Dark Chocolate Quinoa Cupcakes with Vanilla Bean Icing
If I had to make a movie from the last week of my life, it would be titled:
Invasion of the Dark Chocolate Quinoa Cupcakes…
in Sarah’s Face.
Last Saturday, Brandon thought it would be fun to take a trip to Spain, just after returning home from Germany two weeks prior. I, of course, had to stay home and stick to my nine-to-five so that someone could pay the bills around here. {totally kidding…Brandon, calm down}
So, what does a girl do when her man takes off to Europe without her for the second time in one month? She bakes cupcakes.
And eats all of them.
By herself.
I mean, you have to taste one before they’re done cooling to make sure they turned out okay.
And then you have to try another one after you’ve iced them to make sure the flavor matches appropriately.
And then you have to try one more after a few hours have passed right before bed while standing over the sink and drinking a glass of milk.
And all of that is perfectly fine because no one is there to watch you.
Okay, so I might have felt a teensy bit guilty after eating three of these in one day but surprisingly enough, I didn’t get a tummy ache. That coupled with the fact that they are made from quinoa flour and 100% cocoa powder, I’m taking it as a sign that these are so good for me that I should eat at least one every day.
Who’s with me?
Ingredients
1/4 cup unsalted butter (or coconut oil)
1/4 cup coconut oil
3/4 cup water
1/2 cup cocoa powder
3/4 cup cane sugar
1/4 cup non-fat vanilla Greek yogurt (I used Chobani)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs, separated
1 and 1/4 cup organic quinoa flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
Icing (vegan)
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
1 tablespoon unsweetened vanilla almond milk
1 and 1/2 cups powdered sugar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°F and grease or line a cupcake tin with paper liners.
- Next, melt butter in a medium size saucepan, then add water and bring to a boil. Remove from heat and whisk in cocoa powder (I used 100% cacao) and coconut oil until dissolved, then set aside to cool.
- Combine quinoa flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl and sift together. Separate egg whites into a medium size bowl and set aside.
- Add egg yolks, Greek yogurt and vanilla extract to the bowl with the flour, along with the cooled cocoa mixture and mix until well combined.
- Beat egg whites until stiff, but not dry, then fold them into batter until well combined.
- Using an ice cream scoop (or a spoon), spoon batter into the cupcake tin, filling each about 3/4 of the way full.
- Bake in the oven for 18-20 minutes (time may vary). You should be able to stick a toothpick or knife into the center and have it come out clean. Then allow them to cool while you prepare the icing.
- In a large bowl, combine butter, vanilla extract, almond milk, and vanilla bean paste and beat until soft and fluffy.
- Slowly add in powdered sugar, about 1/2 cup at a time, while continuing to beat on high until a thick icing has formed. If the icing is not thick enough after adding 1 and 1/2 cups powdered sugar, you can add another 1/2 cup to thicken it more.
- Lastly, ice cooled cupcakes and then serve!
Notes
Adapted from Bob’s Red Mill Sour Cream Fudge Cupcakes
These look ahhhhmazing!! And yes, taste-testing is an absolute must! ;)
These look so good! Very decadent…
And I hope your B. doesn’t feel too guilty;)
These cupcakes look amazing! I love the fact that they’re gluten free! I prefer chocolate!
Holy freakin wow, those look awesome. I’m all about chocolate cupcakes, so I’d be eating at LEAST 3 in one day too ;-)
Wow these look and sound incredible! You are so so creative! :)
I actually like both chocolate and white cake, but prefer white wedding cake and prefer rich chocolate cake at restaurants.. Go figure! :)
These look incredible…and chocolate cupcakes are my favorite. Also cake, ice cream…anything chocolate :). I’m making your orzo recipe this week – can’t wait!
If I have a run planned and it’s super hot outside I’ll usually still run, but not as much as planned.
Have a GREAT week!
Aw, I hope you like the orzo! And that is just what I needed to hear in regards to running in the heat. It’s better to show up and do some than not do it at all.
I hope you have a fabulous week too, my dear! :)
I prefer vanilla to chocolate..and yes, I am anti-running when it’s this hot out!! I am more of a cold weather running person :) These cupcakes look awesome!
