Yellow Cupcakes with White Vanilla Frosting
 

It's another cake made with beans! White beans this time around. This is a buttery vanilla cake, topped with sugar-free bakery style frosting. Just blend up the wet ingredients, and add the dry! It's that simple. :D

I'm guessing a combo of Splenda and one other sweetener would work as well in the cake portion, but the frosting requires xylitol or maybe erythritol. I used a small cheap piping bake to make the frosting designs. Enjoy!


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Healthy Yellow Cupcakes

Makes 12 cupcakes

Ingredients:
1-15 oz can white beans, rinsed (I used cannellini beans, white kidney beans)
5 large eggs plus 1 yolk
6 tablespoons unsalted organic butter OR nonhydrogenated shortening
3/4 teaspoon good-tasting pure stevia extract (NuNaturals brand)
3/4 cup erythritol OR 2/3 cup xylitol OR 1/3 cup honey
1 tablespoon vanilla extract (clear imitation vanilla is recommended)
6 packed tablespoons coconut flour
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon aluminum-free baking powder

Preparation:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Rise beans in a fine mesh sieve and shake off the water. Blend beans with the eggs, vanilla, and salt. In a large mixing bowl, cream softened butter and sweetener until light and fluffy. Beat in pureed mixture. Measure out the coconut flour like you would cocoa powder, by spooning it straight from the bag, packing it down a bit, and sweeping the top of the spoon level. Add to the batter along with the rest of the dry ingredients, and whip together for another minute or two until fluffy. Spoon batter into paper liners sprayed with extra virgin olive oil spray. I use a 1/4 cup measure to distribute batter. Fill cupcake liners a little more than 3/4 way full. Rap muffin pan on the counter a few times to pop any air bubbles. Bake cupcakes for 25 minutes, or until springy to the touch. I set my oven to 325 degrees because it runs hot, but 350 degrees should be just right for accurate, calibrated ovens. The cupcakes will be golden brown around the edges. Let cupcakes sit for 2-3 hours, preferably OVERNIGHT, so that all of the bean flavor disappears.

~4g net carbs per 1/12th of a recipe, using erythritol

Sugar-Free Buttercream Frosting

Makes enough to frost 3-6 cupcakes

Ingredients:
1 large egg white
1/4 cup xylitol (erythritol or honey might work as well)
6 tablespoons unsalted organic butter or nonhydrogenated shortening, cut into chunks
Pinch good tasting pure stevia extract (optional, for best flavor)
Big pinch sea salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract (clear imitation vanilla recommended)

Preparation:
Step by step photos for making a swiss meringue buttercream icing can be found here.

Whisk egg white together with xylitol in a stainless steel bowl set over a small saucepan full of water. You don't want the bottom of the bowl to touch the water. Set heat to medium-low to bring water to a simmer. Whisk egg white with xylitol 3-5 minutes, or until xylitol is completely dissolved. Dip clean fingers into egg white mixture, and pinch for any undissolved granules. Mixture will appear white and foamy. Remove steel bowl from water, and beat egg white mixture until it has about doubled in volume, and is room temperature (cool to the touch). Beat in vanilla and salt. Add chunks of softened butter or shortening, one at a time, beating for 3-5 minutes until mixture is smooth and no longer curdled. Beat in a tiny pinch of stevia and taste for sweetness, making adjustments if necessary. Don't fret if your buttercream doesn't look smooth for awhile--it will eventually come together!

If after incorporating the butter the icing is too "loose" and soupy, sit the mixing bowl in an ice bath to cool, or stick the bowl into the freezer for a few minutes, and try beating again. If the mixture is chunky like cottage cheese, heat the bowl over the simmering water again and try beating until it comes together into a smooth icing. Use a spatula to smooth out the consistency. Transfer frosting to a piping bag, or just spread directly on cupcakes.

To revive refrigerated frosting, microwave it for 5-8 seconds, and stir around bowl with a spatula until smooth and creamy again. Whip until fluffy with beaters, if desired.

~0-26g net carbs per batch of frosting, depending on how you count xylitol

Ohhhh, goodie!! I've been waiting for you to do this!!:clap:
*White beans going on the shopping list*
Thanks Lauren! :hugs:

Uh oh, I have all these ingredients! :) Looks like I'll be making these very soon. That frosting sounds awesome Lauren!

