Just because you don’t eat dairy or eggs doesn’t mean you need to miss out on life’s special treats, like these ridiculously rich and deliciously dense chocolate cupcakes. Some brownie recipes use black beans as the binder; in this recipe adapted from Vegetarian Times, heart-healthy avocados fill that role. (Warning: If chocolate is your Achilles’ heel, you may be in trouble—these are crazy addictive!)

Makes 12 cupcakes

Cupcakes

1½ cups all-purpose flour*

¾ cup unsweetened, non-Dutch-process cocoa powder (the “Dutch” processing destroys some of the valuable flavonoids)

1 teaspoon aluminum-free baking powder

¾ teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon fine sea salt

1 avocado, pitted and peeled

1 cup 100% pure maple syrup

¾ cup unsweetened almond milk

1/3 cup coconut oil, melted

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Directions

*If you’d like to substitute a gluten-free flour mixture in place of the all-purpose flour used here, try this mixture, courtesy of the Gluten-Free Goddess (http://glutenfreegoddess.blogspot.com/ ):

1 cup sorghum flour or brown rice flour

1/2 cup millet, almond meal, or buckwheat flour

1 cup tapioca, potato starch or corn starch (not potato flour!)

1 teaspoon xanthan gum

1. Preheat oven to 350ºF. Line muffin pan with liners. In a medium-large size bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

2. Purée avocado in your food processor until smooth. Add maple syrup, almond milk, coconut oil, and vanilla.

3. Whisk into flour mixture until just combined and spoon into prepared cupcake liners.

4. Bake for 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into center comes out with just a few crumbs stuck to it. Cool.

Chocolate Glaze

¼ block silken tofu (from 14-oz. container), drained and patted dry

3 tablespoons 100% pure maple syrup

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon salt

4 ounces semisweet vegan chocolate, melted

Directions

1. Blend tofu, maple syrup, vanilla, and salt in your food processor until smooth.

2. Add melted chocolate to the tofu mixture and blend until smooth. Transfer to bowl.

3. Dip tops of cupcakes into the glaze, pulling up to form fancy peaks.

4. Gobble up!