Raw Double Chocolate Cupcakes with Chocolate Center

If you bake regular chocolate box cake and crumble up the cake and put it in a bowl, you will get my raw chocolate cake consistency. These cupcakes are so much like the "real" baked thing that it will be hard to resist them even if you're a non vegan who is opposed to any vegan baked goods. By the way, it drives me nuts when non vegans put their nose up to vegan food simply because they have't tried it, but that is a separate blog post! 

Anyway, these cupcakes are made with nuts and fruit and that's it, no added sugar (not even coconut sugar), no processed ingredients, just wholesome goodness. These are super rich so if you are not going to consume them right away or are eating a cupcake once a week, freeze them. Natural ingredients don't last as long as processed ones. I can't say I have had a huge sweet tooth while eating raw the last week because all I eat is fruit and that is sweet enough but if you need a dessert or just need to eat what you see in the bakery window, make these. Bring these to a party, give one to your best friend, everyone will love them. And you won't be giving the gift of a sugar rush. Shall we get down to it then? These are fun to make, messy but fun. Grab your awesome food processor and have at it.

Cake ingredients:

1 3/4 cups of raw walnuts

3 tbsp of raw cacao or carob powder

5-6 pitted medjool dates

Turn your food processor on high and keep it there while everything blends. The cake will be crumbly, slightly oily from the walnuts but not super sticky. The goal is to have crumbly cake, not a super sticky mixture that we make for pie crusts. So, start with 5 or 6 medjool dates and taste your cake, if you need more sweetness, add another date but too many dates will make the cake too sticky. Transfer the cake to another dish to free up your food processor so that you can make the icing. The chocolate icing recipe is a variation of my chocolate pudding recipe

Chocolate icing recipe:

1 ripe avocado

4 tbsp of raw cacao powder

7-8 pitted medjool dates

2 tsp of vanilla extract 

Process on high, don't add any liquids, you want a thick icing. Taste and add another date or two if you need more sweetness. The icing will be super thick and a very dark chocolate.

Line a cupcake pan with cupcake paper (just to make the cupcake shape, we are NOT baking). Scoop out some of the chocolate cake and press into one of the cupcake shapes. Fill the cupcake shape halfway with cake then add a tiny bit of the icing on top of the cake. Continue adding cake on top of the icing. Press the cake along the side of the icing then on top so that the icing doesn't squish out. You are making the chocolate center. When the cake reaches the top of the cupcake paper, you are done adding cake; ice the cupcake. Keep pressing the chocolate cake into each of the cupcake shapes in the pan until all the cake is gone.

You can make chocolate centers for all the cupcakes or just a couple. If you are skipping the chocolate center, press the chocolate cake into the cupcake pan and skip the icing part. Press the chocolate cake into the cupcake paper until it reaches the top of the paper; then ice the cupcake. So easy, right?! Freeze or refrigerate these babies and whip them out for company or just when you're having a sweet craving. It's harder to feel guilty when your cupcake is made from all natural ingredients. The only reason you would not want to eat a ton of these is a) they do have fat in them from the walnuts and even good fat is only good in moderation and b) even if ingredients are whole, they still have calories and if you're trying lose to weight, you cannot eat unlimited anything.

But don't these make you wish you could eat unlimited anything?!! Love my recipes and want them to go right to your inbox? Click here