These are just fun. Yes, I actually used a can of white cannellini beans to make cupcakes! The beans are pureed and blended into the batter. They’re super yummy. No one would ever know this sweet treat has white beans in it. However, don’t expect clones of fluffy vanilla cupcakes served at a birthday party. The crumb here is dense and a little closer to a muffin than a typical cupcake. But with a good amount of vanilla and the addition of buttermilk a can of beans is transformed into a delicious after school treat. According to Everyday Food Magazine, each white bean cupcake with fruit glaze has 200 calories, 4 grams of protein, and 1 gram of fiber.
I wondered if my kids would notice anything different about them. My two year old son gobbled his up and then asked for another! Success! The glaze is made from fresh fruit puree mixed with confectioners’ sugar. It’s really good and I love the bright cheery color. I’m already pondering what else I can glaze this way. A spring bundt cake perhaps?
Give these bean cupcakes a try. I think you will be pleasantly surprised!
White Bean Cupcakes with Fruit Glaze
Source: Adapted from Everyday Food, January/February 2012
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 can (15.5 ounces) cannellini bean, rinsed and drained
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 cups granulated sugar
2 large eggs, plus 2 large egg whites
1 cup buttermilk
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
3 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted
1/4 cup fruit puree (Puree 9 oz. of any fruit in a blender until smooth, then pass it through a fine-mesh sieve. Thaw and drain the fruit first if it’s frozen. I used frozen raspberries.)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. with racks in middle and lower thirds. Line 24 standard muffin cups with paper liners.
In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In a food processor, combine beans, butter, and granulated sugar; process until smooth. With machine running, add eggs and egg whites and process until incorporated. Stir into flour mixture until well combined. Stir in buttermilk and vanilla. I did the stirring by hand. Next time, I’ll get out my stand mixer to stir the bean mixture into the flour mixture. It was a little hard to stir it by hand.
Divide batter among muffin cups and bake until puffed and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean, about 17 minutes, rotating pans halfway through. Transfer cupcakes to wire racks and let cool completely.
Whisk together confectioners’ sugar and fruit puree until smooth. I thought mine needed a little thinning so I added a few teaspoons of pomegranate-blueberry juice to get the right consistency (I thought the color matched well with the raspberries). Dip tops of each cupcake into the glaze, letting excess drip off. This was a good project for my 5 year old son. He said it was fun and “easy peasy.”
Let glaze set, about 15 minutes, before serving. Enjoy! I think these are best the day they are made. Let me know if you are able to sneak the beans past your clan without them noticing!
Rock Salt said:
I’ve been meaning to try baking with beans – this is the perfect recipe 🙂
Heather @ SugarDish(Me) said:
I tee-totally agree. This is way different than all the brownie black bean recipes I’ve seen. Yay Baker on the Rise!
Baker on the Rise said:
Honestly, these are sooooo good.
The Modern Home Economist said:
You son is a little glazing wizz. They look so yummy. What a great way to add some extra beans to your children’s diet. The glaze really is superb!
SBaker said:
Interesting. I bet they’re good, and I would be able to sneak it past everyone, but I bet that I wouldn’t eat them….something about beans in cupcakes is just kind of weird!They look fantastic though!
girlinafoodfrenzy said:
I’m wondering if I could get away with it with my guy!!! Lol. On the other hand, my parents love Asian style deserts which use, red bean and such so I imagine this is something that would also interest them.
the hungry irishman said:
That is excellent use of an unexpected ingredient. Kudos
Tandy said:
how amazing! I love the fact you can use vegetables in sweet desserts 🙂
Baker on the Rise said:
Me too! They may not be exact copies of regular cupcakes but they are sweet and that’s what my kids are after.
tearoomdelights said:
Fantastic, I love the glaze!
Heather @ SugarDish(Me) said:
I am positive I could sneak this past my little boys AND the big man. If they saw cupcakes, they would never question me (but they DO question my muffins… I have a habit of sneaking things like spinach into muffins & they never woulda known if they hadn’t caught me with a fistful of greens). Awesome! Thanks!
Baker on the Rise said:
You’re welcome! My family does come to expect some sneaky ingredients though but they still eat it. They know it will taste good!
Baking is my Zen said:
This is a great way to eat protein!
~Carmen
http://bakingismyzen.wordpress.com
Baker on the Rise said:
Absolutely! And sneaky too, lol.
rmadere said:
These look great and should make an awesome treat for those of us who are watching what we eat. High fiber and lean protein make them almost good for us. thanks for sharing.
Baker on the Rise said:
I feel good serving my family sweets with a little more nutrition than the average dessert! Thanks for stopping by.
rmadere said:
Reblogged this on The Eagle's Nest and commented:
These are like the brownies I made. I’m going to try this technique with some reduced sugar, deveils food cake mix.
Baker on the Rise said:
Thanks for sharing my page!
Leslie Chapman said:
Interesting recipe, I wouldn’t have thought to use beans in cupcakes or muffins for that matter. My sister is always trying to get me to make healthier recipes so this could be a fun experiment!
Baker on the Rise said:
I did think it was fun trying such a different ingredient!
Kitty Cat Stevens said:
i don’t normally bake with eggs but this recipe looks great! one of my favorite baking tricks is to put 1 can of black beans (water and all) in the food processor and puree, then add 1 box of brownie mix, nothing else. so good, and people are pretty surprised when they find out what is in them!
Baker on the Rise said:
Great tip! I’ll have to try that!
marlenedotterer said:
These look great. I’ll have to try them once I’m through with the garbanzo bean cookie “dough”! And thanks for Liking my post.
Baker on the Rise said:
Thanks for stopping by.
bakingbuzzybee said:
Those look awesome. I have a can of those beans in a press somewhere so I might just try these. Suppose I could serve them with custard using up those egg yolks, now its turning into a nice pudding in my head 🙂
Baker on the Rise said:
It’s fun to play around with recipes like that!
kukikukis said:
Attractive color combination here. Those beans are awesomely creative. Does it less guilty too eat since it has extra fiber ya? xixixi…
Baker on the Rise said:
I thought the color was so vibrant and fun! They make me feel slightly less guilty, lol.
Patty said:
I love the glaze.
Baker on the Rise said:
Me too! It was my favorite part of this recipe and I will probably try it out on a cake.
Choc Chip Uru said:
Cannot believe there are beans involved in this exquisite creation – yum!
Cheers
Choc Chip Uru
An Irish Village Pantry said:
I love this recipe, so original and healthy. A great way to get more vitamins into my 6 & 7 yr old! Thank you 🙂
theprgeek said:
These look amazing. I am a big bean fan and regularly use veggies in my baking – beetroot makes an amazingly moist sponge. I will be trying this recipe when I get a chance. Love the fruit glaze too – I always frost my cupcakes but this looks like a lovely alternative. I can just see them with white icing dots to make toad stools for an Alice in Wonderland themed tea party. 🙂
calmamaddg106 said:
Wow, every picture is great. I now want to make this and your butterfly cake and one other thing I’m forgetting now. Drooling, it’s time to get to the gym. 😉
Baker on the Rise said:
Thank you so much. Everything in moderation, right 🙂
calmamaddg106 said:
Exactly.
Cupcake Crusader said:
Those are really pretty! That glaze sounds wonderful too!
Kumu said:
The glaze is a fantastic idea …very healthy version too 🙂 Thanks for this recipe!
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mrschelo said:
These look wonderful! I can not wait to try this recipe!