Gingerbread cupcakes: A healthy sweet treat the kids will love

These healthy little cakes are iced with a sticky date topping. By Katie Wright

Soaked and blended into a puree, dates take on a smooth, sticky texture and caramel-like flavour (Dan Jones/PA)

Who doesn’t like gingerbread? I’ve made these a few times for the kids at parties and they always go down very well,” says fitness expert and author Joe Wicks.

“The date topping is genius, too. When soaked in hot water, the dates soften and can be blended into a purée, which has a smooth, sticky texture and a caramel-like flavour.”

Gingerbread cupcakes with date caramel

Makes: 6

Ingredients:

90g wholemeal plain flour

30g soft dark brown sugar or coconut sugar

25g ground almonds

½ tsp baking powder

¼ tsp bicarbonate of soda

½ tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp ground ginger

⅛ tsp ground clove

⅛ tsp ground nutmeg

Pinch of salt

90g 0% fat Greek yoghurt

45ml water

1 egg

1½ tbsp melted coconut oil

2 tbsp crystallised ginger chunks, to decorate

For the date caramel:

100g pitted dates

60ml milk or non-dairy milk

1 tsp vanilla extract

Good pinch of salt

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 200C/180C fan and line a standard muffin tin with six muffin cases.

2. Mix together the flour, sugar, ground almonds, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, spices and salt in a medium bowl.

3. In a separate bowl or jug, combine the yoghurt, water, egg and coconut oil.

4. Pour the wet mixture into the dry mixture and stir together until just combined. Divide the mixture between the prepared muffin cases.

5. Bake for 20-25 minutes until lightly browned on top and a toothpick inserted into the centre of a cupcake comes out clean. Set aside to cool.

6. Meanwhile, make the caramel. Place the dates into a small jug and cover with boiling water. Set aside for 15 minutes to soak.

7. Drain the dates and return to the jug, then add the milk, vanilla and salt. Blend until smooth with a hand blender, or in a food processor or free-standing blender.

8. Once you’re ready to serve the cupcakes, frost them with the date caramel and sprinkle on some of the crystallised ginger chunks for decoration.

(Dan Jones/PA)

‘Feel Good Food’ by Joe Wicks (published by HQ, £20; photography by Dan Jones), available 17 March.