Chocolate Cupcakes (vegan)

Last summer I made a chocolate-avocado cake out of sheer curiousity. I wanted to see what it would taste like, and was intrigued that it had no eggs. It turned out great.

Now I find myself baking cupcakes for Bobble's 4th birthday, and using this recipe again. There is a child in Bobble's class that has a dairy allergy. What better way to include everyone than by making something everyone will enjoy?

Again, I found myself lacking (enough) caster sugar, so I used our immersion blender to blend up what we had to be super fine. Other than that, the recipe was a breeze! The recipe is very simple, and the results are delicious.

Of course, I had to try the batter since it is safe (no raw egg).... not what I expected. The cupcakes/cake with this recipe tastes simply like chocolate. Delicious. Raw batter, however, tastes just like avocado. How curious! Especially confusing since the chocolate-avocado pudding is uncooked and tasted great. Huh.

We decided to add a squirt of (natural) cherry syrup to the frosting as we mixed. This is the same sort of syrup you'd find for coffee drinks. We debated between the cherry or the mint, but since we had coconut cream frosting we thought the cherry would go better. It was delicious.

Chocolate-avocado cupcakes

• 3c flour
• 6T unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2t salt
• 2t baking powder (we used sodium-free baking powder)
• 2t baking soda
• 1/4c canola oil
• 1/2c mashed avocado (~1 whole avocado)
• 2c water
• 2T white vinegar
• 2t vanilla extract
• 2c caster sugar

Preheat oven to 375F.

Sift together flour, cocoa, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. Set aside.

Whisk together the avocado, oil, water, white vinegar, and vanilla. Add in sugar, whisking until combined.

Add in dry ingredients, whisking until smooth.

Portion batter into lined cupcake pan. (Should make 24-30 regular sized cupcakes.)

Bake for 15-18 minutes, or until toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Arrange on a wire baking rack to cool. Allow to completely cool before frosting.

Coconut Cream Frosting

• 1 can coconut cream
• 3T powdered sugar (+/- to taste)
• 2T cocoa powder (if you want chocolate frosting, otherwise, just omit)

Whisk all ingredients together until fluffy. 

Allow frosting to chill before using (this allows it to firm up).

Disclaimer: Thoughts of Fluff was not compensated for this post. All opinions are my own and may differ from those of your own. Frosting recipe is a Thoughts of Fluff original recipe. Cupcake recipe was an adaptation from a cake recipe found here. Conversions to Fahrenheit and U.S. measurements made by Thoughts of Fluff.