chocolate Priestess
posted on October 10, 2010 at 8:56 am
Very pretty. How quickly were they eaten after you made them?
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Amy Reply:
October 10th, 2010 at 10:51 pm
@The Chocolate Priestess, Didn’t take much time at all…I sent them to work with my husband. It’s just the two of us so we like to share as much as we can. There’s no way we could eat everything I bake.
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The Chocolate Priestess
posted on October 11, 2010 at 7:44 am
*smile* We could eat everything I make or are sent to review but I purposely put things away and bring them out again when we have friends.
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Marcia
posted on December 26, 2010 at 9:47 pm
If I make dessert.. These are it! I never have any left…they are ALWAYS the first to go! Thanks Amy!!
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