Avocados have become as common as onions and tomatoes in our home and I don't see why it shouldn't become a staple in yours too. An apple a day keeps the doctor away. In my opinion, avocado should also join the list. You too will agree with me once you know how nutrient dense avocados are.
Long time back I had bookmarked a chocolate cupcake recipe using avocado and I have been wanting to try it forever and finally got to it. So the next time you have a very ripe and mushy avocado, you know what to do! But a note though, cooked avocado is not as healthy as raw avocado.
So I'm not calling this a healthy cupcake recipe but just a recipe which uses avocado. The pureed avocado replaces the eggs and some of the fat in this recipe, which is the specialty of pureed fruit. It plays a dual role; as an egg substitute in baking and as well as a fat replacer.
This chocolate cupcake recipe does call for oil and I have used organic, expeller pressed, refined coconut oil from Spectrum instead of canola oil or vegetable oil I normally use.
Those of you who are following my posts regularly, would by now know that I'm trying to incorporate some healthy changes in our kitchen. I had shared my concern about oil and fats in the vegan banana bread post. Since then I have been using only coconut oil, butter and ghee for medium to high heat cooking; extra virgin olive oil and sesame oil for raw and very mild heat cooking. All other vegetable and seed oils are out of sight now but for the very rare deep frying occasions.
Ingredients
All-purpose Flour - 1 and ½ cups
Cocoa powder - ¾ cup
- Baking powder - 1 teaspoon
- Baking soda - ¾ teaspoon
- Salt - ¾ teaspoon
Avocado (pitted, peeled and diced) - 1 count
Pure Maple Syrup - 1 cup
Non-dairy milk - ¾ cup (I used almond milk)
Coconut Oil (Organic, Expeller Pressed and Refined) - ⅓ cup
Vanilla extract - 2 teaspoons
I was still having a problem when it came to vegan baking. I didn't know which oil to use. Some people are all praises for Grapeseed oil, which is supposed to be very stable at high temperature. But what I learned from my research did not prove that Grapeseed oil was any better.
Then I heard from Bee that organically refined coconut oil is a good option for baking, because it is refined, it doesn't smell coconutty. Also since it is solid, it can replace butter or margarine too. Unlike non-organic oils, where extracting the oil and refining is done at very high temperatures and using a lot of chemicals, altering the chemical structure of the original oil, organically refined oils are not subject to such high temperatures or those harsh chemicals making it the best option.
For those who have been led to believe that coconut oil is not healthy, my simple statement is "don't believe that". I have been reading about this extensively and truly believe that it is perfectly fine to consume coconut oil everyday. Yes it has saturated fats and again we have been led to believe that saturated fats are bad by effective lobbying of the manufacturers of the other oils. Another good option is avocado oil. It also has a very high smoking point. I'll write more about avocado oil once I start using it.
In the same context, butter is better than the array of so called healthy spreads available in the market these days. I agree that I too was using all types of soft tub margarine thinking that it was good but now I know much better than that. The more you read about it, the more you come to know about the extreme processing (including mechanical, heat and chemical) a product undergoes and it's really a nightmare. For those who are not aware of all this, I once again say that ignorance is bliss. I think I will have to do a detailed post about this subject to make it even clear.
For starters, read the product labels to see if you are able to identify the ingredients. The key is to keep it simple to keep it safe. I'm slowly trying to eliminate all (store-bought) processed food, by preparing everything at home or buying organic products when time is a constraint and convenience becomes more important.
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Recipe
Vegan Chocolate Avocado Cupcakes
Ingredients
- 1 and ½ cups All Purpose Flour
- ¾ cup Cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon Baking powder
- ¾ teaspoon Baking soda
- ¾ teaspoon Salt
- 1 count Avocado (pitted, peeled and diced)
- 1 cup pure maple syrup
- ¾ cup Non-dairy milk (I used almond milk)
- ⅓ cup Coconut Oil (Organic, Expeller Pressed and Refined)
- 2 teaspoons Vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F/180C for 15 minutes. Line a 12 cup muffin pan with paper liners.
- In a large bowl sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
- In a blender/food processor puree together the avocado, milk, oil, maple syrup and vanilla extract. It has to be smooth and creamy without any lumps.
- Stir in the wet mixture into the flour mix. Do not over mix.
- Divide the batter evenly among the 12 cups and bake it for 23-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cupcake comes out with crumbs attached.
- Remove the pan from the oven and let the cupcakes cool in the pan for 5 minutes on a wire rack. After 5 minutes remove the cupcakes from the pan and cool it completely on the cooling rack before you can frost it.
Elizabeth says
Avocados are one of the healthiest of foods, so it's great when there's something like Chocolate Avocado Cupcakes to get the nutrition you need in a delicious snack. When I was reading about the many benefits of avocados I was surprised it wasn't more commonly known. http://www.lifetimedaily.com/whats-the-nutritional-value-in-an-avocado/
Rashmi says
Can I add cake flour instead of all purpose flour ??
