Gluten- and Grain-free Chocolate Spiderweb Cupcakes with Chocolate Peanut Butter Fudge Frosting

Super moist chocolate spiderweb cupcakes that are made grain-free and dairy-free – perfect for Halloween!

Prep Time: 15 minCook Time: 15 minReady in: 30 min
Yield: 8 cupcakes

Ingredients
Cupcakes:
40 grams (1.4oz, ~1/3 cup but please weigh!) almond flour or almond meal
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (52 grams) Dutch-process cocoa powder
1 teaspoon espresso powder
65 grams (2.2oz / ~ 4 1/2 tablespoons) coconut oil, melted
1/3 cup (106 grams) honey
5 tablespoons unsweetened applesauce
2 eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Chocolate Peanut Butter Fudge Frosting:
3 tablespoons (42 grams) coconut oil
1/4 cup (~64 grams) natural peanut butter
1/4 cup + 1 tablespoon (~25 grams) Dutch-process cocoa powder
2 tablespoons (40 grams) honey

Directions
Preheat your oven to 350°F / 175°C and line 8 muffin cups with liners.
In a large bowl combine the wet ingredients and set aside. In a medium bowl, combine the dry ingredients and add this to the wet ingredients. Stir in just until combined. Do not over mix!
Pour evenly into the muffin liners. If you want to make spiderwebs like I did, you need to be careful to not put too much batter in the liners because I’m guessing it’ll be more difficult if you have a slightly domed cupcake. My liners were a little less then 2/3 full.
Bake for 16 minutes. A toothpick inserted in the middle should come out mostly clean. A few moist crumbs or a little stickiness is okay, just not raw batter. These are super moist so if it comes out totally clean, they’re probably overdone.
For the frosting, melt the coconut oil, natural peanut butter and cocoa powder together in a pot or pan over low heat. When it’s completely melted and smooth, take it off the heat and add the honey and stir until well combined. Let the cupcakes and frosting cool completely before icing. These are much better stored at room temperature and it’s okay to keep at room temperature even after frosting. My favorite way to enjoy them is to reheat them a little in the microwave. The topping melts and it gets so gooey. Definitely the most “regular” cupcake tasting in this form. 🙂