Recipe: Chocolate Zucchini Cupcakes with Avocado Frosting!

The great thing about baking with zucchini (much like carrots) is that you can’t taste it and it is a good way to get children to eat their greens. I substituted the flour and sugar with coconut flour and coconut sugar – great healthy alternatives which give the cupcakes a lovely coconut flavour. You could experiment with chickpea flour or rice flour too.

I would also suggest keeping these cupcakes in your fridge since you are using avocado OR keep the avocado frosting in a bowl covered in the fridge and put on top of your cupcakes when ready to eat!

Chocolate Zucchini Cupcakes with Avocado Frosting

Ingredients

Cupcake

• 2 cups shredded zucchini
• 3 eggs
• 3/4 cup coconut sugar (or ½ cup honey)
• 1/4 cup creamed honey
• 3/4 cup plain Greek yogurt
• 2 tsp. vanilla
• 1 cup coconut flour
• 1 cup regular flour
• 2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. sea salt

Icing

• 2 avocados, mashed
• 1/2 cup cocoa powder
• 1/2 cup creamed honey
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla

Method

1. Preheat oven to 160 degrees C.
2. In a large bowl, mix together shredded zucchini, eggs, sugar, honey, yogurt and vanilla; set aside.
3. In a separate bowl, mix together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Add dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until just combined.
4. Spoon mixture into 24 prepared muffin cups, about 3/4th full, and bake for about 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Set aside and allow to cool completely before adding the frosting. (We used mini cupcake holders in the pictures and baked for 7 minutes).
5. To make the Avocado Frosting: In a blender or using a hand mixer, mix together the mashed avocados, cocoa powder, honey and vanilla until smooth. Let sit in the fridge until cupcakes are cool and frosting is stiff – enjoy!

Any leftover frosting?

The leftover avocado, honey and cocoa frosting make a great face mask and leave your skin nice and soft!

-Avocados are filled with Vitamin A which help purge off dead skin cells and the glutamine amino acid cleanses the skin. Avocado oil is also great for nourishing and softening the skin.

-Honey is antibacterial and full of antioxidants. It is also extremely moisturizing and soothing.

-Cocoa is one of my favourite ingredients of any face mask. It is rich in antioxidants that may help clear out toxins in the skin. It also leaves your skin feeling nice and firm!

Breakdown of ingredients:

Zucchini: Low calorie vegetable and a good source of protein and fibre. Contains many vitamins and minerals such as Vitamin C, A, Magnesium, Folate, Potassium and Manganese.

Avocados: A great alternative to cream, as it does not have much of its own flavour and has a lovely creamy texture. It is a high fat vegetable; but these good fats contain phytosterols, polyhydroxylated fatty alcohols (PFAs) and oleic acid which have anti-inflammatory properties and good for heart health.

Coconut flour: Gluten-free flour that is high in dietary fibre and medium chain triglycerides. Health benefits include cholesterol maintenance, weight management and a boosted immune system. Many of these can be attributed to the presence of lauric acid, capric acid and caprylic acid which are antimicrobial, anti-fungal and antibacterial.

Coconut sugar: A low GI natural alternative to white sugar. It is also lower in fructose.

Honey: Honey is another good alternative to sugar in baking recipes with many health benefits.