chocolate glazed cupcakes

These are extra fun to make because of a surprise ingredient: avocado! From Vegetarian Times: Glazed Chocolate-Avocado Cupcakes. SUPER rich, shared with friends on Valentine’s Day – positive feedback from all.

Ingredients:

Cupcakes

1½ cups all-purpose flour
¾ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking powder
¾ teaspoon. baking soda
1/4 teaspoon . salt
1 avocado, pitted and peeled
1 cup pure maple syrup
¾ cup plain soymilk
1/3 cup canola oil (I only had vegetable oil and it worked out just fine)
2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Glaze

¼ block soft silken tofu, drained and patted dry
3 Tbs. pure maple syrup
½ tsp. vanilla extract
¹⁄8 tsp. salt
4 oz. semisweet vegan chocolate chips, melted

Directions:

Cupcakes

Preheat oven to 350. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Blend avocado. Stir together syrup soy milk, oil and vanilla (I have a large two cup measuring cup that everything fit into) and pour mixture into blender to puree with avocado. My mixer did not fit all the liquids so I blended about half with the avocado and then transferred to a bowl to stir together. Whisk avocado mixture into dry ingredients. Spoon into a 12-cupcake pan, lined with paper cups or I used cooking spray instead. Cook 25 minutes then cool.

avocado mix and cocoa mix

Glaze

Blend together tofu, syrup, vanilla, salt.  Add melted chocolate and blend again. Pour into a bowl and dip cooled cupcakes in, pulling directly upwards to form peaks.  The frosting tastes kind of sour-creamy to me.  It’s good, but I actually like these better unfrosted, and next time might make them as brownies since they are so rich and cake-like.

Note: if you are going to cook cupcakes in the morning, leave in the afternoon to enjoy some wine in the park on a beautiful California Valentine’s Day, and then come home and frost them, you are going to get a photo with a shadow in it. Oh well.