Chocolate Cupcakes with Whipped Almond Butter
Every week, Yahoo Food spotlights a cookbook that stands out from all the rest. The week’s cookbook is Cook. Nourish. Glow. 120 Recipes That Will Help You Lose Weight, Look Younger, and Feel Healthier by Amelia Freer (Harper Wave), a nutritional therapist and author of the bestselling book, Eat. Nourish. Glow. Read more about Yahoo Food’s Cookbook of the Week here.
Photograph by Susan Bell
By Amelia Freer
Chocolate Cupcakes with Whipped Almond Butter and Chia Seed Jam
Makes approximately 6 cupcakes
Everybody seems to love a cupcake so I thought I should include a recipe, but these are less sweet, very much lighter and oh so much more nutritious — a clean version of a dirty old classic.
For the chia seed jam:
1 cup raspberries or strawberries
2 ½ tablespoons chia seeds
For the cupcakes:
½ cup coconut flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
A pinch of vanilla powder or teaspoon of vanilla extract
2 tablespoons organic dark cocoa powder
2 tablespoons melted coconut oil
2 eggs, preferably free-range or organic
3 tablespoons agave syrup or coconut blossom nectar
1⁄3 cup coconut milk
For the whipped almond butter:
1⁄3 cup almond butter
2 tablespoons maple syrup
1 ½ tablespoons coconut cream
First, make the chia seed jam. Pulse the berries and chia seeds in a blender, and put into a bowl to rest in the fridge for a minimum of 2 hours.
Preheat the oven to 400◦ F. Line a cupcake tray with 6 paper liners.
Mix together the dry cake ingredients. Add the coconut oil, eggs, and syrup, and mix well with a wooden spoon. Slowly add the coconut milk, stirring continuously, until you get a smooth, fairly runny batter.
Pour the batter into the paper liners and bake in the oven for 18 to 20 minutes, or until a wooden skewer comes out clean when inserted into the middle of a cupcake. Remove the cakes from the tray and leave to cool on a wire rack.
When the cakes cool, make the topping. Put the almond butter into a large bowl, and begin to whip with a fork. Add the maple syrup and mix well. Then use a handheld mixer to whip the butter as you slowly add the coconut cream. The mixture should become light and fluffy. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
To assemble, cut a small, shallow hole out of the top of each cupcake and fill with the chia seed jam. Top with the whipped almond butter and serve immediately.
Reprinted with permission from Cook. Nourish. Glow. 120 Recipes That Will Help You Lose Weight, Look Younger, and Feel Healthier by Amelia Freer (Harper Wave).
More healthy recipes to make at home:
Gnocchi with Squash and Kale from ‘The Best and Lightest’
Gluten-Free Seeded Bread from ‘At My Table’
Spicy Stir-Fried Bok Choy and Shiitakes from ‘Paleo Perfected’
