The Skin-boosting Benefits of Cacao + a double chocolate cupcake recipe

I’ll be the first to admit that I’m a chocoholic and I’m obsessed with cacao! After a long day, there’s nothing I find more satisfying than sinking my teeth into a dark chocolate bar. Talk about heaven 😍. The only problem? It often gets a bad rep. We’re left wondering – is chocolate stunting or supporting skin health? 

The Benefits of Cacao

Contrary to those beauty magazines we all read in high school, chocolate is actually good for our skin – like REALLY good. Cacao is an amazing topical bean that is often roasted, fermented, and then made into the delicious chocolate we crave. 

Cacao is one of nature’s highest antioxidant-rich foods on the planet. The antioxidants found in chocolate promotes blood flow to our skin, which helps restore damaged, aging skin, and supports a beautiful, natural glow. 

Not only is cacao amazing for anti-aging, but it’s also full of other skin-benefiting minerals like iron, selenium, copper, zinc, and manganese.

Choose your Chocolate Wisely 

The good news is that chocolate is an amazing #eattoglow food. The bad news is that not all chocolate is created equal. The majority of chocolate found in our local supermarkets are often full of sugar and dairy, which can cause blood sugar to spike, inflammation, and acne.There are a few good, #eattoglow chocolate bars out there that are vegan and contain no refined sugar. My favorite store bought chocolate is by far is Lily’s Sweets! Lily’s has a wide variety of products including dark chocolate chips that I used in my latest and greatest recipe. 

 Eating pure cacao is the gold star for skin health so I’ve created a chocolate cupcake recipe that combines cacao powder with my fav packaged chocolate chips to make getting these benefits a chocoholics dream.

Double Chocolate Cupcake Recipe

This sugar free, gluten free, dairy free, inflammatory oil free recipe is skeptic and husband approved, promise! It’s the perfect skin-boosting alternative for any occasion – holidays, birthdays, or even just a self-care moment. 

Ingredients 

Cupcake 

1/4 cup Lily’s Sweets chocolate chips 

2 eggs

2 tbsp cacao powder 

3 tbsp cassava flower

2 tbs collagen powder 

1/2 tbs vanilla extract

1/4 tbs baking soda 

1/2 cup olive oil

1/4 cup monk fruit powder

Frosting 

1/4 cup monk fruit powder 

3 tbsp cacao powder 

3 tbsp coconut cream 

3 tbsp probiotic cocoyo (optional) 

a generous pinch of sea salt (optional) 

Recipe 

-Preheat oven to 350 

-Mix all cupcake ingredients in a medium bowl 

-Add 6 liners to a cupcake pan, distribute batter evenly 

-Bake cupcakes for 20 minutes, remove from oven set aside to cool 

-While cupcakes are cooling add all frosting ingredients to a food processor and process on high for two minutes

-Spoon frosting into a medium bowl and cool in the fridge for 15 minutes

-Top cooled cupcakes with frosting and sprinkle on additional chocolate chips and sea salt 

I hope this post has been an encouragement to all you chocolate lovers out there! If you make this recipe, be sure to post it to IG and tag me and use hashtag #eattoglow. For more sweet recipes your skin will love, check out TTS’s #eattoglow category!