Valentines choc-orange cupcakes with healthy 'fudge' topping!

I love all the blood orange ideas that are making their way into a few recipes at the moment, the perfectly healthy and natural way of bringing a little bit of pink into your life… what a coincidence that Valentines Day is just around the corner!

So, I wanted to create a little bit of pink and chocolatey indulgence of my own. I couldn’t track down any fresh blood oranges in my part of the world so I had to make do with some fresh blood orange juice instead. All the liquid in this recipe comes from the juice, and being such a vibrant pink colour I had hoped the batter would also be a gorgeous pink shade….hmmm not so much! So at this point I have to admit that I had to supplement this with about 5 drops of red food dye.  The batter was a real rich fuchsia colour at this point, although once cooked the colour was much more subtle.

The cupcake sponge is lovely and light, based on this original recipe but substituting the liquids. I love the combination of chocolate and orange in any form. To emphasise the pink theme without having to resort to playful sugary toppings etc, I sprinkled the tops of the cupcakes and the serving plate with pomegranate seeds. Beautiful…and so much better for you than sugar!

This recipe also showcases my newest healthy chocolate frosting!

Can you guess what it contains…

…yep, more beans!

I love this recipe as it simply another step on from my black bean fudge. You can make both the fudge and the frosting in a matter of minutes without having to wash anything up in between. My perfect kind of recipe! The key is to really blend it well.

If you’re a little bit beaned out, you could use this frosting as an alternative, its also quick and simple to make!

Recipe: Valentines choc-orange cupcakes

Frosting ingredients:

• 200g prepared

• fudge mixture

• 80g soy milk (or any non-dairy milk)

• 2 tsp agave (or more to taste)

This makes enough to frost approx. 12 cupcakes.

Method:

Simply add all the ingredients to a food processor and blend until really smooth. Adjust the ‘milk’ to achieve the desired consistency.

Cupcakes ingredients:

• 200g white spelt flour (or GF flour mix)

• 75g potato starch

• 1tsp flax seed mixed with 1tbs hot water

• 3tsp baking powder

• 1tbs bicarbonate of soda

• 50g agave syrup

• 70g rapadura

• ¼ tsp stevia

• 100ml melted coconut oil

• 50ml soy yoghurt

• 300ml blood orange juice (the pinker the better)

• 2tsp vanilla extract

• 5 drops natural red food colour

Method:

Blend all liquids in food processor and melt coconut oil separately then mix in. Mix all dry ingredients together in a bowl then pour into the wet ingredients and beat well to get a smooth mixture. Pour into lined cupcake pans. Bake for 15-20 minutes at 180C. Turn half way through to ensure an even rise. A toothpick will come away clean when cooked.