Ingredients
Cupcakes
2 cups cooked quinoa
1/3 cup unsweetened coconut milk (so delicious, silk, califia)
4 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup vegan butter melted
1/4 cup coconut oil melted
1 cup coconut sugar
1 cup cacao powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
pinch of salt
Frosting
1 can full fat coconut milk (refrigerated over night or several hours)
10 ounces semi sweet chocolate chips
Instructions
Cupcakes
Preheat oven to 350* line muffin tins with parchment cups, give a spray with oil.
In a blender combine eggs, coconut milk (not the canned one) vanilla. Blend for 30 or 40 seconds. Add the cooked and cooled quinoa, with the melted vegan butter and coconut oil. Blend until smooth. In a small bowl combine the cacao, sugar, baking powder, soda and salt, give a stir. Add the dry ingredients into the blender and blend for a minute until well combined. You may need to use a spatula to scrape down the sides of the blender and give another few pulses. Pour into the prepare muffin tin. Bake at 350* for 18 – 20 minutes until set.
Frosting
Open the coconut milk from the refrigerator, do not shake or turn upside down please! Scoop out the solid part that is at the top of the can. Place in a medium size sauce pan, add the chocolate chips and over a low heat melt the chocolate. Stir until chocolate is melted and coconut milk is well combined. Whisk until smooth. Place in a bowl and let cool on the counter 15 – 20 minutes and then cover and place in the refrigerator. Allow to fully cool and thicken in the refrigerator a few hours.
Remove the chocolate icing from the refrigerator, and using a hand mixer or kitchen aid with whisk attachment. Beat on high for a minute until light a fluffy. I usually have an extra can of the coconut milk in the refrigerator, I will open and add a few spoonfuls of the separated coconut cream at the top of the can into the frosting, just to make the color a little lighter then the cup cake. Thats just me, you do not have to do this.
Place the frosting into a heavy duty zip lock bag, snip the tip and pipe the frosting onto the cupcake. If you have decorative sprinkles to use, sprinkle at this time. Refrigerate until ready to serve. The frosting will get melty if left out at room temperature.
Notes
For those of you who took my tiramisu class and purchased the coffee extract. I put 1 teaspoon of coffee extract in the cake and the frosting. Really Great!
You could also add the zest of one orange into the cake batter….. and a little zest into the frosting.