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We have an awesome cupcake store in our neighborhood and every now and then we take the kids by to enjoy a special treat. Without fail, their eyes are always drawn to the most colorful cupcakes in the display case. My kids may have no idea how a red velvet cupcake made with crimson food dye actually tastes, but put something like it in front of them and their immediate response is, “that one”.
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My take on these cupcakes have a rich flavor, and while they aren’t as artificially red as the red velvet cupcakes which use chemical food dyes (and of course chocolate which this one doesn’t include), they (and their icing) get their bright, reddish-pink color from a surprising, delicious and 100% natural guest, roasted beets. Especially given the never-ending speculation about the connection between food dyes and hyperactivity in children, having smart alternatives for the artificially colored food that kids crave means I don’t have to deprive my little ones.
This doesn’t mean we’re not frequenting our local cupcake store any less often, but I always like reminding myself that whenever there’s something out there I may not be thrilled about my kids eating, figuring out how to make a healthier version is not at all impossible.
Red Beet Cupcakes
Ingredients
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup milk
- 1/2 cup honey
- 1/3 cup vegetable or canola oil
- 1 large beet, roasted
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Beet Cream Cheese Frosting:
- 1 8-ounce package cream cheese, softened
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
- 1/2 cup beet puree
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Sift the first 4 ingredients into a bowl.
- In a separate bowl, combine the rest of the ingredients.
- Slowly add the dry ingredients into the wet and combine.
- Pour about 1/3 cup into lined muffin tins and bake for 25 minutes or until a tooth pick comes out clean.
- Cool completely before frosting.
- Beet Cream Cheese Frosting (Make 2 Cups)
- Place all the ingredients in a mixer and beat on medium to high speed until fluffy. 2. Spread on cupcakes.
You’ve really captured all the esletniass in this subject area, haven’t you?
These look beautiful, but I’m afraid to try them. How “beety” do they taste? I made a beautiful pan of beet brownies once and they were the only treat that ever molded in this house. Nobody ate them and I had to throw them out.
I’m encouraged by the fact that they only contain 3/4 of a cup of beets.
You can always use whatever “milk” she drinks. My son has a milk protein allergy, so I just use his soy or almond milk in all my recipes that call for milk.
My daughter is lactose intolerant, can I substitute the milk with a nondairy alternative. Any suggestions?
I actually just made these. I have to admit that I am not a big fan of the flavor of beets, as well, although my kids love them. I think they taste to “earthy”. Anyways, the Sweet Beet cookies were a hit in my house, but I wasn’t too thrilled with them, cause they had a true beet flavor. These, surprisingly, did not, to me. The icing is a must as the actual cupcake is very bland, as is. The icing is a beautiful berry color when done, and has a great cream cheese flavor, rather than beet. I thought these were delicious and very pretty for a girl’s birthday party. I could only get 12 cupcakes out of the batter, but thought that was fine as my cupcake pan only holds 12 or 6, so 14 would have been an odd number. Also, I had at least 6 cupcakes worth of icing left over, and I feel like I iced my 12 cupcakes quite liberally. I used the leftover icing to ice a batch of sweet beet cookies and then used the leftover to make my daughter some “princess” sandwiches when she got home from school, as a little snack. Wish it didn’t have butter and sugar in it, but wasn’t planning on letting it go to waste!
Do they taste like beets much? Beets are the one vegetable that I have never liked.
YUM! My kiddo loves the sweet beet cookies, so I can’t wait to try this. Was wondering if you have a suggestion on how to roast the beets first?
You can use dairy free butter like Earth Balance or Fleischmann’s unsalted butter and cream cheese like tofutti
These look great!!! Can’t wait to try them. Do you have a dairy free frosting version??? If not they’ll be just as yummy!!! Thanks
You could def. remove a few tbsp of flour and replace it with a few (about 3) tbsp of cocoa powder! I did this and it turned out amazing too.
Agreed with the comment above – it needs cocoa otherwise it is more like a carrot cake. Could you add a few tablespoons of unsweetened cocoa to the mixture? Red velvet cake is my favorite and I would love a dye free alternative!
I rewrote it, so it makes a bit more sense 🙂
How can these be chocolatey if there’s no cocoa or chocolate in them? They do sound good though; beets always add incredible moisture to cakes.
Just made these! Delicious!
If you use whole wheat flour they may be a bit dense. You could try white wheat flour!
My family has to try this!.. question, can I use whole wheat flour instead?