Who doesn’t want a little chocolate now and then? Especially around Valentine’s Day. These chocolate cupcakes are rich and fudge-y with a bit of sweetness from the cherry filling. They kind of remind us of a Black Forest Cake. The best part? The frosting, of course, which is decadent with no refined sugar. Oh, did we forget to mention they are gluten-free and dairy-free, as always?

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WHY WE LOVE THEM

These stuffed cupcakes are unlike any other cupcake you’ve tried because if you’ve read Amie’s best-selling cookbook, Eating Clean: The 21-Day Plan to Detox, Fight Inflammation, and Reset Your Body, you know that we use very few alternative flours when baking because we don’t want you to have to run to the store to purchase numerous flours like rice flour and coconut flour and so forth. We like to make it EASY on you.

In these fresh cherry cupcakes, we’re using ONLY gluten-free oats to make oat flour and that is it! No need to combine a bunch of gluten-free flours and confuse you in your kitchen. That’s not what this is all about! Baking can seem so exhausting when you’re looking at a recipe for multiple gluten-free flours and awful binders like xantham gum and guar gum and so forth and that’s not what we’re all about. It takes a bit more time and creativity on our part but it makes your life easier and that’s all that matters to us.

We are all about ease and clean comfort foods and packing in as much flavor and nutrition into every bite of our recipes, which is exactly what we did with these moist cupcakes.

HOW WE MAKE THEM

PREP TIPS // When you’re food shopping, try to buy organic ingredients. Here are The Benefits of Eating Organic. You can prep the oat flour the night before if you’re short on time. Make sure you have a good sifter to sift the oats, this is a key step to make these cupcakes moist and delicious. Our favorite sifter is shown below in our shop.

INGREDIENT SWAPS //We love using Crofter’s Organic Spreads to stuff into these gluten-free cupcakes because their ingredients are clean and organic. You can also use 365 Whole Foods Market brand of preserves because it’s equally as delicious.

Here’s how we made these chocolate cupcakes in three simple steps.

STEP 1 // How to make the stuffed cupcakes: Combine the wet ingredients with the dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl and use a hand-held mixer to combine then transfer to prepared cupcake tins and bake.

STEP 2 // How to make the chocolate frosting: Combine all the frosting ingredients in a small saucepan and cook until the chocolate is melted and the consistency is smooth. Transfer to the fridge to harden while you stuff the cupcakes.

STEP 3 // Stuff the cupcakes with the cherry filling, spread the chocolate frosting on top and serve warm or at room temperature.

LISTEN // Listen below for Amie’s tips that are not mentioned in this article as well as quick directions on how to make this recipe step-by-step.

HOW WE EAT THEM

SERVING SUGGESTIONS // We love serving these cupcakes warm out of the oven when they’re super cozy and comforting. The coconut flakes on top can be a fun garnish if desired. If you’re not a coconut fan, you can top these cupcakes with finely chopped nuts or sprinkles for kids.

If you’re making this recipe in the spring or summer, you can use apricot jam or raspberry jam or any other flavor that’s more suitable for the warmer weather. Looking for a few dessert recipes for your upcoming Valentine’s Day? Try a few of our favorites: The Best Chocolate Dessert Bread and our Vanilla Almond Cupcakes.

SHOP the STORY

STILL HUNGRY? For more of our anti-inflammatory recipes, check out our 30 Day Reset Program, which is only available for a limited time through April.

Chocolate Cupcakes with Cherry Filling

Serves: 8

 

Print

Prep

20 minutes

Cook

40 minutes

Total

1 hour

 

These cupcakes are rich and fudge-y with a bit of sweetness from the cherry filling. The frosting is decadent with no refined sugar, and they are gluten and dairy-free, as always.

Author: Amie Valpone

Recipe type: Entree

Ingredients

Cupcakes

• 1 Tbsp coconut oil
• 1 c old fashioned gluten-free rolled oats
• 1 c unsweetened shredded coconut
• 1/4 c whole almonds
• 1/3 c unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 1 large ripe banana
• 1/2 c unsweetened plain applesauce
• 1/2 tsp apple cider vinegar
• 1/3 c maple syrup
• 1/2 tsp pure almond extract

Filling

• 1/4 to 1/3 c organic cherry preserves or raspberry

Frosting

• 1 c semi-sweet mini chocolate chips
• 1/4 c unsweetened almond milk
• 1/4 c coconut oil
• 1 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1/8 tsp sea salt

Instructions

Cupcakes

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

2. Grease cupcake pan with coconut oil or use cupcake liners.

3. First add oats, shredded coconut and almonds to a food processor or blender, process until you have a very fine flour. Sift to make sure you break up any lumps. Place flour mixture in a medium mixing bowl, add the cocoa powder, baking powder and sea salt and whisk together.

4. Now to a blender (or you can use a hand held mixer and small bowl), add the banana, applesauce, apple cider vinegar, maple syrup and almond extract, combine well (no lumps).

5. Add wet ingredients to oat mixture and using a hand held mixer, whip until smooth, about 2 minutes.
6. Fill each cupcake liner or cupcake hole in prepared cupcake pan, about 3/4 of the way up.

7. Bake at 375 degrees F for 16-20 minutes. After 5 minutes remove from pan and place on cooling rack. Cool completely.

Frosting

1. Next, make frosting: In small saucepan over low heat, add mini chocolate chips, almond milk, coconut oil, vanilla extract and sea salt, stirring constantly, while everything melts together. Once mixture is completely smooth, let it set at room temperature for 20 minutes. Then place it in refrigerator, stirring every 5 minutes for about 20 minutes or until frosting is firm enough to spread on cupcakes. If it gets to hard, just warm it up on a very low heat, stirring constantly. (You don’t want it too soft.)

2. While frosting is firming up you can fill the cupcakes. After cupcakes have cooled completely, using a paring knife cut a cone out of the top of the cupcake, about 1 1/2” in diameter. (Be careful not to cut through the bottom of the cupcake.) Cut the top of the cone off and reserve it to place back on top of filled cupcake. Now, fill a ziplock bag with preserves, seal it and cut one corner off (this acts as a pastry bag) and squeeze filling into cupcake holes. Place reserved tops back on top of cupcakes.

3. Now you are ready to frost the cupcakes. Use a couple of tablespoons of frosting per cupcake. Store frosted cupcakes in air tight container for first day then they can be store in refrigerator for up to a week. But don’t expect them to last that long. If you have any frosting left it can be stored in refrigerator for up to a week. Just warm it up on a very low heat to soften enough to spread.

Nutrition Facts

Chocolate Cupcakes with Cherry Filling

Amount Per Serving

Calories 454 Calories from Fat 270

% Daily Value*

Fat 30g46%

Saturated Fat 21g131%

Cholesterol 1mg0%

Sodium 203mg9%

Potassium 542mg15%

Carbohydrates 42g14%

Fiber 7g29%

Sugar 23g26%

Protein 5g10%

Vitamin A 25IU1%

Vitamin C 1.7mg2%

Calcium 108mg11%

Iron 3.5mg19%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

If you make this recipe, rate it below + post a picture of it on social media + tag @AmieValpone. We love connecting with all of you on facebook // pinterest // instagram // twitter or book a private session with Amie.

Recipe by Amie Valpone of The Healthy Apple. Please do not reprint this recipe without our permission. If you’d like to feature this recipe on your website, please rewrite the directions and link to this recipe as the original source. Thank you.