Yes! My teaching certification portfolio is complete! I just have to go turn it in…but before I did that…I decided to reward myself. This is a special day that will go down in history texts everywhere — the day I do not have continue to think about my teaching certification (at least until they decide if I passed in July…)So I needed to make some cupcakes, but not just any…chocolate with avocado buttercream. I saw something similar on Joy the Baker, so I figured, I’d try it. Although, her recipe was vegan, I un-veganized it. I’m a vegetarian, but I love my dairy products…

So the star of the whole thing was the avocado buttercream. It was A-M-A-Z-I-N-G. Seriously. By itself, it was like oh, okay, that’s an interesting flavor, but with the chocolate cupcake — awesome. So please, if you’re worried about it, don’t be. If you like avocados, you’ll like this. Even if you don’t like avocados — you’ll probably like this.

My oh my, what are those over there? Besides my shoes…

Oh…they’re green, and chocolate-y

Good lord they’re beautiful.

There were originally TWO plates. Yep, I need to go to the gym.

Chocolate Buttermilk Cupcakes
From Martha Stewart

0.75 cups all purpose flour
0.75 cups sugar
1 tsp. baking powder
0.5 tsp baking soda
0.25 tsp salt
6 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
3 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
6 tbsp buttermilk
1 large egg
1 large egg white
3 tbsp hot water

Heat up the oven to 350 degrees.

Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and baking soda in a bowl and set aside.

Mix the hot water and the cocoa powder in another bowl. This helps bring out the flavor of the chocolate (seriously). The add in the butter, and eggs, and whisk together. Then add in the buttermilk, and whisk.

Mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients slowly. After each addition of dry ingredients, make sure to mix well.

Then line a cupcake tin with liners. If you’re using a regular size cupcake tin, bake between 12-15 minutes, depending on how moist you like them.

If you’re using a mini cupcake tin (my new obsession), then bake for 7 minutes. They come out FANTASTIC.

Anyways, while they’re baking, you get to make the avocado buttercream. I got the recipe from Alton Brown.

Avocado Buttercream Frosting

2 medium size avocados, pitted and scooped into a bowl
2 tsp. lemon juice
1 lb. powdered sugar, sifted (you don’t want lumps)
0.5 tsp vanilla extract
0.5 cup butter, softened

With an electric mixer, or whisk, cream the avocados until there are no lumps, and it looks creamy. Mix in the lemon juice and the butter. Cream until smooth. Slowly add in the powdered sugar until its completely incorporated. Then add in the vanilla, and mix. And viola! You have avocado buttercream. Don’t worry — it doesn’t go brown.

Enjoy!