Vegan Aubergine Cup Cakes
We are celebrating Cambridge Organics' 25th birthday! We have a good number of vegans on the team and wanted everybody to be included in these celebration cup cakes. These are rich, chocolaty and fudgy, so perfect for everyone to enjoy. For the vegan chocolate we used local producer Ombar’s 70% dark chocolate bar broken into pieces.
The recipe was adapted from okonomikitchen.com
2 aubergines (300g raw)
75 grams vegan chocolate chips
80 ml maple syrup
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
60 grams cacao powder
70 grams plain flour
2 tbsps corn flour
30 grams ground almonds
1.5 tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
1 chia egg (1 tbsp ground chia seeds 2 tbsp water)
½ tsp salt
Frosting Ingredients
200 grams vegan butter, softened to room temperature
360 g powdered sugar
2-3 tbsps non-dairy milk
2-3 tbsps cacao powder
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Cup Cake Method
1. Preheat oven to 180 C
2. Chop the aubergine and steam until tender (around 5 minutes)
3. In a large bowl, sift and mix in the cocoa powder, plain flour, corn flour, ground almonds, baking powder, baking soda and salt
4. In a blender, add in the cooked aubergine, chocolate chips, maple syrup, vanilla and vinegar and blend until smooth
5. Pour mixture into the bowl with the dry ingredients and mix
6. Half way through, add in the chia egg and fold to mix
7. Divide into 12 cupcake cases in tins
8. Place into oven for 20 to 30 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean
9. Frost when cooled
Frosting Method
1. Using an electric hand mixer, beat the butter until smooth.
2. Gradually add the sugar and 2 tbsps of cocoa powder, and beat until combined
3. Add 2 tbsps of milk and vanilla and beat on medium speed for 3-4 minutes, until everything is well combined. Scrape the bowl as needed.
4. If the frosting seems too thick, you can add more milk, 1 tbsp at a time. If the frosting is too thin and runny, simply add more powdered sugar or cocoa powder, 1 tbsp at a time.