Mint Chocolate Pudding Cupcakes

So, here is an ethical dilemma for you: is it ok to have your roommate's boyfriend lie to her and tell her that there are puppies at his place to buy you time to finish baking her birthday cupcakes? I weighed my options carefully, and decided that there are worse things than imaginary puppies. Like, for example, not having cupcakes.

I love baking birthday treats, but for the most part I refuse to buy butter or refined sugar, which makes baking a little difficult. Thankfully, I found this decadent, delicious, and deceptive chocolate cake recipe which is dairy-free, refined sugar-free, flourless and full of vegan protein. And rich and moist. And, now, minty and covered in smooth, soft, rich, deeply chocolatey pudding frosting.

She forgave me for the puppy ruse, if you were wondering.


I found this recipe at Nutritionist in the Kitch. There are quite a few recipes out there using different types of beans to replace flour in cakes, but I liked this one because it did not use any butter or regular sugar, and because I have an extensive store of chickpeas in my freezer. Yes, chickpeas. In cupcakes. Trust me on this one.

I halved the recipe,
upped the mint, and piled some pudding on top. Yum.

Recipe makes 6-8 cupcakes.

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup chickpeas
• 1/3 cup orange juice
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 cup agave nectar
• 1/3 cup cocoa powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon mint extract
• pudding frosting (recipe below)

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350˚ F.
2. Blend chickpeas and orange juice.
3. Add eggs one at a time, blending in between.
4. Add remaining ingredients and blend. Honestly, I usually taste the batter at this point because I am STILL skeptical about the whole chickpeas-in-case thing. Even though it works every time.
5. Line muffin tray and fill each liner around 3/4 full.
6. Bake for 20 minutes, until a fork comes out clean.

Note: These cupcakes are much more versatile without the mint extract. I have made them without the mint and topped with coconut whipped cream and flaked coconut and strawberries - that may have been even more delicious, though less intensely chocolatey.

The pudding frosting was a bit more of an experiment, so I am hesitant to put exact measurements. The basic ingredients are soft silken tofu, some form of chocolate, and some form of sweetener.

I melted 1/3 cup of cocoa powder with 1/4 cup of orange juice and poured the mixture, one package of silken tofu (300g), and 1/8 cup of agave nectar into the blender and mixed them. I added a dash of almond extract and two dashes of mint extract, and then kept pouring in cocoa powder (probably 1/4 cup) until the mixture became thicker. The juice cut down on the need for sweetener and added a fruity dimension, but you could use more sweetener instead. This mixture thickened somewhat overnight in the fridge, so leave it a little thinner than you want.

In the interest of making these fun-looking, I used whatever supplies I found in our cupboard, completely abandoning my philosophy of only using real ingredients.... But I was pretty close.

Now, I have a question... What do you use for sugar? I try to use a more whole, less processed sugar alternative when necessary - but, sugar is sugar. I have heard many mixed opinions about whether agave nectar is better or worse for you than refined cane sugar, or is any different at all. I try to use fruit to sweeten when possible, but sometimes recipes need a bit more than that. Honey, maple syrup, and agave nectar are what I use in those situations. What is your favourite sweetener?

I am submitting this recipe to the Bookmarked Recipes Roundup hosted by Jacqueline from Tinned Tomatoes.