I know the sound of avocado as an icing ingredient does not sound immediately appetising but it honestly works perfectly in this glossy chocolate recipe & lends a rich creaminess to the icing. These cupcakes are fully gluten & dairy-free so a great one to make for parties & special occasions if you have people with any food intolerances attending. You could stick some candles in the top for a birthday cupcake display or top with fresh fruit or berries. I've gone for a mix of dried rose petals, bee pollen and dried cornflowers. You can pick these toppings up in speciality food stores and health food shops, the dried petals definitely hold up better than fresh petals would & well they look pretty too :) Enjoy!
Makes 8 cupcakes
Ingredients:
- 40g cocoa powder
- 340g ground almonds
- 1tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp bread soda
- Pinch of sea-salt
- 2 eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 3 tbsp maple syrup
- 75ml almond milk (or milk of your choice)
- 125ml coconut oil, melted
Chocolate Icing:
- 2 ripe avocados, mashed
- 3 tbsp cocoa powder
- 3 tbsp maple syrup
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Toppings:
- Dried rose petals
- Bee pollen
- Dried cornflower petals
Method:
Line a muffin tray with 8 paper cases. Preheat the oven to 180ºC/350ºF/Gas 4.
Place the cocoa powder, ground almonds, baking powder, bread soda and sea-salt into a mixing bowl. In a separate bowl mix together the eggs, vanilla extract, maple syrup, almond milk and coconut oil. Pour the wet ingredients over the dry ingredients and stir to combine.
Spoon the mixture into the muffin cases. Transfer the muffin tray to the oven and bake for 15-20 minutes or until cooked through. Remove from the oven and leave to cool on a wire rack.
To prepare the icing, whisk the avocados, cocoa powder, maple syrup and vanilla extract together until glossy and smooth.
Once the cupcakes have cooled, spread the icing over the top of the cupcakes and sprinkle with your choice of natural toppings.
