How gorgeous are these black forest cupcakes? If you love chocolate and cherries, you’re in for a treat, literally. The best thing about these chocolate cupcakes is that as decadent as they look, they are on the healthier side of things. Made with real cherries and plenty of cocoa powder, these cupcakes are subtly sweet and lower in calories than most regular recipes so you can enjoy them irresponsibly.
In This Post:
- ℹ️ Recipe Overview
- 🛒 Ingredients
- 🔄 Variations & Swaps
- 📷 How To Make
- 📝 Full Recipe
- Recipe FAQs
- More Healthy Desserts
Here is what you need to know about these black forest cupcakes:
- Yes, inspired by the famous German black forest cake, which is known for its combination of chocolate, cherries and cream.
- Great for those who want chocolate cupcakes that are lower in calories, have no refined white sugar as they are sweetened with honey (or maple syrup), are egg-free, and can be made with plain or gluten-free flour.
- These cupcakes are vegan-friendly, just replace Greek yoghurt with a plant-based alternative.
- Nut-free friendly, simply replace almond milk with oat milk or coconut milk.
- Yoghurt, applesauce and cherries keep these cupcakes super moist without having to add a lot of butter or oil, which frankly I don’t mind, but I wanted to develop a recipe that wasn’t too high in calories specifically.
👉 For more chocolate recipes, check out this raspberry chocolate parfait, the healthy chocolate zucchini cake, and healthy banana chocolate chip muffins.
What You’ll Need
Here is what you will need for these black forest cupcakes. Find the full measurements in the recipe card below.
- For sweetness: Honey or maple syrup.
- Wet ingredients: Greek yoghurt, unsweetened applesauce, almond milk (or another milk of your choice.
- Dry ingredients: plain flour, wholewheat or gluten-free can be used, baking powder and baking soda/bicard soda as the rising agent, unsweetened cocoa powder, salt.
- Cherries: fresh or frozen dark cherries are what you want, ideally; canned cherries could be used but they are a bit soggier and will be more disintegrated in the mixture. The flavour is also less intense. Not glace cherries!
- For the topping: whipped coconut cream or Greek yoghurt, grated chocolate and extra cherries.
Variations & Substituions
- Gluten-free: Substitute the whole wheat flour with an equal amount of gluten-free flour or blend.
- For grain-free: Use 1 cup almond meal + 1/4 cup cassava or tapioca flour (please note, this is not a nut-free version).
- Lower sugar: Replace the honey or maple syrup with 1/2 cup of a natural sweetener like stevia or monk fruit sweetener.
- Vegan: Replace the honey with 1/2 cup of a vegan sweetener like maple syrup, agave syrup or date syrup. Substitute the Greek yogurt with an equal amount of dairy-free yogurt (e.g., almond or coconut-based).
How To Make Black Forest Cupcakes
Jump to the full recipe card below for more detailed instructions, ingredients list and nutrition info.
- Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C), line muffin tin with cupcake liners.
- Mix honey (or maple syrup), Greek yogurt, applesauce, almond milk, and vanilla extract in a large bowl.
- Whisk whole wheat flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a separate bowl.
- Gradually mix dry ingredients and cocoa powder into wet ingredients until just combined. Avoid overmixing.
- Fold in pitted cherries.
- Fill cupcake liners 2/3 full with batter.
- Bake 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
- Let cupcakes cool in tin for a few minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Top cooled cupcakes with whipped coconut cream or Greek yogurt, garnish with cherries and shredded dark chocolate, if desired.
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Equipment
- 1 muffin tin with 12 cupcake liners
Learn how to make healthy and delicious black forest cupcakes. This recipe is egg-free and is easily adaptable to be completely plant-based/vegan-friendly and gluten-free. Made with real cherries and plenty of cocoa powder, these cupcakes are subtly sweet and lower in calories than most regular recipes so you can enjoy them irresponsibly.
Ingredients
- ½ cup honey or maple syrup
- ¼ cup plain Greek yogurt
- ¼ cup unsweetened applesauce
- ¼ cup almond milk or any other milk of your choice)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup whole wheat flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup cocoa powder unsweetened
- ½ cup chopped cherries fresh or frozen
For topping:
- 2 cups coconut cream whipped, or Greek yogurt for piping
- ¼ cup shredded dark chocolate
- Additional cherries for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C) and line a muffin tin with cupcake liners.
- In a large bowl, mix together the honey (or maple syrup), Greek yogurt, applesauce, almond milk, and vanilla extract until well combined.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the whole wheat flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- Gradually add the dry ingredients and cocoa powder to the wet ingredients, stirring until just combined. Be careful not to overmix.
- Gently fold in the pitted cherries.
- Spoon the batter evenly into the cupcake liners, filling each about 2/3 full.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean.
- Remove from the oven and let the cupcakes cool in the muffin tin for a few minutes, then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.
- In a separate bowl, whip the cream or yogurt until thick and fluffy.
- Once cooled, top each cupcake with a dollop of whipped coconut cream or Greek yogurt and garnish with additional cherries and shredded dark chocolate, if desired.
Notes
- You can use either honey or maple syrup as a sweetener, depending on your preference.
- Whole wheat flour adds a healthier twist to the cupcakes, but you can use all-purpose flour if desired.
- Greek yogurt and unsweetened applesauce help keep the cupcakes moist without adding excessive fat.
- Feel free to use fresh or frozen cherries, just make sure they are pitted and chopped before adding them to the batter.
- Adjust the amount of cherries according to your taste preference.
- Replace the whole wheat flour with a gluten-free flour blend to make the cupcakes gluten-free.
Nutrition
Calories: 253kcal | Carbohydrates: 28g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 16g | Saturated Fat: 14g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Trans Fat: 0.001g | Cholesterol: 0.3mg | Sodium: 142mg | Potassium: 290mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 15g | Vitamin A: 11IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 48mg | Iron: 2mg
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Wow, these are so rich & yummy! I love the chocolate & cherry flavor combination.
How pretty are these! And I love the idea that you’ve used apple sauce which will keep the recipe a bit healthier
These were everything a gourmet dessert should be and then some! Easy, rich and decadent; exactly what I needed to cure my sweet tooth, indeed!
You’ve done it again! How do you continue to make such beautiful and delicious desserts! And the addition of the apple sauce – really made a difference!
These were so moist and delish!!!
Hi. Can i use almond flour instead of whole wheat? Would i still use the sa me amount? Thanks
Hi Adrienne,
Yes, you can use almond meal instead. You can use a little bit less, maybe like 2-3 tablespoons less. If you have some cassava or tapioca flour on hand, I would do 2/3 of almond meal and 1/3 of the other starch.
Irena