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Ingredients
- Cupcake Base:
- (makes 12)
- 1 cup spelt or all-purpose flour (130g) (Arrowhead Mills gf also works.)
- 6 tbsp cocoa powder (30g) (not Dutch)
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 cup xylitol or sugar of choice (180g)
- 1/2 cup mayo-style spread, such as Vegenaise (Or you can use this chocolate cupcake recipe.)(120g)
- 1 tbsp pure vanilla extract
- 2/3 cup plus 2 tbsp water (185g)
- (makes 12)
- Date Caramel:
- 120 g pitted dates (jam-packed 2/3cup, or about 17 small dates)
- 1/3 cup water
- 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
- level 1/4 plus 1/16 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup milk of choice
- optional, for richer sauce: 2 tsp vegetable or melted coconut oil
- Peanut Butter Frosting:
- 1/2 cup peanut butter or allergy-friendly alternative (110g)
- 1/4 cup powdered sugar or Sugar Free Powdered Sugar (30g)
- 1/4 cup milk of choice (add 1-2 extra tbsp if using natural peanut butter)
Preparation
Step 1
Cup cake base:
Preheat oven to 350 F and place 12 cupcake liners inside a cupcake pan. In a large bowl, combine first five ingredients. Sift very well. In a separate bowl, combine the remaining three ingredients and whisk until the mayo spread is completely smooth. Pour wet into dry and stir until just combined. Immediately divide the batter among the cupcake liners—it won’t seem like a lot of filling, but these cupcakes rise a lot. Bake 21 minutes, then let sit 15 minutes before removing from the pan. These taste ten times more chocolatey and rich the next day, so bake the cupcakes the day before eating if possible. Store in the refrigerator.
Date Caramel:
Blend the dates in a food processor until they’re completely broken up. (I like SunMaid dates, because they’re much softer.) Add all other ingredients and blend thoroughly until the sauce is completely smooth. Please blend the dates first or it will splatter! I used a smaller food processor for this, so if your food processor is much bigger you can double the recipe for smoother blending. Poke a hole in each cupcake and stuff with 2-3 tsp filling.
Peanut Butter Frosting:
Beat all ingredients together until completely smooth, using hand beaters if you have them. (If you must, you can stir everything together with a fork using maximum effort and patience. A Magic Bullet will also work.) Spread about a tbsp of frosting on each cupcake. You will most likely have leftover date caramel and frosting, but it’s a good idea to make the full recipes for smoothest blending. Top the cupcakes with chopped peanuts if desired.
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