Sinfully good, yet significantly less sinful than other devil’s food cakes, these dark, moist, melt-in-your-mouth cupcakes are made with wholesome buckwheat flour, coconut oil and a whipped chocolate icing featuring a surprise healthy ingredient (hint: you can’t make guacamole without it!). As if that’s not enough to fall in love with: they’re topped with pure cacao nibs, not sugary-sweet sprinkles, giving them a sophisticated feel that may just sway the kids to leave a few on the plate for Mom. Pour yourself a tall, cold glass of almond milk and thank heaven for chocolate.
Devil’s Food Cupcakes With Whipped Chocolate-Avocado Icing
Makes 18 cupcakes
Devil’s Food Cake
1.5 cups water
½ cup coconut oil, melted
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tsp. apple cider vinegar
1 tsp. peppermint extract
1 large egg
½ cup cocoa powder
⅓ cup coconut sugar
⅓ cup arrowroot flour
1 cup dark buckwheat flour
1 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp.baking powder
½ tsp. sea salt
Chocolate-Avocado Icing
2 very ripe avocados
⅓ cup maple syrup
2 tsp. peppermint extract
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Pinch sea salt
¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
½ cup coconut oil, melted
Optional topping: ⅓ cup cacao nibs
Directions
- Preheat oven to 350º F. Add paper liners to muffin tins and set aside.
- To make cake, whisk together water, coconut oil, vanilla and peppermint extracts, egg and apple cider vinegar. Add remaining cake ingredients and stir well.
- Fill liners with batter and bake cupcakes for 5 to 7 minutes. Rotate pan and bake for an addition 5 to 7 minutes or until toothpick inserted into center of cupcake comes out clean. Remove pans from oven and let cupcakes cool on a wire rack.
- To make icing, pit avocados and remove flesh. Add avocado to food processor and blend until creamy. Pour in maple syrup and peppermint and vanilla extracts and blend, then scrape down sides. Add cocoa and repeat. With food processor running, pour in coconut oil through chute and blend for about 30 seconds. Transfer icing to a bowl and refrigerate for 3 hours or until solid.
- Before frosting cupcakes, stir or whip icing. To top with cacao nibs, pour nibs onto a plate and roll sides of frosted cupcakes through nibs.
Allison’s tips:
- Cupcakes can be refrigerated for up to one week.
- Orange zest, almond extract or instant espresso may be used in place of peppermint extract for a different flavor.