Chocolate & California Avocado Cupcakes with Candied Cream Cheese Frosting

HomeRecipesMeals & DishesBakingChocolate & California Avocado Cupcakes with Candied Cream Cheese Frosting

Total Time: 55 min

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Cook Time: 35 min

Prep Time: 20 min

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Serves: 18

Ingredients
Instructions

1 1/2 cups sugar 1/4 cup canola oil 2 Eggs 2 tsp. vanilla extract 1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder 1/2 cup brewed coffee, cold 1 ripe, Fresh California Avocado, peeled, seeded and diced small 1 cup all purpose flour 1 tsp. baking soda 1/4 cup softened butter 1 cup buttermilk 1 tsp. salt Frosting 6 Tbsp. powdered, hard-shelled candy pieces (from 2 Tbsp. of 3 different colors; purple, red, & orange) 4 8oz. packages of cream cheese, divided 6 Tbsp. softened butter, divided 1/4 cup sugar 2 ripe, Fresh California Avocado, peeled and seeded

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Using a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment or a hand mixer fitted with the paddle attachments, mix together the butter and avocado on medium speed until the ingredients are well mixed and smooth, about 1 minute. Add the sugar, canola oil, and vanilla extract and continue to mix until combined. Add the eggs and coffee and mix for another 10 seconds just to incorporate the ingredients into the mixture. In a separate, large bowl, run all dry ingredients through a sieve to get out any lumps. Using a spoon, stir the dry ingredients together to combine them. Add 1/3 of the dry ingredients and half the buttermilk to your mixer at a time, starting and ending with the dry ingredients. Make sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula and continue to mix to incorporate all the ingredients. Once the batter is smooth, place it into your cupcake liners, three quarters of the way full. Bake for 35-40 minutes.

Separate four colors of candy. Using a food processor, grind candy pieces until a fine powder forms. Separate the chunks from the powder by using a fine sieve placed over top of a small bowl.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, cream 3 packages of cream cheese and 6 Tbsp. of butter together on medium speed, until smooth. Divide the cream cheese mixture evenly into 3 bowls.
Place the candy powder from each color, into one of the bowls. Mix well until the powder is combined with the cream cheese frosting.
Place the avocado, the last cream cheese package, and the sugar into the bowl of a stand mixer, fitted with the whisk attachment. Whisk until all of the ingredients are smooth.
Add all four icings side by side on a sheet of cellophane wrap. Fold the cellophane over on one side, to the other. Place the round cellophane wrap into a piping bag fitted with the desired icing tip.
For stiffer icing peaks, place cream cheese frosting in refrigerator for 30 minutes.
Then decorate your cupcakes (1 Tbsp. per cupcake).

*Large avocados are recommended for this recipe. A large avocado averages about 8 ounces. If using smaller or larger size avocados adjust the quantity accordingly.

Did You Know?

In addition to using avocados in baking as a smart substitution for butter and shortening, California Avocados are wonderful in other desserts like avocado pie, avocado mousse and avocado ice cream.