Housewarming Bakeathon: Chocolate Avocado Cupcakes

Photo courtesy of Matt Garza

I've been looking for an excuse to make these odd cupcakes for a while now. I was instantly intrigued by the use of everyone's favorite guacamole precursor- the avocado. My curiosity was further peaked after a trip to the always fantastic (and now practically in my backyard) Cafe TH where I had an unbelievably refreshing avocado smoothie that I mixed with a little chocolate from my cake (don't judge). Luckily my housewarming provided the perfect opportunity to bust these out. Could they withstand the intense expectations set on them from the chocolate covered strawberry cookies and snickerdoodles, or would they get mercilessly mashed by the competition?

Chocolate Avocado Cupcakes

Adapted from Women's Health (yeah you read that right)

Servings: 12 cupcakes

Time: 45 minutes

Super runny batter

Cupcakes

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1 cup sugar

2 tbsp vegetable oil

1/4 cup mashed ripe avocado

1 cup milk

1 tbsp white wine vinegar

1 tbsp pure vanilla extract

Pinch of salt

Chocolate Buttercream Frosting

3/4 cup butter, softened

2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder

2 cups powdered sugar

2 tsp pure vanilla extract

2-3 tbsp milk

Confetti sugar

Green icing writer

Leads to super bouncy and moist cakes

Buttered Cream with chocolate!

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F.
2. Whisk the flour, cocoa powder, salt, baking powder and baking soda together in a large bowl and set aside.
3. Mix the sugar, oil, avocado, milk, vinegar and vanilla together in a stand mixer using the paddle attachment.
4. Add the flour mixture to the wet mixture gradually in intervals at low speed until well combined in a loose batter. Be careful not to overmix.
5. Get mildly disgusted at the avocado chunks floating around in the batter.
6. Fill lined cupcake tins 2/3 full with batter and bake for 18-20 minutes or until the toothpick test comes back clean.
7. Let cool on a wire rack.
8. Start making the frosting by creaming the butter in a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment at medium speed.
9. Add in the cocoa powder and sugar and mix at low speed (unless you want powdered sugar exploding in your face which is a good way to freshen up for a party).
10. Pour in the vanilla and milk then mix at medium to medium high speed until a soft and fluffy frosting forms.
11. Spread the buttercream onto the cupcakes with a butter knife then garnish with confetti and green icing.

Confetti sugar is the best. It made its way on 2 out of 3 desserts (sorry chocolate covered strawberry cookies).

The result of the unholy alliance of avocado and chocolate was one deliciously moist and bouncy cake that was bursting with chocolate goodness and finished off with a very subtle avocado backend that you probably wouldn't even notice. Make no mistake, chocolate is the star of this cupcake, with the avocado essentially replacing the egg and some butter. The brilliance of chocolate was then further showcased with the smooth buttercream topping that definitely rivaled the days of my childhood spent shoveling Duncan Hine's version straight from the can. In an attempt to ratchet up the avocado aspect (and to attempt to honor that previously mentioned avocado smoothie), I would probably try making an avocado whipped cream next time.

Specially decorated to (not at all half-assedly) honor each roommate.

One of the most tense moments of my life was when someone finally sampled these cupcakes. I hadn't had a chance to test them beforehand thanks to being grossly full from testing the other desserts along with having dinner, so I had no idea if they actually worked. Then, I breathed a huge sigh of relief when the guests started chowing down on them. Even though they weren't as popular as the legendary chocolate covered strawberry cookies, they added another spectacular dimension to the night's desserts and furthered solidified the night as the most awesome (and not at all ridiculous) housewarming ever.

Carl blows our minds with the cupcake sandwich to maximize frosting efficiency.