My birthday was yesterday and it was a big one – 60! In celebration, I started looking for a chocolate cupcake recipe that was delicious, vegan and one the grandkids would love.
Nailed it.
My 1 year old, 3 year old and 8 year old grandchildren all loved the recipe. The 3 year old said to me: “you make the best cupcakes ever”.
Even though the recipe has no sugar, even my 85 year old sugar-loving mother loved them.
Oh, and Gayle and I thought it was to die for, too.
This recipe has no sugar, no dairy, no eggs, no oil and I used whole wheat flour.
Who knew leaving out those ingredients could still make such amazing, yummy tasting cupcakes. But, it does.
This recipe is perfect for birthdays, holiday gatherings or to take to your next family potluck.
Hope you enjoy the recipe. If you give it a try, let me know.
Chocolate Vegan Cupcakes
These cupcakes are perfect for birthdays and holiday gatherings. They are sugar free, oil free and dairy free. They could even be made gluten free, if you choose to make a flour change.
Ingredients
Cupcakes
2 cups organic whole wheat flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 cup unsweetened organic cacao powder (or use cocoa powder)
1 cup date paste
3/4 cup organic unsweetened applesauce
1-1/4 cup plant milk
2 tsp vanilla
1 Tbs apple cider vinegar
- Frosting
1 cup cooked sweet potato, peeled
1/2 cup almond butter
3/4 cup pitted dates
1/4 cup plant milk
1/2 cup cacao powder (or use cocoa powder)
1/4 tsp sea salt
1 Tbs vanilla
Directions
Cake
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and make the date paste.
- To make date paste, add 1 cup pitted dates and 3/4 cup of water to a blender or food processor and blend well.
- Place all the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cacao powder) in a medium mixing bowl and whisk together well.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine all the wet ingredients (applesauce, plant milk, vanilla, date paste and vinegar) and whisk together thoroughly.
- Pour dry ingredients slowly into the large bowl with the wet ingredients and mix together well.
- Pour the cake batter into silicone muffin pan, or line regular muffin pan with paper muffin cups.
- Bake for 20 – 25 minutes. Oven temps vary, so start checking at 20 minutes. Test for doneness by inserting a toothpick into the center point. If it comes out clean, the cupcakes are done.
- Once done, remove from oven and allow them to cool before frosting.
- Frosting
- Bake sweet potato in oven at 475 degrees for 1 hour.
- Once it is done, remove the peeling and use the potato flesh for the recipe.
- Place all the frosting ingredients, including the baked sweet potato, in a blender or food processor and mix until smooth.
- When the cupcakes have cooled down, frost and serve.
Notes
- This recipe was only slightly modified from the original recipe found at eatplant-based.com.
- You can use either Cacao powder or Cocoa powder. I prefer the richer chocolate flavor of Cacao powder over cocoa powder but some may prefer the milder cocoa powder taste. I have also done half cocoa powder and half cacao powder, too, and that turns out great. Experiment and you will find the right choice for your taste. All of them will be amazing.
- Date Paste: in this recipe, I used 1 cup of dates and 3/4 cup of water. But, I have also made date paste with 1 cup of dates and 1 cup of water, and 1 cup of dates and 2/3 cup of water. Experiment and discover which works best for you and your recipes.
