Chocolate Date Cupcakes (2 Star)

If you want a recipe for an extremely decadent, rich, chocolate cake, then click here. I made it once and it was chocolate magnificence, as the title indicates. When I made it I also made the mistake of calculating the calories contained therein, just because I was curious. All I have to say is, you don't want to know. I plan to reserve future makings for very special occasions.

However, I still wanted to be able to enjoy some moist, dense, chocolatey richness on any old regular day, so I decided to try to create something resembling this cake but also containing some healthful substances. I am far from expert in recipe creating, so I am sure that someone could easily improve upon this, but this is what I came up with. It fulfilled my desires in the moist, dense, and chocolatey categories, so I am fairly proud of myself. However, due to the fact that I used dates and fruit juice for a portion of the sweeteners, there is a bit of a different flavor which some of my boys were not fond of. This is why only two of my boys liked these. So, the resultant cake has a little less oil, a lot less sugar, whole grain flours, mousse and ganache replaced with a dusting of powdered sugar, and viola! Containing a fraction of the original caloric content these little chocolate satiated cupcakes are enough to satisfy a craving while imparting some antioxidants, vitamins, and fiber.





Chocolate Date Cupcakes

1 cup chopped, pitted dates
1/2 cup 100% white grape juice concentrate
1/2 cup low fat cottage cheese
4 ounces unsweetened chocolate squares
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 Tablespoons powdered sugar
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup oat flour
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In a small, microwave safe dish, microwave the grape juice concentrate on high for about a minute, or until it is hot. In a blender or food processor, puree the dates, grape juice concentrate, and cottage cheese until smooth.

In the same microwave safe dish used for the grape juice, microwave the chocolate squares on high for 20 seconds at a time, stirring in between, until melted and smooth. Stir in the oil, sugar, and powdered sugar. Pour into the blender or food processor along with the eggs and whir briefly, until smooth.

In a separate, medium bowl, put the flours, cocoa powder, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. Whisk to combine.

Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and stir until just combined. Pour the batter into a paper lined muffin tin, dividing the batter equally.

Bake in preheated oven for about 15 minutes or until cupcake centers spring back to the touch. Remove from oven and dust with powdered sugar.