Devil's Food Cupcakes (Practically Raw)

Week two of Vegan MoFo has been more relaxed for me than week one was! Phew! How are you holding up, if you're participating? Keeping the cooking quick and simple instead of trying to make very complex dishes sure helps a lot. Today I'm bringing you something I didn't have to "cook" at all - it's Chef Amber Shea's (Practically Raw) Devil's Food Cupcakes!

(Practically Raw) Devil’s Food Cupcakes

How cute are these little devils?! I love them! These are from Amber's latest cookbook, Practically Raw Desserts, but fear not if you don't own a copy yet, because you can find the recipe here. I halved the recipe and ended up with twelve mini cupcakes. The ingredients are super simple and the instructions are very easy to follow! The "cake" consists basically of cocoa/cacao powder and almond and coconut flours, mixed with applesauce, sweetener, and flavorings, and the avocado-based frosting calls for little more than sweetener and cocoa. My cupcakes and frosting were flavored with almond extract because, well, it's me and I put almond extract in everything. My frosting didn't want to be very firm, so I added a couple of big pinches of coconut flour to show it who's the boss around here. That did it.




My taste buds were not sure about these at first. They thought "oh no, I can taste the applesauce", but after the third or fourth bite they thought "hey, I can taste the applesauce and it's yummy!" I've eaten four today already, so my taste buds are now officially fans of the applesauce + chocolate combo. The texture of the cake is really nice, and the frosting is smooth and creamy. If I had to describe the texture in a sentence, I would tell you that they are like naked cake truffles that are wearing nothing but a chocolate frosting hat. Let me take a bite and show you what they look like in there...

(Practically Raw) Devil’s Food Cupcakes

They are fabulous! Thank you for sharing the recipe, Amber! Today's cute creature is an elk we saw at Yellowstone National Park earlier this year. Just chilling in the water, doing elk stuff.

Elk at Yellowstone National Park

Vegan MoFo

Comments

  1. I think I need to break out this book because I definitely need to make some of these -- they look SO good!

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    1. I think you do definitely need to make some! :)

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  2. "...they are like naked cake truffles that are wearing nothing but a chocolate frosting hat." That seals the deal for me. Sign me up!

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    1. Ha! I knew that line would convince someone to try them! :D

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  3. Thank you for the reminder. I NEED to make these. Amber makes incredible recipes.

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    1. She does indeed! I have never met one of Amber's recipes that I did not like.

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  4. Another book that I obviously need. The baby cupcakes look just like ... like cupcakes! The outside and the inside look like baked cupcakes. I like raw cake and I want these.

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    1. I know! The texture is really nice and cakey. I'm not a big fan of date-based raw cakes and cookies and crusts, but this is a date-free recipe and it has a lovely texture. Dates are yummy though - I'm not hating on dates! :)

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  5. I have been so into coconut flour in the last 5-6 months. The texture is out of this world, when it is used right. These look perfect!

    I miss the west....I used to see elk regularly. But, now I get to see water everyday, so I guess that's my tradeoff.

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    1. Exactly! I think the coconut flour is what makes these so cakey. They would make awesome chocolate covered cake truffles too!

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  6. Yay, thanks River! So glad your taste buds jumped on board. :) Enjoy!

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    1. Yep. It didn't take them long! Thanks for sharing! :)

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  7. I've never been the biggest fan of raw desserts, but those are so cute and chocolatey looking!

    And hey there elk! Great shot!

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    1. They are adorable and delicious! I usually prefer cooked desserts over raw too, but these cuties are the exception.

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  8. I can't believe you saw so many animals in Yellowstone! My husband and I were there in August, on a total wildlife chase, and barely got past the bison, elk, and chipmunks (squirrels?). Jealous!

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    1. We have seen bears and moose too! But don't be too jealous, because the last couple of times we were there we didn't see much more than a heard of buffalo and a handful of elks. We've been there several times, and the first couple of times we were there were the best. A couple of years ago I was so desperate to take pictures of the missing wildlife that I took pictures of an ant colony! An ant hole! :D

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  9. These look tasty! I haven't tried a "raw" cake recipe yet, these might become my first.

    That elk is totally chill and gorgeous :-)

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    1. This was my first raw cake! I liked that the ingredients were already in my pantry or fridge and it didn't require any fancy equipment. I hope you like them too if you try them, Elise!

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