Coconut Flour Chocolate Cupcakes with Avocado- Chocolate Frosting
Carb/ Sugar/ Gluten Free. Vegan optional. Paleo
30 minutes
Recipe:
Makes 24 mini muffins/cupcakes (using wilton's mini muffin pan)
Preheat oven to 180degc.
For the cake:
Ingredients (dry):
1/2 cup coconut flour
1/4 cup unsweetened cacao powder
1/2 tsp baking powder
Pinch of salt
Ingredients (wet):
3 eggs/ flax eggs
1/8 cup honey/ maple syrup
1/8 cup coconut oil
1 tsp vanilla essence
Combine all dry ingredients together. Whisk eggs then combine all wet ingredients. Whisk together till cake batter is formed. Coconut flour is very fibrous and absorbs A LOT of water so if after machine whisking the batter looks like cake crumbs, add in 1/2 cup water and whisk again still smooth.
Spoon/ pipe into mini muffin tin. Place in oven for 10 min or till bamboo skewer comes out clean.
Remove from tin and leave to cool.
For the frosting:
1 avocado
6 pitted dates
1/4 cup unsweetened cacao powder.
Blend together till a smooth paste forms. Fill piping bag and to decorate muffins/ cupcakes.
*Note: I use coconut flour/oil because it is more nutritious than normal flour/ oil. It also does not act like a carb so it's great for people who are gluten/ sugar sensitive or on a low carb diet. Because of the high fiber content of coconut flour, you can taste the bits of fiber in the cupcake :) I like it though, makes me happy thinking of all the added fiber I'm getting . And fiber is vitally important to me to stabilize my blood sugar levels to prevent binges. Also uhm, if you are suffering from constipation, the combination of coconut flour and coconut oil would soon set things in uhm, motion for you again. ;)
Today was one of those days. Too much work and too little time Everybody laying their demands on you and insisting that you get things done because their arms were being twisted too by somebody higher up. I've learnt that I cannot lie life dictate my mood. That just because life is tough, does not mean that my mood has to sour. That just because I'm going through a rough patch, does not mean I have to go through it unhappily. No matter how tough life gets, no matter how much work there is to be done, there will always be something beautiful- people and things worth being grateful for and cherishing.
So it took me by surprise when last night I was besieged (no other word for the moment) by a terrible urge to binge. And it wasn't just a usual binge. I was craving cupcakes. Nutella, chocolate cupcakes. In the middle of the night, I lay in bed mentally sashaying down the mall's corridor at Bugis to lay my hands on ALL TWELVE of Twelve Cupcakes. Did I even like cupcakes? Not really. But last night I couldn't stop thinking of them. I wanted to chomp down on not one, but all twelve different flavours. I am ashamed to say I almost planned to hurry down the next day when the shop opened to buy a large box and hurry home to devour them, maybe together with a McDonalds meal. I envisioned the first bite- soft cupcake meeting lusciously creamy frosting. Chocolate. It had to be chocolate and I wanted nothing else. I didn't even want to stop the urge. I knew the influx of refined sugar would be too much for me to handle and it would cause me to binge after but I just wanted it so badly, so irrationally.
Unfortunately, when I woke up this morning, the urge had not in the least bit subsided. I wanted chocolate. And I wanted it now. And it couldn't just be any chocolate. I wanted it with a cake like texture drowned in the fudgiest, creamiest, thickest chocolate ever. I wanted to drown in sugar, health be damned.
But I have come far enough in my journey to know that that one irrational action would scar me and it would take too long to heal. Everything I had worked so hard for would be for nought if I gave in to that urge. I had to compartmentalize and work through the urge. Craving chocolate or anything wasn't the issue per se. Were there healthier ways to do it? I knew from experience that when a binge urge arises, it's usually from boredom or stress or my body crying out for nutrition. I knew that I had to give myself fiber and nutrition. (It always works, trust me) Usually I eat an apple. But today, I wanted chocolate and nothing else would do. So I ran into the kitchen, opened doors and slammed drawers and dumped a concoction of things into a bowl and mixed it all together in a mindless frenzy I am not proud of.
But 15 min later and the smell of chocolate wafted into the air and I cautiously peeked into the oven and there they were. Gorgeous, moist and so small, perfectly sized. I gingerly poked a bamboo skewer into one. It came out dry, ready. I blended, frosted and there it was, ready to be eaten. I devoured the first one still hot from the oven, and another, my mind easing at the fact that I could eat ALL of them and it wouldn't be a problem because all of these were perfectly healthy and actually good for me.
But the strange thing was, I was satisfied after just 3 mini ones (they were no bigger than a 50cent coin).(The fiber and lack of refined sugar + nutrients really help curb binges, trust me!!)
I smiled to myself. Happy. Happy that I've come far enough to deal with my urges, happy that I now know to not let circumstances affect my mood and could keep my mind on what's important- my health. But mostly happy that there I was, licking the last of the creamy luscious chocolate frosting from my fingers and experiencing no more urge to binge after, no self hate. :)
The next time you are craving something horribly sugary and unhealthy, I hope these little babies - totally sugar free, vegan, carb free, paleo coconut flour chocolate muffins/ cupcakes with an lusciously creamy avocado-chocolate frosting packed with loads of nutrition save you as well.
No. I hope you know that you have the power to save yourself as well and you can have your cake and eat it too.
Enjoy :)
In health and happiness
xoxo.
