“THESE LOVELY LITTLE CHAPS ARE moist, tender AND TOTALLY DELICIOUS”
CHOCOLATE CUPCAKES WITH CHOCOLATE AVOCADO ICING Makes 12
“If you’ve never considered putting avocado in icing, give it a go. The taste is very subtle. Or, if you’re short on time, you can skip the icing altogether and make these as plain chocolate cupcakes – they’re tasty on their own, too.”
Chocolate cupcakes 70g (⅓ cup) extra virgin olive oil or macadamia oil
120g (⅓ cup) pure maple syrup (see tip, below)
2 eggs
80g (⅓ cup) milk
110g (⅓ cup) hazelnut chocolate spread (gluten-free) (see tip, below) 135g (1⅓ cups) hazelnut meal (ground hazelnuts)
60g (5 tbsp) buckwheat flour
40g (5 tbsp) raw cacao powder (see tip, below)
2 tsp baking powder (gluten-free)
⅛ tsp stevia extract powder (optional)
Chocolate avocado icing 1 ripe avocado, flesh only
90g (¼ cup) pure maple syrup (see tip, below)
35g (⅓ cup) raw cacao powder (see tip, below)
80g (¼ cup) hazelnut chocolate spread (see tip, below)
Chocolate cupcakes
1. Preheat oven to 180°C (160°C fan). Line a 12-hole standard muffin tray with paper cases and set aside.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together oil, syrup, eggs, milk, hazelnut chocolate spread and hazelnut meal until well combined. Sift in buckwheat flour, cacao powder, baking powder and stevia extract (if using) and stir through until just combined.
3. Divide mixture between paper cases. Bake for 15-17 minutes, until mostly cooked through, but still slightly fudgy in the centre. Allow to cool in tin for 10 minutes, then transfer onto a wire rack to cool completely.
Chocolate avocado icing
1. Place all icing ingredients into a food processor or high-powered blender. Process until well combined and smooth. Pause once or twice to scrape down sides with a spatula if needed.
2. Using a small spatula, spread icing onto the cooled cupcakes before serving.
tips
• If you prefer a lower fructose option, you can replace the maple syrup with rice syrup.
• You can use a homemade hazelnut chocolate spread or store-bought for these cupcakes. Homemade spread is a much healthier option, as commercial spreads tend to contain mainly sugar and refined vegetable oil.
• You can use activated or roasted hazelnuts instead of raw, if preferred.
• If you don’t have any raw cacao powder on hand, you can use regular cocoa powder instead.