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Recipe: Joe Wicks’ Gingerbread Cupcakes With Date Caramel

Friday, 25 March 2022 12:34

These healthy sweet treats are iced with a sticky date topping.

“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 recipe

Ingredients:
(Makes 6)

90g wholemeal plain flour
30g soft dark brown sugar or coconut sugar
25g ground almonds
½tsp baking powder
¼tsp bicarbonate of soda
½tsp ground cinnamon
1tsp ground ginger
⅛tsp ground clove
⅛tsp ground nutmeg
Pinch of salt
90g 0% fat Greek yoghurt
45ml water
1 egg
1½tbsp melted coconut oil
2tbsp crystallised ginger chunks, to decorate

For the date caramel:
100g pitted dates
60ml milk or non-dairy milk
1tsp vanilla extract
Good pinch of salt

Joe Wicks' gingerbread cupcakes with date caramel
Gingerbread cupcakes with date caramel from Feel Good Food (Dan Jones/PA)

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 200°C/180°C 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.

Feel Good Food by Joe Wicks
(Dan Jones/PA)

Feel Good Food by Joe Wicks is published by HQ, priced £20. Photography by Dan Jones. Available March 17.

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