Dark Chocolate Cupcakes

This title doesn't even do these justice! For starters, they are low carb. They are also gluten-free! We don't really follow gluten-free, but lots of people do now. And if you need something sweet and chocolate without making yourself or your loved ones sick, these should do it.

They were really dark though, so if you'd like a sweeter cupcake or sweeter frosting, use a lower percentage of cocoa. For instance, instead of premium dark cocoa powder from Holland, use Hershey's baking cocoa. Or instead of Lindt 85% chocolate bar, use maybe a 40-65%?  But if you aren't scared of intense chocolate flavor, go dark! 

Okay, to start... Drain 1 can of garbanzo beans. Rinse really well and drain again. (Garbanzo beans are also called chickpeas.) Put those in a food processor with 1/3 cup either water or almond milk. I used water. Puree the beans until they're smooth. Really smooth. Because you don't want to bite into a bean in your cupcake!

1 can garbanzo beans
4 eggs
1/2 cup cocoa powder
2 tbsp oil (I used coconut oil)
1 tsp baking powder
3/4 cup sweetener (I used Splenda granulated sweetener)

Once you've got your puree, place it in a mixing bowl. From here, you'll be proceeding as with regular cupcakes. Add in your eggs, one at a time, beating after each. Then your cocoa powder, oil, baking powder and sugar. Beat until smooth.

Divide evenly between 12 cupcake liners in a muffin tin. Makes exactly 12 cupcakes filled 1/2 full.

Bake at 350 for 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into one comes out clean. Mine took the 25 minutes. Let cool.

Whipped Dark Chocolate Ganache Frosting

4 oz good quality chocolate. (I used Lindt 85%, but any good quality would work. Please note that the lower percentage of cocoa, the higher number of carbs.)
3/4 cup heavy whipping cream
1 Tbsp sugar-free flavored syrup (Like Torani's found in the coffee aisle. I like the vanilla one so used that. Hazelnut would be awesome too!)
2 tbsp coconut oil (Almond would probably work, maybe canola? Not olive oil though, you want a virtually tasteless oil)
1/2 cup sweetener (Again, I used Splenda granulated sugar substitute)

My chocolate bar was only 3.5 oz, so I made up the other .5 oz with dark chocolate chips. Yes, you need 4 oz total. 1 1/2 tbsp chocolate chips did the trick on my scale.

Combine the chocolate with the cream and the oil. Microwave for 30 seconds. Stir. Microwave another 30 seconds, stir. Make sure there is no water in your bowl or on your spoon or your chocolate will seize. It's better to let the chocolate sit a minute to melt all the way while stirring, than to heat it a smidge too far and have it burn. You can't recover from burnt chocolate. Stir until smooth and completely melted. You can microwave in 10 second intervals if the minute total doesn't do it. (Like you have a 900 watt microwave or it's ancient...)

Here it is: beautiful, dark and smooth. Add in the flavored syrup. Stir until smooth. Then add the Splenda and stir until dissolved. (I don't know how sugar would work for this since it wouldn't dissolve fully. If you really want sugar, then use a low percent chocolate, semi-sweet or milk and omit the sweetener altogether.)

Congratulations! You've just made ganache! Aren't you proud of yourself? 

Cover and chill at least 30 minutes. You don't want it to get too cold or it will get hard. Once it's cooled off, you can take it back out. Now we're going to whip it up really nicely with a hand mixer.

Can you see the color difference between the whipped and the plain ganache? Whipping incorporates air, like making homemade whipped cream. It also lightens the color of the chocolate. The ganache will stiffen a little as well, so don't whip until it's hard, just until it starts to hold it's shape and stays put when you tip the bowl.

At this point you can smear it on the cupcakes, or put it in a piping bag and have fun!

These will need stored in the fridge because of the ganache. If there's any left to store!