Madhuram says
Yes it should work Rashmi.
Jesmond says
Hi just made this and they are soon delicious, mine didn't taste bitter at all I did taste the mixture before hand and added about 2 tablespoons more maple syrup and I only had self raising flour so just added that. They turned out beautiful and fluffy, my son gobbled about 6 of themin one hit! 🙂 I managed to get 36 out of the mixture too as I used the smaller cupcake moulds, my son got into the mixture too so possibly could of made 40!! 🙂
Luv these and so healthy, thank you for the recipe, will be trying more of them!! 🙂 xx
Madhuram says
Thank you very much for the feedback Jesmond.
Rebecca says
I just baked these, followed the recipe word for word and they are bitter. I tried to eat it but I had to spit it out. Maybe it would be wise to check this recipe yourself as someone else seems to have had the same problem. It is rather annoying seeing as I spent the time making them for my birthday and now have no time to make anything else!
Madhuram says
Rebecca, as mentioned in the post, I have tried this recipe from Vegetarian Times after seeing the positive reviews. Please check the comments for the original recipe: http://www.vegetariantimes.com/recipe/glazed-chocolate-avocado-cupcakes/
Ruchi says
I followed this recipe, replaced the maple syrup with sugar, the cup cakes came out good overall. I just found them a little dry from inside. Thanks for all your recipes, I am enjoying trying them out.
Madhuram says
Since you added sugar you should have increased the quantity of liquid and the muffins wouldn't have been dry.
Tanya says
I made the cupcakes last week.....they had the potential to be great but just were not sweet at all. They actually were kind of bitter, so I am thinking the recipe needs more sugar.
Madhuram says
Tanya, I'm guessing that there was some issue with the baking powder, baking soda you have used. I have read a couple of comments in this blog about bitter after taste and always the reason was stale baking powder/soda. Or in this case it could be the avocado. Otherwise I don't see any reason for the cupcakes to taste bitter.
Ruchi says
I am planning to replace the maple syrup with sugar too. Tanya , can you share how did the recipe turn out.
Thanks.
Paula says
DELISH!
Thank you for the wonderful recipe. We are not vegan, but loved these cupcakes. The recipe was easy to follow and fairly easy to find ingredients. What kind of frosting do you use? I just used powdered sugar and more of the milk and cocoa powder, but sure there is something else that could've been used instead of the sugar. God Bless!
Madhuram says
You're weclome Paula. I'm glad that you liked these cupcakes even though you are not vegan. I don't frost cupcakes unless and otherwise it is requested by somebody or it's a very special ocassion. The original recipe itself had a recipe for the frosting with tofu. You could check that if you don't mind using tofu.
Nav says
Just found your website yesterday. I was on hunt for eggless recipes. It's finally over.:) Good work ! Chocolate avocado cupcakes in oven. Made some changes though. I used organic milk instead soy, whole grain spelt flour and 1/3 cup maple syrup and 1/2 cup raw cane suger. Thnaks a lot. Will be making vanilla cupcakes tomorrow for my son birthday party at school. He is allergic to eggs.I always make cake using condensed milk. I am glad I found your website.
Regards.
Madhuram says
Thanks Nav.
sudha says
i loved ur version...incidentally i made a choc raisin avacado loaf today 🙂
marianna says
I have a question about coconut oil. If I want to use coconut oil instead of vegetable oil (what I have in the recipe), should I use the same amount of oil? In the recipe I have 1 cup of vegetable oil.
Thank you for your nice recipes!!!
Marianna
Madhuram says
Yes you can use coconut oil measure to measure, of course after melting though.
torviewtoronto says
This looks fabulous deliciously done Madhuram 🙂
devika says
I have tried this recipe and it was great and I have passed this recipe over to family and friends
Madhuram says
Did you also try it from Vegetarian Times or from here? If you tried it from here, it was real quick. Thank you very much Devika.
Karen says
Those cupcakes look soooo delicous. Thank you for all the extra info about the oils. The last time I went to buy canola oil I opted for the non-organic because it was half price. No more! You are so right that "ignorance is bliss." I just wish more people wanted to know.
Madhuram says
You have to keep looking for sale prices Karen. I bagged a couple of jars of the coconut oil at Whole Foods when they were on a great sale during the New Year's.
RUPA says
Hi Madhuram
Thanks once again for a wonderful recipe.
Is there a way i can replace the maple syrup with sugar
I dont usually keep maple syrup in my house
thanks
- Rupa
Madhuram says
My suggestion would be using 1/2 cup of sugar and increasing the quantity of milk to 1 cup. I'm just guessing here.