Ingredients

For the Cupcakes

5 oz. (145 grams) bittersweet mini chocolate chips

1/3 cup (30 grams) cocoa powder

3/4 t. instant coffee

1/2 cup boiling water

3/4 cup (95 grams) AP flour, sifted

1/2 cup (100 grams) white sugar

1/2 cup (100 grams) light brown sugar

1/2 t. salt

1/2 t. baking soda

1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce

1/4 cup avocado oil*

2 large eggs, plus one egg yolk (room temperature)**

1-1/2 t. white vinegar

1 t. vanilla extract

1/2 c. mayonnaise

For the Frosting

1 cup unsalted butter

4 cups powdered sugar (sifted)

3/4 t. salt

1 T. vanilla extract

2 T. Cashew milk***

For the Strawberry Sauce

1 lb. strawberries, destemmed and halved

3/4 cup white sugar

1 t. salt

1 T. orange juice

For the “Parmesan”

2 oz. white chocolate

* You can use vegetable oil in place of avocado oil

** If you forget (as I did) to get your eggs out in advance, you can place them in a bowl of hot water for a couple of minutes and you’ll be good to go.

*** I use cashew milk because I find it makes it more creamy, but feel free to use regular milk if that’s what you have on hand.

Instructions

For the Cupcakes

Preheat oven to 350, and place muffin liners in muffin tin.

In a medium bowl, place chocolate chips, cocoa powder and coffee powder. Pour hot water over it all, cover with foil and let it sit for about 5 minutes.

While that sets up, in a small bowl, combine flour, sugars, salt and baking soda and stir to combine.

Remove the cover from the chocolate mixture, stir to combine, and then add applesauce, avocado oil, eggs plus yolk, vinegar and vanilla. Whisk to combine.

Whisk the flour mixture into the chocolate mixture until combined. Be careful not to overwork it.

Fill muffin tins 3/4 full, and bake until the middle of the cupcakes will slightly rebound when touched. I like to turn my cupcake tin halfway through cooking.

Remove to cooling rack and allow to come to room temperature before decorating.

For the Frosting

Add the butter to the bowl of a stand mixer, and beat on medium speed for about 5 minutes. You will need to scrape the sides down at least once. The butter should be lighter in color and should increase in volume.

Now add the sugar, about 1/4 cup at a time until combined. Next add the vanilla and mix to combine, and then the cashew milk and again stir to combine. Now beat for about 5 more minutes until fluffy.

For the Strawberry Sauce

Heat a small medium saucepan over medium heat and add strawberries, followed by the sugar, salt and orange juice. Gently toss to combine, then bring to a boil. Reduce to low to simmer, and allow the strawberries to breakdown, stirring occasionally. After about 10 minutes, remove from heat and use immersion blender (or regular blender) to puree. Pour through sieve to remove any seeds.

Putting it together

Make “meatballs” by combining 3 fork-crumbled cupcakes with 2-3 T. of frosting. Start with 2, and add a bit more as needed for the desired consistency. Make into approximately 1” balls and set aside.

Once your cupcakes are cooled, place size 1 frosting tip in frosting bag, and fill with frosting. Using a back-and-forth motion, apply even pressure to create spaghetti with tube. I went back-and-forth, side-to-side and figure-8 to get the right look.

Now, top the “spaghetti” on each cupcake with a “meatball”, and then drizzle with the strawberry sauce. Use a microplane to shred white chocolate to make your “parmesan”. Enjoy!