Vegan and gluten-free funfetti cupcakes with chocolate mousse frosting

Here’s the thing about cupcakes. They’re small, they’re cute, they’re the perfect size for eating five or six at a time, they are were may have been trendy for a brief epoch in the distant past, and most of all they’re nearly always slathered with enough buttery frosting to make Paula Deen moan.

The latter of which is usually a hindrance to the making of healthier, lower-calorie cupcakes. Cake is fairly easy to make with whole-grain (or even grain-free) flours and lower-fat substitutes and such. Frosting, on the other hand? Not so much.

But this all changed the day I made tofu mousse.

The fuck you say? TOFU mousse?

Yes. Tofu and chocolate actually go fabulously together and in fact it is near-impossible to detect the tofu in the mousse should you be unaware of its presence before eating it—and I should know, because my brother, ever the anti-vegan snob, had few qualms about shoveling a few spoonfuls of the stuff down his gullet before I had even told him what that pudding-like blob of stuff was. You should’ve seen it.

The whole family’s gone 100% vegan now. They were converted by the sheet power of tofu mousse.

Um, kind of. I wish.

But you, my friend, my dear reader, shall be converted. You see, tofu mousse is quite pipe-able and scoop-able and spreadable, and as such makes an excellent low-fat, low-sugar frosting. Mind-blowing, I know. 

I can't even. source

What to do with this power? Make funfetti cupcakes, of course. Never mind that they’re gluten-free AND vegan AND much healthier than those 2:1 buttercream-ratio monsters you see at those cupcake bakeries.  Ye shall witness their deliciousness, and ye shall forget all else.

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Gluten-free vegan funfetti cupcakes with chocolate mousse frosting

Makes eight cupcakes

Ingredients

Cupcakes (adapted from Power Hungry)

56 grams • coconut flour • ½ cup

2 grams • baking powder • ½ teaspoon

1 gram • salt • ¼ teaspoon

20 grams • sprinkles • 2 tablespoons

244 grams • silken tofu • 8.5 ounces

160 grams • maple syrup • ½ cup

74 grams • coconut oil, melted • 1/3 cup

30 grams • nondairy milk • 2 tablespoons

8 grams • vanilla extract • 2 teaspoons

Chocolate mousse frosting (adapted from Nasoya’s website)

320 grams • chocolate chips • 2 cups

396 grams • silken tofu • 14 ounces

40 grams • maple syrup • 2 tablespoons

Sprinkles for topping

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line 8 muffin tins with paper liners.

In a large bowl, whisk coconut flour, baking powder, salt, and sprinkles. Add tofu, maple syrup, coconut oil, almond milk, and vanilla extract to a blender and blend until smooth. Pour into flour mixture and stir just until combined.

Divide evenly between muffin tins and bake for about 18 to 22 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let cool completely on a wire rack before frosting.

To make chocolate mousse frosting, start by melting chocolate chips in a small saucepan. Let cool slightly before adding to a blender along with the rest of the ingredients. Blend until smooth. Let chill for about half an hour; then spoon or pipe onto cooled cupcakes.  Top with more sprinkles. Devour.

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If you have more perseverance than me, feel free to pipe all the cupcakes like this.

I must mention that I found this post while digging through my files looking for one recipe in particular. These photos are old, old, old...and so are the words, actually. But good recipes, my friend, are immortal, and that is why I am publishing this post today.

While you’re here, check out these other healthy desserts I’ve posted.

Gluten-free pancake and waffle mix. A necessity for any gluten-free person.

Lemon raspberry Eton mess. A very light dessert.

Leftover pumpkin pie baked oatmeal. Kind of healthy, I guess? If you are able to look past the pumpkin pie in here?