Easy Asian “Chestnut” Cakelets (Applesauce Cakes Made w/ Whole Wheat)

Here’s an Asian Inspired Cakelet Recipe stuffed with sweetened white AND/OR red bean paste! Made with healthy ingredients like whole wheat flour and applesauce, these chestnut-shaped cakelets are delicious treats for everyone in the family.

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Don’t you just adore cakelet pans? I used to collect a variety of them (my favorite being the Nordicware brand) so that I could bake my cakes into all sorts of cute shapes!

A popular cakelet pan in Korea is the chestnut shaped cakelet pan, which is usually baked with a sweetened bean paste (either white or red) filling. So as soon as I found the cakelet pan online I had to buy it right away!

The original recipe uses a standard pound cake batter with AP flour, eggs and lots of butter, but I wanted to come up with a recipe that was healthier and more nutritious. The new recipe uses white whole wheat flour, as well as applesauce to replace some of the butter.

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Ingredients used to make this

• Flour – you can use either white whole wheat flour, regular whole wheat flour, spelt flour, or just regular white (all purpose) flour.
• Applesauce – preferably unsweetened. The pectin that’s naturally found in applesauce helps bind the ingredients together and keep the pancakes moist. I used one 4 oz unsweetened applesauce cups. You can also just use slightly less than 1/2 cup.
• Eggs – I used regular large eggs. I haven’t tried using egg replacements like flax or chia yet, so you might not get the same results if you decide to substitute.
• Milk – I used almond milk for this, but sometimes I like to use buttermilk to help these pancakes rise even higher. You can also make your own buttermilk by combining 1/4 cup regular milk with 1 tsp vinegar or lemon juice.
• Salt – Pink Himalayan salt is what I have at home, so it’s what I use, but you can use any kind for this recipe.
• Sugar – You can use any granulated sugar of your choice, but I like using  honey powder because it can be used just like sugar and easier to measure out. You can also use coconut, date and maple sugars which are healthier alternatives to white processed sugar, but they’re much darker so keep in mind it could affect the color of baked goods. For the lower carb, lower calorie option, you can use a sugar-free substitute such as monk fruit sweetener or, stevia powder (but you’ll have to convert the amount of stevia according to package directions).
• Apple Cider Vinegar – helps to activate baking soda, which is a leavening agent that relies on acidic conditions to produce the rising effect we want to see. You can also use lemon juice if you don’t have apple cider vinegar
• Light Olive Oil – Instead of olive oil, you can use coconut oil, or avocado oil here if you’d like.

Despite the shape, these cakelets actually don’t have any chestnut in them!

More Applesauce Recipes You’ll Love

For the Filling You’ll Need

• Sweetened Red Bean Paste (a.k.a. Koshi An): I eat this stuff by spoonfuls! It’s a versatile ingredient that goes inside my sweet rice mochi recipe as well my tofu mochi recipe, but it’s also used as fillings inside sweet breads, pancakes, cookies and more. You can find Sweetened Red Bean paste in most Asian grocery stores, and online (Amazon). There are Fine and Coarse kinds (I used coarse).

or,

• Sweetened White Bean Paste (a.k.a. Shiro An)

How to Make these Chestnut Shaped Applesauce Cakes

1. Mix all dry ingredients together (flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and sugar) in a bowl
2. Add the wet ingredients all at once (the applesauce, vinegar, eggs, oil and water) and stir with a whisk quickly, until just mixed and the batter is smooth
3. Preheat oven to 350F, and prepare filling by rolling the sweetened red/white bean paste into tablespoon-sized balls. Set aside.
4. Pour about 2 Tbsp of batter into a well-greased cakelet (or muffin) pan.
5. Drop the balls of filling into the center of the wells
6. Pour the batter over the filling, being careful to only fill the cake pan to about 3/4 full so the batter doesn’t pour over the sides while it’s baking.
7. Bake at 350F for 20-25 minutes until slightly browned. Test for doneness by inserting a toothpick or cake tester–they should come out clean without wet crumbs.

Recipe Variations and Optional Add Ins:

• Here’s how these cakes look like with the sweetened white bean paste (Shiro An)!

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• Matcha cakelets! Add 1 tsp of matcha powder to the batter

• I think a chocolate version would be awesome for this recipe. To make it, add 1 T cocoa powder and add some mini chocolate chips
• Even the plain applesauce cakes are delicious and fluffy!

How to Make this Healthier

• Make this even healthier by adding a handful of nuts, seeds and old-fashioned oats to add texture and nutrition.
• Looking to lower calories? You can also reduce the sugar by half (to make this less sweet), or substitute the sugar with a sugar-free substitute.
• Make your own filling instead of using storebought! Nami from Just One Cookbook has a step-by-step guide to making homemade sweetened red beans (Koshi An) and white beans (Shiro An). You can check out her recipes by clicking the links.
• Instead of the sweetened red/white bean paste, use my quick & easy chickpea cookie dough recipe for the filling, which is lower in sugar

What are some ways you can serve these?

• plain and warm, best with tea and coffee!
• individually packaged in wax paper or goodie bags. They make SUCH a great gift idea!!

How to Store these Mini Applesauce Cakes

• You can store these mini applesauce cakes covered at room temperature for up to 1 day. For longer storage, you can place them in the fridge for up to 7 days, or freeze up to 4 months.

Final Tips

• Baking time (as well as serving size) will vary based on the size of your muffin pan, the material (silicone vs metal) of the pan. Bake the cakes until the color is golden-brown on the top, or until a toothpick comes out clean/dry when poked into the middle.

More Asian-Inspired Recipes Here!