Our Guest Bloger Whips Up Avocado Cupcakes

Our Guest Bloger Whips Up Avocado Cupcakes

We here at Choicelunch were lucky enough to have a fabulous Registered Dietician intern for a few short weeks. Vanessa Burman was wonderful, and proved that the “young blood” coming into the field has the goods to help our kids eat better, without sacrificing the taste of the things they love. Vanessa misses us so much (and we miss her!) she wrote a blog posting for you cupcake fans our there:

I’m soon to be a credentialed Registered Dietitian. You might assume that I’m one of the healthiest eaters on the planet because my career is centered around food – what to eat, how to eat, etc. And yes, I am a good eater. I love fruits, veggies, and whole grains. But, I have a weakness. I’m all about having my cake… and eating it too. Which is why I dabble in what I like to call “alternative baking”. It’s my way to enjoy a treat, and to prove that a dessert doesn’t have to be laden with cream, butter, or saturated fat to taste good. And it doesn’t have to come processed and full of unnecessary ingredients.

During college at San Diego State University, we were assigned a group project to practice developing a recipe. I’ve always been a baker, so this project seemed like it would be more super fun. My group members and I decided to make a completely “top allergen free” brownie bite. That’s right – no milk, no wheat or gluten, no soy, no eggs, no nuts, no fish… you get the idea. Our target audience were kids who have allergies and can’t eat many of the pre-packaged desserts found in a typical grocery store.

You might be wondering if we didn’t put any of those “top allergen” foods (commonly found in many baked goods – okay, maybe not fish) into our brownie bite, what did we use? To name a few – brown rice flour, quinoa flour, sugar, cocoa powder, applesauce, and avocado. The applesauce takes the place of any oil you might use in a normal brownie, and avocado magically works as a substitution for butter. It was definitely a challenge. We tried batch after batch…after batch. Finally, we had something that resembled a brownie bite, and almost tasted like one.

In retrospect, my group bit off more than we could chew. It is VERY difficult to make a completely “top allergen free” baked-good. Despite our failed product, the project inspired me to continue baking. I’ve found that you CAN make baked goods using substitutions like avocado in place of butter or oil. It’s a great way to cut down on total fat and saturated fat, and pack in some nutrients while you’re at it!

I tried a particular recipe a few months ago that I found on the internet (yes, I decided to let someone else do the recipe development this time). I am still in love with this recipe. Glazed-Chocolate Avocado Cupcakes. The awesome thing about these cupcakes is that they are vegan (if that matters to you), so they can please most crowds. They are NOT, unfortunately, all allergen free. They do have wheat/gluten and soy in them. For this recipe, the avocado takes the place of the eggs and most of the oil. They come out amazingly moist. They taste so good, my friends had no idea that they had avocado in them, or that they were considered vegan. They are to die for!

Glazed-Chocolate Avocado Cupcakes

Recipe from Vegetarian Times

For Cupcakes
1½ cups all-purpose flour
¾ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp. baking powder
¾ tsp. baking soda
¾ tsp. salt
1 avocado, pitted and peeled
1 cup pure maple syrup
¾ cup plain soymilk
¹/3 cup canola oil
2 tsp. vanilla extract

For Glaze
¼ block soft silken tofu (from 14-oz. container), drained and patted dry
3 Tbs. pure maple syrup
½ tsp. vanilla extract
¹/8 tsp. salt
4 oz. semisweet vegan chocolate, melted

Directions
1. To make Cupcakes: Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 12-cup muffin pan with paper liners. Whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in bowl. Purée avocado in food processor until smooth. Add maple syrup, soymilk, oil, and vanilla, and blend until creamy. Whisk avocado mixture into flour mixture.
2. Spoon batter into prepared cupcake cups. Bake 25 minutes, or until toothpick inserted into center comes out with some crumbs attached. Cool.
3. To make Glaze: Blend tofu, maple syrup, vanilla, and salt in food processor until smooth. Add chocolate to tofu mixture and blend until smooth. Transfer to bowl. Dip tops of Cupcakes into Glaze, pulling straight up from Glaze to form peaks.