Soon after Diwali, as we approach Christmas and New Year, the focus shifts from traditional Indian sweets to classic western cakes, puddings and desserts for me.
A fruit cake spells so many things and creates a good mood and ambience for reunions, get togethers and also brings in nostalgic memories.
While I have a very successful fruit cake recipe here that has been loved and recreated by professional bakers and home bakers too, this time I decided to share with you a healthier recipe of a fruit cake.
One that has no refined flour or processed sugar in it. And I decided to turn this batter into cupcakes which are easier to distribute and to store. I decided to top the cupcakes with a glorious honey icing made with 24 mantra organic honey. If you are on the lookout for good honey, you might like to try this antibiotic free honey.
Cupcakes are a great hit if you have kids. Your kids and their friends will love them.
Hari's friend Dhawnie who is the biggest fan of my chocolate chip cookiesย has featured in my chocolate cupcake episode as well in the promo of my digital show, Kiddie's corner with Anushruti.
I had just finished making these cupcakes, when this little angel walked in with some chocolate cake that she had baked for me.
When I told her that this is a healthy cupcake made with organic wholewheat flour and has no refined flour in it, she was quick to ask me "Does it have gud (jaggery)?" And I thought it was amazing that this seven year old knows that jaggery is a healthier version of refined white sugar.
The honey icing seeps into the cupcake and merges with it nicely, giving the cupcakes a fruity flavor and earthy taste.
However, you can totally skip the icing and make the cupcakes plain if you prefer them this way.
I hope this wholewheat cupcake recipe made with natural sugar will add a healthy and happy touch to your recipe repertoire.
The best part is that you can make these cupcakes throughout the year. They are great to slip into your child's snackbox and also good for you to munch into. And they are just perfect to give as gifts to your friends during the festive season.
Disclaimer: This post has been sponsored by 24 Mantra Organic, as part of theย OrganicMantras initiative. To know more and to be a part of this organic movement, stay tuned on Facebookย and Instagram. With over 200 organic products, there are enough options to swtich to an organic life.
Eggless Wholewheat Fruit and Nut Cupcakes With Honey Icing Recipe
Wholemeal flour and jaggery cupcakes with dry fruits, nuts, cinnamon and cardamom
You can use brown sugar, jaggery or a mixture of both to make these cupcakes
Cupcakes
dry ingredients:
210 gm (1 1/2 cups) whole wheat flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon powder
4 cardamom pods, shelled and powderedwet ingredients:
250 ml (1 cup) milk
125 ml (1/2 cup) vegetable oil (I used sunflower oil)
1 tsp vanilla extract
220 gm jaggery or brown sugarยพ cup chopped dry fruits (cashews, almonds, dates and raisins)*
Method:
Mix all the dry ingredients together.
Blend the wet ingredients with a blender or in a stand mixer.
Put in the dry fruits into the dry ingredients and mix.
Mix in the flour mixture along with the dry fruits into the wet ingredients. Make sure that you do not overmix the batter.
Spoon the batter into muffin/cupcake pan lined with paper cups and bake at a preheated oven 160C/ 325F for 20 minutes or until a skewer comes clean.
Honey Icing
Ingredients:
1 tbsp honey
3 tbsp icing sugar
1 tbsp cold waterMethod: Mix all the ingredients together in a bowl.
Makes 12 to 15 cupcakes depending on the size of your paper cups.
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Hi Anushruti,
you say that these muffins are more healthy because they use wholewheat flour. But if I remember right, the ancient food sciences like ayurveda claim that wholewheat is difficult to digest and therefore only to use for certain meals, I think cakes aren't included (at least not according to European traditions). Isn't it more a modern western trend which claims that putting wholewheat in anything is better? I'd like to hear your opinion on this.
Thank you ๐
Iulia
Gorgeous recipe! I can't wait to try. Thanks for giving us healthy version of dry fruit cupcake. I am so glad I can now make healthy and yummy treats for my family.
