Vegan Chocolate Cupcakes with Matcha Cashew Frosting

These vegan chocolate matcha cupcakes are low in refined sugar, high in fiber, yet taste really good. The matcha frosting is made from a base of raw cashews and sweetened solely with maple syrup.

This week, the traditional chocolate cupcake is being taken to *ahem* greener pastures (sorry). Not that there is anything wrong with a good, old fashioned chocolate cupcake, however, there’s something to be said for combining chocolate and matcha green tea. If you caught my baking with Matcha tutorial earlier this week, you’re hopefully feeling inspired to give it a try; this recipe is a good place to start!

The best part about these vegan chocolate matcha cupcakes is that they are low in refined sugar, high in fiber, and yet, they taste really good. If you can believe it, the matcha frosting is made from a base of raw cashews and sweetened solely with maple syrup. Cashew frosting is an easy and healthier alternative to traditional powdered sugar frostings- it takes a few hours to prepare, but it’s definitely worth it.

Chocolate matcha cupcakes are best stored in the fridge until they’re ready to be eaten; however, I recommend serving them as soon as possible after they’ve been piped. Because the frosting is whole food based, it will lose it’s bright colour over time.  Also, if advanced prep is important, you can bake the cupcakes ahead of time and store them in an airtight container. You can then make the frosting right before you plan to serve the cupcakes to preserve the bright colour.

For this recipe, I recommend using a high speed blender for getting the frosting to the perfect smooth consistency. Moreover, I also recommend using a premium or ceremonial grade matcha; this will impart a gorgeous green colour and lots of green tea flavour. I’ve chosen to pipe the frosting with a large open star tip, however, here’s a really great tutorial on how to pipe buttercream roses…seriously, how beautiful would they be!?

I hope you give these a try!

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Yield: 10 Frosted Cupcakes

Vegan Chocolate Matcha Cupcakes

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These vegan chocolate matcha cupcakes are a healthy and unique twist on an everyday treat. Matcha tea adds a beautiful green hue and deep flavour to a cashew based frosting.  This recipe is also low in refined sugar, high in fiber, yet tastes really dreamy. A perfect treat for Hallowe'en!

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes

Total Time 40 minutes

Ingredients

For the Chocolate Cupcakes

• 1 tbsp flax meal + 2 tbsp water
• 1 ¼ cup spelt flour (or all-purpose flour)
• ¼ cup cocoa powder
• ½ cup organic cane sugar
• 2 tsp baking powder
• pinch of salt
• ¾ cup unsweetened almond milk
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
• ⅓ cup olive oil

For the Matcha Frosting

• 1 ⅔ cup (240g) raw cashews, soaked for 2 hours
• ½ cup coconut oil, melted
• 1 heaping tbsp of premium (or ceremonial) matcha powder
• ¼ cup maple syrup
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• pinch of sea salt
• 2 tbsp almond milk

Instructions

Make the Cupcakes

1. Preheat the oven to 400'F. Line a muffin tin and set aside.
2. In a small bowl combine the flax meal and water and let stand for 5-10 minutes or until thickened. In a medium bowl, sift together the spelt flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt. To the flax mixture, stir in the almond milk, vanilla extract, apple cider vinegar, and olive oil.
3. Make a well in the flour mixture, then pour in the wet ingredients and mix just until combined. Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin tin and  bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean.
4. Remove from oven cool and completely on a wire rack.  In the interim, prepare the frosting.

Prepare the Frosting

1. Drain and rinse the soaked cashews and add to a high speed blender (or food processor) along with the remaining ingredients. Blend on high until smooth (about 2 minutes). You may need to scrape down the sides occasionally.
2. Transfer the mixture to a shallow bowl and place in the freezer for 30 minutes. Remove and stir vigorously. The mixture should have a frosting like consistency (spreadable while holding a stiff peak). If it seems too soft, simply freeze for another 10 minutes and stir again.
3. Place the prepared frosting in a piping bag fitted with your decorative tip of choice. Pipe the cooled cupcakes and serve.

Notes

Chocolate matcha cupcakes should be stored in the fridge until ready to eat, however I recommend serving them as soon as they're decorated. Because the frosting is whole food based, it will lose it's luster over time. Blend the frosting right before you plan to serve the cupcakes.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

10

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 302Total Fat: 19gSaturated Fat: 10gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 8gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 129mgCarbohydrates: 31gFiber: 3gSugar: 16gProtein: 3g

This is an approximation of the nutrition offered in this recipe, and is created using a nutrition calculator.