Sarah, hun, if you ever need a taste tester or need to get rid of any of your baked goods, send them my way. I am just down the highway. Really, I would gladly take them off your hands :-D And now I want to stuff my face into that cupcake. ha.
chocolate is my favorite anything, but i love having it topped with a white frosting like cream cheese. :drool:
Lol, I should have had you here to help me eat them! I almost made these with a cream cheese icing too!! :)
I am actually not a chocolate cake person at all. I think it is because they tend to be drier than others, at least in my experience. Were these pretty moist?
I ran outside this weekend and thought I would die. It was only 8am and the temps were already in the 90’s with high humidity. Another reason I stick to the treadmill during Texas Summers!!
These cupcakes were not super moist. I added the coconut oil to make them more moist so they were good enough for me but not the kind of moist that makes you smack your lips. I think white flour may be the only thing capable of that!
Texas heat is the worst! If I still lived there, I would only be on a treadmill in the summer too!
oh my gosh i want those ALL. right NOW. those look SO good!! yay for brandon living it up like a world traveler, and i cant think of any better way to stay busy while he’s gone! :)
Love the idea of cupcakes made with quinoa flour and it looks like the texture turned out perfectly! On another note, you have to work out how to get your boyfriend to take you along on these amazing Euro trips!
What was he thinking heading off to Europe without you? What a crazy boy! He clearly missed out on amazing cupcakes, I’m sure these are 100% better than whatever he was eating in Europe. I haven’t cooked with quinoa but I want to give it a try!
Oh yum!! I love both chocolate and vanilla! Are you using earth balance stick butter or in the tub?
I wish I could stick my finger right into that icing. :)
I think you should make another batch and we should eat all of them this Saturday – no judgement allowed ;) I feel for you on the traveling girl, I’ve had those months where Kyle gets to go cool places every other week and I’m stuck in the freezing cold tundra of MN. You’d think they’d bring us along sometime! See you soooooon!!
Another amazing looking recipe!! I’ve recently found out I’m allergic to Quinoa and especially Quinoa flour otherwise I’d be baking these up for sure!!!
Twice to Europe without you? He better be giving you some amazing gifts upon his return ;)
Wow these look seriously incredible! Had to pin these lovely cupcakes, can’t wait to try them out.
Gahhh that frosting looks so good!! These cupcakes look incredible – I wish I could’ve been stuffing my face with them with you!!
These are totally incredible! Cupcakes made with quinoa–who knew?!
Thanks Kiersten! I love quinoa flour, it has a very distinct flavor but I enjoy it and I think it goes great with chocolate! Although, most things go great with chocolate. :)
If i can not find vanilla bean paste is there anything I can use to substitute it ?
Hi Charmaine! Yes, you can use 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract (total) instead of the paste. You can also use a vanilla bean by scraping the seeds off into the butter. I hope that helps! :)
The sugar step seems to be missing from the cupcake part… :(
Oh no, I’m so sorry! The sugar is supposed to be sifted with the flour. I’ll be sure to fix that!
Thanks for letting me know Mishi!
Think these “babies” would freeze well?
Possibly without the icing but I worry that it might alter the flavor/texture. If you try it, let me know how they hold up!
Have you ever tried to make these as a Vanilla option? I need a good vanilla cupcake make from quinoa flour. The others i found so far tend to add regular AP flour as well and I can not do that… Woud i just substitute out the Cocoa powder for vanilla paste??
thanks for your help
the Chocolate ones are amazing BTW!!!
I haven’t tried making them vanilla but I don’t think subbing vanilla paste for the cocoa powder would turn out right. If anything, more sugar (like 1/4 cup) and another teaspoon of vanilla extract. It would require some experimentation. I will definitely keep it in mind for a future recipe post but if you end up trying it yourself, please let me know how it turns out!
I’m glad you liked the chocolate ones! :)
I made these as Vanilla and they were amazing… I changed up the recipe a little though so that the vanilla flavor would come through. I did half Quinoa flour and Half Almond flour. added 1 extra tsp of vanilla and 2 vanilla beans. I did of course omit the chocolate. but they were awesome. My husband preferred them to regular cupcakes.
Wow, I’m impressed! I tried to make a vanilla version with honey (in place of sugar) and coconut flour in place of the cocoa powder and it was a total fail. Your version sounds awesome though, thank you for sharing! I’ll have to give them a try. I wonder how they would come out with honey…
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Just made these today with my 3.5 year old and we both loved them! I can totally see why you ate 3 in one night. They go down easy and are actually pretty light! Another great recipe!