You’ll never know that these Mini Chocolate Black Bean Cupcakes with Salted Date Caramel are a healthy twist on traditional cupcakes.
Don’t freak out: I’m just throwing your typical mini chocolate cupcake recipe upside down with the inclusion of black beans, and skipping candy-making class by making salted caramel out of dates.
My Valentine was dubious… and then he ate 4 in one sitting.
This recipe has been a long time coming. I’m sure you’ve seen lots of black bean brownie recipes online, and probably doubted their deliciousness.
I wanted to bring you guys something new, and thus these Mini Chocolate Black Bean Cupcakes with Salted Date Caramel were born.
Instead of their fudgy brownie counterparts, these are incredibly moist, fluffy, and gone in 2 bites. You’ll be happy you made 24 of them!
- 1 can black beans, washed and drained
- ½ cup unsalted peanut butter
- 1 medium ripe banana
- ¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- ¼ cup honey (or maple syrup for vegan version)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- 12-15 pitted dates
- ¼ cup maple syrup
- 2 tablespoons warm water
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- Garnish: sweet cacao nibs
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.
- In a food processor, combine washed and drained black beans with drippy peanut butter and blend until there are no black bean chunks. Add a peeled banana, cocoa powder, and honey (or maple syrup). Blend again until smooth.
- Add in the vanilla extract, baking powder, and salt and pulse until combined.
- Grease 2 mini cupcake tins and grease them with cooking oil spray. Dollop about 1 tablespoon of batter into each muffin tin, nearly filling the cavity.
- Bake the mini cupcakes for 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and let them cool for 10 minutes.
- Make salted date caramel (recipe below) and schmear the caramel onto each cupcake. Garnish with sweet cacao nibs.
- Remove the pit from moist, squishy dates. If they feel dry, soak them in hot water for a few minutes and then drain before proceeding.
- In a food processor or blender, combine dates, maple syrup, water, and sea salt. Blend until smooth. Add additional water if you prefer a thinner caramel sauce.
These Black Bean Cupcakes with Salted Caramel are accidentally vegan if you use maple syrup, and naturally gluten-free, so we can all rejoice in eating these cupcakes stuffed with good-for-us ingredients.
Please don’t skip the salted date caramel because I’ve been eating the leftovers on anything that works – pancakes, bananas, whisked into hot milk for a latte, and via spoon. This one’s a keeper!
Marisa
Alanna says
YUM. Love making date caramel, and pairing it with those cupcakes?! Yes, please!! Can’t wait to try these gems!
Marisa says
Thanks Alanna! The date caramel is like magic!
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine says
That salted “caramel” So good!
Sam @ PancakeWarriors says
YUM these look fantastic!! Love that they are mini, won’t feel so bad eating 3-4 at a time 🙂
Marisa says
Spot on, Sam!! We nibbled away at these without any shame 🙂
Sarah @ Making Thyme for Health says
Holy yum! These look so good! I’ve actually never tried black bean brownies but I love the idea. And that salted date caramel topping is blowing my mind!
Marisa says
I couldn’t believe it all worked out so well (well, after a few failed attempts!). My next task will be mastering black bean brownies too!
Jessi says
Will you be my Salted Date Caramel? I mean Valentine? I mean Galentine!?
Marisa says
Yes! I will be your anything! Dates and maple syrup are paleo, so you can make the frosting 😀 xoxo
Erin @ The Almond Eater says
Salted date caramel?!! I love it! Have a great weekend lady 🙂
Marisa says
You must try it!! Have a lovely weekend, my friend.
Sarah Grace says
YUM. I love making black bean recipes..#sweetedition 🙂
xoxo Sarah Grace, Fresh Fit N Healthy.
Marisa says
I’m just catching on to their magic!
laurie says
Do you have a nutritional breakdown for this recipe? It sounds very good.
Marisa says
Hi Laurie! I haven’t calculated it, but you can easily put it into a nutrition calculator.
Diana @sosmallsostrong says
#DROOLING! I still haven’t worked with dates. Not quite sure what my hesitation is about! 🙂
Marisa says
Do it, Diana! You will love them. Even plain… I can’t be trusted around a box of them!
Emily says
Marisa, these cupcakes are GOLD! Made them as soon as I got my hands on the recipe, and my friends and I could not stop devouring. & that date caramel… yum! Thanks for the beautiful photos and delicious recipe! 🙂