Good morning! 

Closing the third week of the year with something good and interesting to share. Vanilla is probably the most common flavor ever for a cupcake. Its traditional, easy and a safe try for those who are learning, but today we have Vanilla cupcakes with a twist. 

This time I made two versions, conventional vanilla cupcakes and the modified version. The objective of this change was to replace butter for a healthier source (Olive oil and chia seeds) and also reduce the calories originated from fat.

Conventional vanilla cupcake

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 stick butter at room temperature
• 1 large egg
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 110 g all-purpose flour
• 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/6 cup vanilla Greek yogurt
• 78 mL skimmed milk

Modified vanilla cupcake

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 22.68 g olive oil
• 8.5 g chia seeds
• 0.28 g or 1/16 tsp tapioca
• 25.23 g water
• 1 large egg
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 110 g all-purpose flour
• 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/6 cup vanilla Greek yogurt
• 78 mL skimmed milk

The four ingredients in blue, need to be mixed the day before and leave it to rest in the fridge to set. It would be a gel like consistency.

This substitution of butter for chia/olive oil/water mixture leads to an approximate reduction of the 50-60% of the fat in the original recipe.

Directions are the same for both

1. Preheat oven to 350 F / 180 C and line muffin tin with cupcake liners.
2. In a medium bowl combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Incorporate and set aside.
3. In a mixing bowl, beat butter on medium speed for about 1 min and then add the sugar. For the modified version, mix the chia mixture with the sugar. Beat them together on medium speed for about 2-3 min until light and fluffy.
   

   Butter and sugar mixture

   

   Chia “gel” and sugar mixture
4. Add vanilla extract and eggs one at a time.
5. Add the yogurt.
6. Slowly add 1/3 dry ingredients and 1/3 milk. Mix with a spatula or a hand whisker. Repeat until you have added all dry ingredients and milk. *Do not over mix the batter or you will lose a lot of air from the mix and it will come out like a heavy cake, not very fluffy and spongy.
7. Put batter into the cupcake liners.

   

8. Bake for about 14-16 min.

Once they are done, let them cool in the cupcake tin before moving them to a cooling rack.

 

Differences in texture and flavor were detected by a small group of tasters (with abundant knowledge and experience in the area of Food Science and Technology). Some of the comments were that the conventional cupcake had stronger vanilla flavor and that the modified cupcake had a softer/gummy texture and that sweet and vanilla flavor was not so strong. They also manifested they preferred the modified version over the conventional one.

If you try it let me know, I would like to hear more opinions on this one!

Have a great weekend! Stay hydrated, include fruits and vegetables on your daily diet and keep moving!