Food plays a huge role in nourishment of the soul. When we restrict ourselves, we are bound to feel deprived, then often break away from our “healthy” habits to seek the satisfaction that we were missing. Nobody is “perfect,” and there is no single “right” way for everyone to eat. My mother eats chocolate every morning to start her day on a happy note. Spencer looks forward to all-you-can-eat chicken wings one night a week because he enjoys them. I love ANYTHING involving chocolate, and satisfy the craving each and every day. These food decisions not only allow us to better maintain healthy habits, they also provide us with a more consistent states of happiness. What’s better than that?
Now, onto the recipe that sparked those thoughts.
Fudgy chocolate cake with rich and creamy frosting is undoubtedly my favorite dessert, so days like today are pretty special. These particular cupcakes happen to be gluten-free, nut-free, refined sugar-free, and vegan, but I swear you would never know. They don’t rise very much due to the more nutritiously dense oat flour used, but the texture is simply wonderful, similar to that of a deliciously rich brownie. As for the flavor- this is a close your eyes and savor every bite kind of taste. Let’s just say my soul was very content today.
- 1 1/4 cups oat flour
- 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa or cacao powder
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup coconut oil, melted
- 1 cup coconut sugar (or sugar of choice)
- 1 flax egg (1 tbsp ground flaxseed mixed with 3 tbsp water)
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 3/4 cup boiling water
- 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips mixed with 1 tbsp oat flour, optional
- 1/2 cup palm shortening (I used Spectrum brand)
- 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa or cacao powder
- 3/4 cup maple syrup or honey
- 1 tsp vanilla
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 12 cup muffin pan with cupcake liners and spray lightly with cooking spray.
- Stir together the oat flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a small mixing bowl.
- In a large mixing bowl, mix together the oil, sugar, flax egg and vanilla. Slowly mix in the dry ingredients. Gently stir in the boiling water, then beat until smooth. Allow the batter to sit for a few minutes.
- Pour the batter into the lined cupcake pan using roughly 1/4 cup batter for each cupcake. Sprinkle a few of the semisweet chocolate chips into each cupcake, if desired. Bake 18-20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean. Cool cupcakes for a few minutes in the pan, then remove them to sit on a wire rack.
- For the frosting, beat the shortening with an electric mixer until smooth and fluffy. Gently beat in the cocoa, then gradually add in the syrup and vanilla.
- Frost the cupcakes, garnish if desired, marvel at how lovely they look, and dig in!
- These brownie-textured cakes taste even better the day after baking, so they are a wonderful make-ahead dessert option!
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