Chocolate Chestnut Cupcakes with Agave Cocoa Frosting - Gluten Free

I wanted to experiment with using agave syrup in a frosting, but I had some concerns about using that much liquid. Was it just going to run off the cupcake? How heat sensitive was it going to be? What kind of texture was it going to have? These were just a few of my questions. After doing some research, I decided to go ahead and try out my idea for gluten free agave cocoa frosting.

My recipe was inspired by the ingredient list at Babycakes Bakery in New York City, for their agave frosting. They note that their frosting is rather fragile in nature and cannot be shipped. I started with the basic ingredients and then added different things until I got an acceptable consistency in the frosting.

I used the Chocolate Chestnut Cake Mix from Dowd & Rogers for my cupcakes. This mix always turns out a beautiful deep chocolate cake that my family thoroughly enjoys. The cupcakes turned out beautifully and the agave cocoa frosting was light and delicate. Since the frosting has coconut milk in it and is soft in texture, you should store these cupcakes in the refrigerator.

Frosting Recipe

½ cup butter, coconut oil or coconut butter, softened
6 Tb cocoa powder
½ cup agave syrup
2 Tb chestnut flour
1 Tb sweet rice flour
1 Tb arrowroot starch
1 Tb coconut milk
1 tsp chia seed

1. In a small bowl, combine the chia seed and coconut milk, then stir together. Allow the mixture to sit for about 10 minutes. This will allow the chia seeds to form a gel. Once the gel has formed, you strain the gel to remove the seeds.

2. In the bowl to your mixer, plop in the butter or oil and cream on low speed.

3. Slowly pour in the cocoa powder and continue to cream together on low speed. Then scrape down the sides of the bowl.

4. Dump in the agave syrup, the flours and chia/coconut milk mixture. Blend on low speed. Once blended, scrape down the sides of the bowl to make sure all the ingredients are blended together.

5. Scoop the frosting into a piping bag with a decorative tip to top your cupcakes or spread scoops of frosting on the tops with a knife.

What did my family think of the frosted cupcakes? My son didn’t care for the agave cocoa frosting, but loved the cupcakes. He thought the cocoa flavor was too strong. Vanilla is his preferred frosting flavor. My daughter thoroughly enjoyed the frosted cupcakes. My husband said, “Mmmmmmm…mmmmmmmm...mmmmmm” as he chewed away. I thought the cupcakes were wonderful and the frosting was a very good alternative frosting. It’s much softer than a frosting made with sugar, but it will firm up once refrigerated.