Chocolate Chip Cheesecake-Filled Chocolate Vegan Cupcakes (gluten, egg, & sugar-free w/ dairy-free option)

Whole New Mom - https://wholenewmom.com

Course: Dessert, Snack

Cuisine: Dairy-Free, Gluten-Free, Vegan

Calories: 215kcal

These Chocolate Chip Vegan Cheesecake Cupcakes are one of our favorites -- gluten free and sugar free too!

Make the filling first so it has time to cool. (If you make my Homemade Chocolate Chips with coconut oil you will want it cool or it might melt the chips :-(.)
Place all filling ingredients other than the chocolate chips in a high-powered blender (like a Vitamix) and blend 'til smooth.
Fold chocolate chips into the cheesecake mixture.
Make the cake batter.
Fill prepared muffin tins about 1/2 full with cake batter.
Spoon about 2 teaspoon of the cheesecake mixture on top of the cake batter.
Top each cupcake with remaining cake batter.
Bake in 350-degree oven for about 30 minutes, or until a tester comes clean out of the cupcake part.

My basic "go to" gluten-free flour blend is typically 4 parts sweet brown rice, 4 parts mixed whole grain gluten-free flours, consisting of millet, buckwheat, amaranth, and long grain brown rice. I pretty much use whatever I have on hand :-).
Macadamias will work just as well as cashews, and if needed, you can substitute any nut or seed.
Use 1/2 cup any healthy sweetener of your choice can be used instead of stevia.
Vegans could use a gum like xanthan gum or organic guar gum instead of gelatin.
Any healthy sweetener can be substituted for the xylitol. I use xylitol since it is a low-glycemic sweetener, but there are lots of other sweeteners that are low glycemic.
You can use other milk alternatives, including almond milk, instead of coconut milk.
You can likely substitute any other fat that's solid at room temperature for the coconut oil.
Grain-free Option: This recipe should work with a grain-free / low-carb flour like almond flour by increasing the baking powder by 50% and reducing the coconut oil by half.