Chocolate Avocado Cupcakes

For a long time I have wanted to somehow pair chocolate and avocado so when I read an article {I think on MSN} not too long ago about using avocado in place of butter in baking recipes, I was eager to try it. Though chocolate and avocado seem an unlikely pair, they share some rich, comforting qualities that have often made me think about incorporating avocado into a chocolate cake. And on a nutritional level, as the article pointed out, it makes sense to substitute a “good” monounsaturated fat for a “bad” saturated fat.

My husband’s birthday was the perfect chance to experiment because one of his favorite desserts is my family’s chocolate cake and one of his favorite foods is avocado. According to the MSN article I used mashed avocado in place of half of the shortening called for in the recipe. I used low-fat Greek yogurt in place of the rest of the shortening but you could keep the shortening in there if you would like.

The cupcakes were a hit in my family and my son devoured them plain. For the birthday treat, I furthered my experiment and made a chocolate avocado glaze as the finishing touch. The icing was like a cross between a powdered sugar glaze and a buttercream frosting. I mixed in a little bit of avocado instead of butter which gave the icing some substance and made the resulting chocolate avocado glaze rich, creamy and silky smooth.