Hi Anushruti. I wanted to tell you that made these cupcakes now and was floored by the heavenly aroma in my kitchen while they were baking. Jaggery does magic to sweets especially when paired with cardamom. I wanted to congratulate you for coming up with a recipe for such a soft and fluffy cupcake using such healthy ingredients. Really happy. Thank you. From now onwards I will resort to this recipe whenever there is an occasion for baking cupcake because I always have these ingredients on hand and it is guilt-free too. You are right. Children (and adults sometimes!) are more attracted to cupcakes, cakes and cookies than traditional sweets. So it is a win-win recipe!
Lulia- You are right. According to Ayurveda, wheat is comparatively difficult to digest, but is not forbidden. Infact many ancient recipes, particularly festive and celebratory ones have wheat in it. And in my humble opinion, consuming whole wheat flour with its bran intact is much better than having white flour (although I do use white flour sparingly to showcase the versatility of vegetarain food). Also, many ancient vedic recipes also have steamed and baked cakes maybe not in the form we see in the western world. I see nothing wrong in using healthy ingredients and cooking dishes from around the world with it to appeal to different palates and lifestyles. Hope this helps.
Jayashree- I'm so happy to hear about your success with this recipe. You are right, its a win-win for sure.
Thanks for your reply Anushruti.
I think I didn't express myself correctly. Actually I was not referring to wheat in general, but to white wheat flour compared to whole wheat flour, sorry for my confusing language.
I tried to say that in European tradition, white wheat flour is prefered for cakes, because it tastes better and is easier to digest than whole wheat flour. So I was wondering if the fashion of putting wholewheat flour into everything instead of white flour is really more healthy than using white flour. Wholewheat might have more nutrients, but will serve less if not well digested. So I remembered that Ayurveda had a similair tradition of prefering white flour for certain meals, isn't it?
I am questioning the modern health trends and wondering about the ancient thoughts on this topic which seem to be opposite. This is what I wanted to hear your opinion on. Hope it makes sense now.
Greetings from Germany ๐
Lulia- I havent come across any information in Ayurvedic texts, favouring white wheat flour. Besides in India, there are only 2 kinds of flour available. Wholewheat flour and processed white flour. As far as digestion is concerned, Ayurveda focusses on keeping your agni or digestive fire, healthy and active, which in turn will help to digest food and assimilate nutrients. And when your agni is not active or in other words you are not well, it is best to avoid hard to digest ingredients like whole wheat flour and stick to easily digestible ingredients like rice.
Thanks for reply Anushruti ๐
Hi. This recipe looks very promising and easy, but it seems to have way too much oil. Is there a substitute for the oil or can I reduce it into half?
Preethi- Your cakw can be dry if you reduce the oil. You can use applesauce to reduce the oil.
wow nice recipe thanks for sharing.
I think that the muffins look very oily(on the surface). Butter would definitely be more preferable. I have noticed that cake which are eggless and use oil have this sticky,oily surface problem. When i use oil in cakes with eggs then i dont face this problem. So for eggless cakes, i think butter is best.
Hi
Made it today, it was tasty nd soft. And healthy
also . My daughter liked it nd ask for more.
You are so genius , I tried most of ur receipes
specially cakes nd cookies , all turned out perfect
we njoyed it . Thank you so much for sharing.
Keep it up nd be posting
That looks so pleasing! Thanks for sharing the recipe with us ๐
meena: These cupcakes are not at all oily. What you think is oily is actually the honey icing.
Poonam: Thanks for the feedback.
Hi Anushruti,
I am a big fan of yours and your recipes. This recipe is one of my favorites. I usually bake a cake out of it. Have included a variation of it and mentioned yours in my blog. I hope that's ok for you.
https://healthybakesbyreena.wordpress.com/2018/07/13/egg-less-whole-wheat-nuts-cake-with-honey-icing/
I am not good at all on the pics but this is still my learning phase.
nice recipe and I love it so much. thank you for sharing.
food blog
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Very tasty and healthy too.thanks for your recipe.
Hi Anushruti Ma'am, thank you so much for this recipe, tried it today and it turned out perfect. For the first time I didn't do a scewer test and trusted your recipe blindly and the results only strengthened that trust. This is such an amazing recipe for a guilt free indulgence.
Nice to hear that Monika. Thanks for the feedback.
My pleasure!
Thank you for sharing this yummy & delicious reciepe, keep sharing