Day 1: Paleo Chocolate Cupcakes

I pretty much always crave chocolate. Its just an ongoing longing for chocolatey goodness. If you came up to me on the street and offered me chocolate I would NOT immediately call you crazy and run away and I think thats saying something.  I haven't had anything chocolate for awhile.  Well except for that small bite of dark chocolate at that super tasty chocolatier yesterday. Hey! It was free! Leave me alone!

So its time for some cocoa. The mood is right for some sweetness. The clock has chimed and its chocolate time. Whoa... I had a corny attack out of excitement!! 

I may have cheated a little here. On my trip to Whole Foods to buy supplies for these cupcakes I stumbled upon my salvation. No sugar added, Erythritol sweetened Dairy Free (Jeez enough descriptors here?) Chocolate Coconut Ice Cream!!!!! It was delicious!  And wouldn't ya know my freezer is broken so I had to eat the whole thing... last night... by myself... IT.... WAS.... GLORIOUS!!

Awesome Sauce!

Anyways back to the cupcakes! While on the Body Ecology diet, I'm not just paleo or gluten free. I'm super gluten free. I have a cape and everything. It has a sad face on it.  On the BE diet I can't have even gluten free grains like rice or potato starch or corn. I have to stick to the big four. Amaranth, Millet, Buckwheat and Quinoa. (Note to self: get some Quinoa flour. I've never tried it). I've made some pretty tasty things with these but I am trying to limit my intake of them in flour form. After a recent break out (that I now suspect was due to hormones) I am trying to limit anything that may be inflammatory. 

In comes Coconut flour. Coconut flour is mostly fiber, is thought to be anti-inflammatory, and has a ton of nutrients like manganese and lauric acid. Here's a little more from Nourished Kitchen (I'll be back in a second. I need to add this link to my pinterest!). 

THE Cupcake

The recipe I'll be modifying is from The Wannabe Chef. You can see the original here.

Below is the same recipe with my own modification. If you see that I am doing something horribly wrong, please let me know. It might explain a few things.

Liz's Paleo Chocolate Cupcakes
Ingredients(Makes a dozen cupcakes):
1/2 cup +2 Tablespoons coconut flour
4 eggs
2 egg whites
1/3 cup cocoa powder
1/2 cup xylitol or lakanto
1 cup coconut milk
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Method:
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and line 12 cupcake holders with paper liners.
Mix together the coconut flour, eggs, egg whites, cocoa powder, xylitol, coconut milk, baking soda, and vanilla extract in a large bowl.
Slowly add just enough water so that the batter is slightly runny and easy to mix by hand without exerting too much effort.
Scoop the batter evenly into the cupcake liners. Hit the pan against the counter a few times to even the batter and knock out any air bubbles.
Bake for 30-35 minutes until the tops are firm to the touch.

Num Num Num. Get in my mouth!

So here is my evaluation. The cupcakes are very dense. More of a pound cake/devil's food cake consistency which isn't bad. They are very moist. This may be because I added too much water when mixing. The cupcake was also not sweet enough or chocolatey enough for my tastes. I think I'll have to try this recipe with a little less water OR with more Xylitol and Cocoa powder. I'm leading towards the latter. Still I'm sure none of this is going to stop me from eating every last one. Mmmmmm. Tomorrow's post will feature the Vegan Sugar free icing I'll be trying to make to put on these bad boys.

Ooo look it just jumped right up in there!