Yum!! Thanks for sharing, this looks so good!

Lauren, It's so much fun waiting to see what that brilliant mind of yours will come up with next.

I have a question for ya? Can I use powdered egg whites in your frosting ?

Can I use butter beans instead of cannellini beans?

do they really taste good?

:clap::clap::clap:

BarbDe - Pick up a can and have fun! I've never eaten so many beans in my life since starting to make these cakes, LOL.

BikerAng - Yay! Please do make them. I'd love to see how a talented cook as yourself comes out with the buttercream.

KellBell - You're welcome! Hope you try it.

parrotchic - Thanks! Powdered egg whites apparently work in the SMB--I just googled it to find out. Let me know how it works out!

Leigh - Butterbeans would probably work the same. If the carb count is the same for butterbeans and cannellini beans, then give it a shot!

Melrose - They've gotten approved by my roommates and the guy upstairs, else I wouldn't post 'em. :D

I'm making these today..:)

Just made them..the cupcake is very tender..(and good). My frosting was a little too sweet, cuz I overdosed on the sweetner, so I added a couple of ounces of cream cheese and beat it. It also "firmed" it up a bit..

Thanks, Lauren..again.

Well, if they got the friends seal of approval...

Where does one get coconut flour, stevia, and erithythritol (spellling) or xylitol?

You should have a health food store or Whole Foods, etc. in your area. Otherwise, netrition carries all those things.

Saving this for later. I will be in a city that has Whole Foods next week, so I can get some of the supplies when I go...


Again, thanks Lauren ... you are a gem .

Thanks for the info.

Word to the wise - butter beans most be more watery - the batter was way too thin and liquidy and the top of these will brown way before it solidifies. Off to Safeway to get white kidney beans and more erythritol!

Wait, what's this? I was wrong - they turned into cupcakes! Lauren, I have no idea how you can come up with these amazing, delicious, simply and healthy AND go to college. If you ever are a candidate for a Food Network show, you've got my vote!

BTW - Melrose, Safeway or Krogers or Albertsons will have the kidney beans and erythritol. If you can also find unsweetened coconut there you can grind it yourself and make coconut flour.

I am constantly amazed at the recipes I find on this site! Many thanks to all who contribute.

I used Great Northern Beans..drained and rinsed and drained. DH said they were wonderful.

those soond good. sue

Marking to make these...;]

Thanks Leigh

Lauren these look amazing. I made your chocolate cake twice while I was in Texas for non low carbers. Everyone is just amazed that it is made with beans, thanks for tweaking the original recipe. I am tempted to try it with hominy to see if it will act the same as the beans. Maybe I will try the cupcakes that way.




It's not the same. Coconut flour is defatted. Coconut flour and ground coconut don't act the same in baking.

Lauren, can this recipe be tweaked in any way to make pancakes? Just wondering.

Lauren has a recipe for amazing pancakes here:

http://www.lowcarbfriends.com/bbs/lo...es-w-pics.html

Mine came out cupcake-y. Whatever the difference, I guess I'm not as culinarily masterful to know what it is.

We attended a wedding a couple weeks ago and the bride chose cupcakes instead of a traditional wedding cake. There were chocolate/raspberry, carrot cake w/cream cheese frosting and vanilla cupcakes with a dollop of lemon curd in the middle and an icing similar to Lauren's. These were my favorite and very, very good.

I'm thinking we could duplicate them by putting in a bit of the cupcake batter, then a tablespoon (teaspoon?) of the lemon curd, then filling with more of the batter. Yum.

I only have stevia and splenda.

Do I just replace 3/4 cup or erythritol with 3/4 cup of splenda? Would the taste be the same?

I haven't tried the chocolate ones either. Which is best? White or Choc?

Nurse: I have used Splenda in Lauren's recipe and they are great.

I just put mine in the oven. The batter seemed a bit thin, so I didn't put in the dollop of lemon curd as planned. I think I'll frost half with the lemon curd and half with chocolate. Yum!

Hope they come out..My batter was pretty thick..You might have to cook them a bit longer.