If cake was meant to be eaten for breakfast, these would certainly qualify as a nutritious choice. They taste like creamy, fluffy chocolate cupcakes but actually have good levels of protein, a load of vegetables and are packed full of antioxidants thanks to the squash, nuts and cocoa.
Dark chocolate has more antioxidants than most fruits and vegetables, but cocoa and cacao have way more. I use cocoa in the cake but cacao for the icing, that’s because raw cacao contains double the amount of antioxidants than cocoa but these are destroyed by high temperatures so cocoa is better for cooking. Studies repeatedly show that dark chocolate is good for the heart, reducing cholesterol, blood pressure and platelet aggregation. It also can help balance blood sugar levels.
If you follow our recipes you’ll notice that we never use processed sugar, brown or white, as both offer us nothing but rob nutrients from our system. Sugar causes imbalances in our blood sugar levels which not only affects our energy and mood but also is implicated in most degenerative diseases. Instead I like experimenting with healthier sugar alternatives. No sweetener is actually ‘healthy’ in the way a whole food is, but some offer nutrients and others have less impact on blood sugar so they are vastly superior options to processed sugar.
Here I used coconut sugar which is really sweet but low glycaemic meaning it has little impact on blood sugar levels. It’s granulated from the sap of coconut flowers and can be used in drinks and baking as it acts just like sugar. High in nutrients, unprocessed and with a rich caramel flavour I am quite a fan. The only downside is price and it can be hard to find – although as we use sugar so sparingly the cost is offset by the tiny amounts used.
| Servings | Prep Time |
| 12 large cupcakes 24 small cupcakes | 20 minutes |
| Cook Time |
| 25 minutes |
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These cupcakes are really easy to make, a great way to add more antioxidant-rich vegetables to your diet and are delicious alone or iced. I have two favourite icings for these cakes, depending on what I have to hand. I either make cacao coconut cream or our chocolate spread.
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- 100 g butternut squash
- 3 medjool dates
- 75 g coconut sugar or sweetener of choice
- 5 tbsp orange juice
- 100 g spelt flour or wholemeal
- 100 g ground almonds
- 40 g cocoa
- 1.5 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
- 3 eggs
- 1 tin coconut milk place upside down overnight in the fridge
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp cacao
- Buy minipress online usa
- Line a muffin tray with cupcake cases and preheat the oven to 180 degrees C. I like to use a combination of larger and smaller cases in two trays.
- Peel and grate the butternut squash either in a food processor or by hand. If using the processor remove the squash and place aside in a bowl.
- Place the dates, eggs, coconut sugar and orange juice in the processor and blitz until smooth.
- Add in the squash and dry ingredients (flour, almonds, cocoa, baking powder and bicarb) and quickly mix again until all combined.
- Spoon the mixture into the cupcake cases and place in the oven for about 25 minutes. They are ready when they are starting to crack on the top. You can insert a skewer of cocktail stick into one of them and if it comes out clean they are ready.
- To make the icing, remove coconut milk from the fridge and turn can up the right way and quickly remove the tin lid. The coconut milk should have separated into a thinner watery liquid, with coconut cream at the bottom of the tin.
- Drain off the thinner coconut water into a jug and reserve for smoothies.
- Tip the cream into a bowl with the vanilla and cacao, and whip, ideally with an electric mixer, for 3-5 minutes.
- Spread the thick cream over each cupcake using a piping bag, spatula or knife. You can further decorate the cupcakes by grating some dark chocolate over each one.
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