The Full Helping

Vegan Recipes | Made to Nourish

Chocolate Avocado Cupcakes and Frosting

Cakes, Recipes, Soy Free, Tree Nut Free, Vegan

Chocolate Avocado Cupcakes and Frosting | The Full Helping

Thank you for such an enormous and wonderful outpouring of love on my birthday! You all know how to make a gal feel special. Thank you so much, and I’m glad that the turning 30 theme struck a chord with many of you.

Yesterday, I showed you my absolutely scrumptious birthday gift to myself: chocolate avocado cupcakes with chocolate avocado frosting.

Chocolate Avocado Cupcakes and Frosting | The Full Helping

Inspiration from this recipe comes from the lovely Nicole, who recently posted a smashing recipe for gluten-free chocolate avocado cupcakes on her blog. I thought they were beautiful and ingenious; it had never occurred to use avocado in a baked good, but what a wonderful way to add healthful fats to a batter! In the end, I used a mix of avocado and oil in my recipe (Nicole used avocado only), but I still loved the idea of adding a whole foods fat source to a cupcake, all the while keeping it light and fluffy.

Since I was using avocado in the cupcake, it felt perfectly reasonable to use avocado on the cupcake, too. I’ve made many a batch of vegan chocolate icing with a standard mix of confectioner’s sugar, Earth Balance or vegan shortening, and almond milk. It’s great, but truth be told, I’m equally happy with a batch of chocomole. It’s one of my favorite raw dishes, and it’s every bit as good on top of cupcakes as it is eaten with a spoon. You can use any icing you want for these cupcakes, naturally, but I’d encourage you to give the chocomole a shot!

Here’s the recipe.

Chocolate Avocado Cupcakes and Frosting | The Full Helping

Chocolate Avocado Cupcakes and Frosting
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Recipe type: dessert
Cuisine: vegan, soy free, tree nut free
Author:
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 8
Ingredients
  • 1½ cups whole wheat pastry flour
  • ¼ cup cocoa powder
  • ¾ teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 cup coconut sugar or cane sugar
  • ¼ teaspoon sea salt
  • ½ avocado, peeled and flesh scooped out
  • ¼ cup vegetable oil (such as safflower or grapeseed)
  • 1 cup warm water
  • 2 tablespoons maple syrup or agave
  • 2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
For the icing:
  • 2 large avocados, pitted and flesh scooped out of peel
  • 6 tablespoons cocoa powder
  • ⅓ cup maple syrup or agave
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • Dash sea salt
  • Dash cinnamon (optional)
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 350F. Grease 8 muffin tins or line them with cupcake liners.
  2. Mix together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, sugar, and sea salt.
  3. Place your avocado, water, maple syrup, vinegar and vanilla in a blender, and blend till smooth. Add this mixture to the dry batter. Whisk until the batter is evenly mixed. Pour batter into a greased muffin tin. (This recipe yields 8 cupcakes, so pour it into 8 of the tins!) Bake for 18-22 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean.
  4. While cupcakes cool, mix all icing ingredients in a food processor or a high speed blender till smooth and creamy. Ice the cupcakes and serve!

Chocolate Avocado Cupcakes and Frosting | The Full Helping

I’m sure that many of you are wondering whether or not you can taste the avocado in here? Well, you can probably taste it in the icing. But not in the cake! You won’t taste a thing, but you will get the benefits of all those wonderful, polyunsaturated fats. Win, win.

These cupcakes epitomize the creativity that comes from using whole foods in your baking. I hope they make you (or someone close to you) as happy as they made me. I rarely bake anything fancy for myself, but I’m so glad I treated myself to these. And if those weren’t enough, one of my post-bacc friends made me a raw, vegan birthday cake, all from scratch. He used this recipe!

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So incredibly sweet–literally and figuratively. I’m a lucky birthday girl.

Have a great start to the weekend.

xo

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  4. Happy belated birthday to you, Gena! I’m also finding GF vegan baking to be an interesting challenge, and I’m glad my cupcake recipe inspired you to create something new. Your versions look fabulous. I love the frosting.

    Reply

  5. Gotta love the fact that the birthday cake’s recipe starts with, “Yesterday was my 20th birthday! Yay!..or not?! I’m getting old and it’s not a nice feeling.”
    I don’t want to read what this blogger will have to say about turning 30…

    Anyway, happy belated birthday! The cupcakes look great, can’t wait to give them a try.

    Reply

  6. I did a giveaway for Iris’ books last week on my site! They are so helpful…love the tips and recipes…glad you’re enjoying them, too.

    And these cupcakes. And frosting. WOW! Avocado makes anything so moist and creamy; love that you used it in these!

    Reply

  7. Happy BIrthday Gena! What a wonderful bday treat! Those cupcakes look wonderful. Mmmm, I could definitely eat a whole bowl of chocolate avocado frosting 🙂

    Reply

  9. These look UNBELIEVABLE! Thank you so much for taking the time to create and test a gluten-free version, too. I love how thoughtful you are for your readers who have different dietary needs! 🙂

    Quick question: does the frosting recipe make just the right amount to frost the cupcakes, or is there any extra?

    Reply

  10. Do you think a flax or chia seed “egg” would work instead of the egg replacer? I want to make these ASAP but don’t have egg replacer handy!

