Scrumptious Reads

Who doesn’t like cupcakes – those petit, individualised cakes you can enjoy with a hot cup of tea or coffee, and devour in two bites or savour with little nibbles? We don’t care that they’re so two-seasons-ago among trendy foodies. We still relish peeling back their paper or foil wrappers and sinking our teeth into their spongy and moist goodness. Now that the days are getting a bit cooler, we crave some of the tastes and smells that go along with autumn. Of course, chocolate remains a perennial favourite, but we also like to use in-season ingredients, when possible. So here is a recipe for scrumptious chocolate-avocado vegetarian cupcakes (makes 12). The creaminess of the avocado adds a wonderful texture to the cake.

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

Preheat oven to 180°C.
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.
Spoon batter into prepared cupcake cups.
Bake 25 minutes, or until toothpick inserted into centre comes out with some crumbs attached. Allow to cool before icing.

For the icing you’ll need:
100 g soft silken tofu, drained and patted dry
3 tbsp pure maple syrup
½ tsp vanilla extract
1/8 tsp salt
115 g semisweet vegan chocolate, melted

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.

Below are even more scrumptious autumn cupcake recipes.

Brown Sugar and Butterbeer
Harry Potter loved his butterbeer and you will enjoy these butterscotch flavoured cupcakes.

Carrot with Maple Cream Cheese
Real maple syrup is essential for this recipe.

Cranberry Chai
The tart cranberries pair perfectly with the warm chai spices.

Pumpkin Spice with Cream Cheese
The pumpkin in this recipe makes this cupcake rich and moist.

Snowy Chocolate
Shaved coconut tops these decadent chocolate cupcakes.

* Chocolate-avocado recipe adapted from Vegetarian Times. Additional recipes first seen on foodista.