Red Velvet Beet Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting
If you are looking for a gorgeous treat that makes you feel a little less guilty, this is a great answer! The sweet frosting is a decadent topping for this cupcake, with just enough beets to shine!
If at first you don’t succeed…I’ll be honest, this is my second attempt at this dessert. I’ve been playing with a bowl of beets as a seasonal ingredient, and have used them to cook in many ways, always with a reminder on my hand. Valentine’s Day was coming up and the thought crossed my mind that beets could be a great substitute for food coloring in this classic. Apparently I was not the only person to think so! A quick internet search provided many recipes of using beets for food coloring, and I was determined. In my first go around (a triple layer cake), I followed the recipe to a tee, but it used beet juice, not my raw form beets. Either there was not enough to overpower the cocoa, or I bought the wrong kind of juice, but this did not come out red. It did make a delicious chocolate cake though! This form uses a few raw beets grated down, so the real red comes through very present and accounted for!
The bold and beautiful. With some foods, often the goal is to mask any vegetables in the hopes of sneaking nutrition in a meal (any parents that have mastered dark chocolate zucchini cake know this one!). Other times, while completely transformed, it is nice to still have the flavor of what you are creating, or at least recognizable (think zucchini bread). These cupcakes masked the boldness of the beet, but still kept the flavor very apparent, making the ‘cake’ part a bit more of a sweet bread than a sugary cupcake. Personally, I prefer this and give the recipe a gold star! The tester kitchen was torn, expecting the sweetness of a traditional cupcake. If I wanted to fully mask the beet with preserving the redness of the cake, I may play with a bit of vanilla or nuts to help disguise, but as is, I would highly suggest trying before doing any altering. This recipe is the one to beet! 🙂
Looking for other ways to use beets? (sneak peek, check back to the website for a few more coming soon) Try out some of these:
Charred Brussel Sprout Salad with a Tahini Beet Dressing
Sautéed Beets with a Raspberry Balsamic Reduction
Beet, Blueberry and Basil over Smoked Salmon and Goat Cheese
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Rose gave us this great recipe that you can find here or follow the link below.
