Confronting the Cupcake

“Don’t hang out down there.”

I heard or “heard” it in a yoga practice. Either the instructor said it or that little voice to which it would behoove me to pay more attention said it in my head. Don’t hang out for longer than necessary in a position. Otherwise we risk injury and our energy becomes stagnant.

Dread, a heavier cousin of fear, comes with hanging out too long in one place. It’s some kind of anticipatory or constant fear of the unknown, an emotional inertia that must be overcome in order for change to happen. Go on, say it out loud with me.

DREAD.

Hear its heavy tread.

Change is going to happen only so long as it takes. However, if we’re moving—physically, spiritually, mentally—and doing things with our heads, hearts, and hands, then we can change our perception of how time moves.

Do you like the use of first-person plural or do you not like to be incriminated?

Lately, it’s been a big deal in the health and wellness blogosphere that we’re all unique, and comparing ourselves to others for degree to which one is “high raw vegan,” losing weight, or training for a marathon will only cause suffering.  No shit. You are your own best barometer of your various practices and goals.

That being said, don’t compare these cupcakes. Forget what you’ve known of the “vegan chocolate avocado cupcake” and approach these tender cuppycakes with a beginner’s mind. There are no avocado chunks, or lingering “off” taste here. How, Q, do you do that?

Two things:

Vitamix

and white chocolate chips.

The Vitamix ensures complete obliteration of the avocado and the white chocolate chips distract the palate from searching for any strangeness.

And for the love of Peter Murphy, these are not called “Glazed Chocolate-Avocado Cupcakes” as the Vegetarian Times source recipe is called. That just sounds like a recipe for ewww. They are “Chocolate Cupcakes with White Chocolate Chips” that just happen to contain avocado.  Also for the love of Rozz Williams, do not use chickpea flour otherwise they will taste like plastic.

Chocolate Cupcakes with White Chocolate Chips

Vegetarian Times,“Glazed Chocolate-Avocado Cupcakes,” in Everything Vegan (Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.: 2011) 286.

1/2 cup sorghum flour

1 cup King Arthur Flour Ancient Grains flour blend

1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum

3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

dash cinnamon

1 teaspoon baking powder

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt

1 cup avocado flesh

1/2 cup agave nectar (this is for Q-sweetness; I recommend 1/2 cup agave and 1/4 cup maple syrup for all others and decreasing the non-dairy milk to 1/2 cup)

3/4 cup non-dairy milk (I used unsweetened vanilla almond)

2 tablespoons canola oil

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 cup vegan white chocolate chips (or regular chocolate chips; this recipe was my “let’s use up vegan specialty items” recipe)

Topping:

1 cup ricemellow crème (or chocolate ganache or whatever suits your fancy)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and paper a 12-well cupcake pan.

In a large bowl, sift then whisk together flours, xanthan gum, cinnamon, cocoa, leavening, and salt.

In a blender or food processor, blitz the avocado, liquid sweetener of your choice, non-dairy milk, oil, and vanilla until completely uniform. I mean, blend the bejeebees out of it.

Add the wet to the dry and mix well.  Fold in the chips. The batter will be thick. Dollop it in the cupcake pan (you can fill the wells pretty much to the top). Bake for 25-27 minutes or until a tester inserted in the centre comes out clean and they spring back to the touch. Cool in the pan for 5 minutes before removing to a rack to cool completely. Frost with frosting of your choice when completely cool.

I used my leftover avocado in a fondant, aka: souffle. Recipe available on request.