    Reply

  14. Bceuase I only eat whole foods I have always used avocado in replacement of oil and “butter” and its suprising well the recipes turn out!
    These little cakes look great!
    I hope you had a wonderful day yesterday, you certainly deserved to be spoilt!
    Lisa x

    Reply

  15. Look amazing! I just tried chocomole recently and it’s safe to say that I’m obsessed.

    Question: You don’t mention the 1/4 C. oil in your instructions, but is it safe to assume that you blend that together with the other wet ingredients?

    Have a great weekend Gena!

    Reply

  16. never tried baking with avocado. these look great. save me a GF one! I really want that book too. love brittany’s blog, a lot of her baked goods are dairy and egg free therefore vegan too.

    Reply

  18. Thanks for the shout out! Those cupcakes are really making me hungry right now…it’s been a while since I’ve made an avocado frosting, and I you just inspired me to make it happen!

    Reply

  19. Hey Gena!!

    I just wanted to let you know that I entered the giveaway by accident because I don’t live in New York 🙁 I commented in that post for other reasons! I’m so embarrassed, it is kind of funny though, Is the first time I’ve ever won anything and it was an accident :/

    Reply

  21. Thanks for posting, yum! One question when you get a minute. Did you mean 3/4 teaspoon or 3/4 Tablespoon of baking powder? (It just says 3/4 baking powder on both recipes). Sorry to bother you w/ such a little thing, but I figure minute amounts of acid are important in baking, and I’d love to make them for my mom’s birthday and not mess them up;)

    Reply

  22. These look to die for! Thanks, Gena. Happy Birthday again =) … also, that is so nice one of your post-bacc friends made that cake for you. It’s beautiful and that’s one of the best gifts you can get!

    Reply

  24. happy belated gena!
    hope it was a good day; that raw cake looks amazing. i admire you so much for this journey of unknowns and uncertainties; you will certainly do amazing things no matter where life takes you.

    Reply

  29. I’ve seen different versions of this before. Considering those are two of my favorite things, I’m placing my order with you now for delivery for my birthday in August 😉

    And Happy Belated Birthday! Welcome to the 30 Club!

    Reply

  32. …just wanted to wish you a Happy belated Birthday. All the very best to you. May all of your wishes come true.

    Reply

  35. Happy B-day!!! (I know..late..) anyhow I hope you had a great time (it seems you did;)…

    Good to know I have a fellow L.O.T.R nerd in you:) So we can bounce quotes back and forth;)

    Super Sunday loving hugs!

    Reply

  37. Hi Gena, I’ve not commented on your blog before but I love getting your emails and your recipes are fantastic and so inspiring, thank you so much 🙂 I really appreciate you posting a GF version of this recipe, but I am highly intolerant of xanthan gum, have you any suggestions for an alternative to the xanthan? Other than the xanthan the cupcakes sound amazing, would love to be able to try this recipe out! 🙂

    Reply

  38. How sweet of your friend to make you a birthday treat! Thanks for the GF book suggestion. I feel like I’ve just mastered vegan baking WITH gluten, and now I’m at a loss for how to handle it gluten-free. I’m excited to delve into the realm of using more whole foods like avocado in my recipes!

    Reply

  39. yay! this is the #1 search on google for ‘avocado cupcakes.’ just the blog/recipe i was looking for, actually 🙂

    Reply

  40. Hi Gena, I think the idea of using avocado in chocolate is marvelous. I made frozen raw desserts using cacao and avocado which had a pretty good shelf-life due to me freezing it. I was wondering how long these cupcakes with the frosting lasted? Thanks! 🙂

    -Jessica

    Reply

  41. Hi, I was wondering if palm sugar or turbinado could be a replacement for coconut crystals/Demerara sugar and also could I replace an egg for the Ener-G egg?
    Thanks! Trying to make these for my daughters 8th birthday!

    Reply

  42. Hi Gena

    The first time I made the chocolate avocado cupcakes they turned out great and my little girl and I loved them. This time I forgot to add the coconut oil. I hope they still turn out they are cooking in the oven at them moment. I am having so many baking flops lately! I think I used a little more than half an avocado so hopefully this helps. Thanks for the recipe.

    Reply

  43. Hi i have made these choc avocado muffins without eggs and they are amazing. My daughter can have bakef eggs now so how many eggs if not using egg replacer? Thank yoi

    Reply

  48. Interesting for me, sounds delicious i might say, i love avocados, but never tried using it like this.

    Reply

  49. I’ve never tried avocado in a baked good before, but if it involves chocolate I’m sure it’s delicious!

    Reply

  52. Still haven’t tried avocados in a dessert. I love them, but still iffy on dessert. Guess I should just bit the bullet and do it. Then again, I can’t stop myself from eating them plain raw.

    Reply

  53. Wow these look unbelievable! I’m such a chocoholic, so I can’t think of anything better than snacking on some of these – and the frosting sounds divine! I love that you used avocados! Mmm!!

    Reply

  55. I put one or one and a half eggs in as my child is having egg in baked goods to outgrow egg allergy and she loves this recipe. But before I used to use No Egg egg replacer as we are in Australia.

    Reply

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