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”.
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.
Is there any alternative sweetener I could use in the frosting? Like brown rice syrup or malt barley syrup? And would I have to add any dry item to make up for the moisture addition?
[…] Red Beet Cupcakes with Red Beet frosting is a delightfully flavored reddish cupcake that kids of all ages can enjoy without the chemical colors and dyes in some other brightly colored desserts. These tasty and naturally colored treats get their lovely color, texture, and flavor from roasted beets. Even the cream cheese frosting can be colored with the pureed beet. Most will eat this lovely cupcake without ever knowing vegetables are involved unless you tell them. Source Weelicious […]
Well, these sure sound healthy! I had some roasted beets that no one in my family, except for me, would eat by themselves. So …. I needed to bake something. These cupcakes need some sugar I think, but then again, I am not planning on putting icing on them. They taste more like healthy muffins than cupcakes. But still good. We will se what my three- year- old will say.
In case anyone is wondering, I did make these with canned beets and the cocoa and they are fantastic. I made a frosting of some butter, cream cheese, vanilla, powdered sugar, and beet juice.
Once the cupcakes are baked the color does not rub off! So no need to worry about staining! I haven’t tried freezing the frosting, but I would think it would come out to a funny texture after being frozen and defrosted. I’ve never had a problem with the frosting staining clothing, but it definitely could rub off. So I’d be careful. You could always make the white frosting if you’re worried about that! 🙂
I made the frosting today and it’s delish!!!! I have 2 questions. 1. Can you freeze the frosting or will it mess up the texture during thawing? 2. Is anyone concerned about staining of clothes? I’d like to make these for Valentines Day for my daughter’s preschool class. I’m a little worried that the kids may get messy and stain their clothes! Any thoughts on this?
[…] with cream cheese frosting. The birthday girl requested pink frosting so I used a recipe from Weelicious that colors the frosting with some beet puree. You can hardly taste the sneaky addition of a veggie […]
You could leave out the beet puree! Blueberry juice will turn the frosting purple and raspberry juice will turn it red or pink!
It was so nice to see a familiar face in my new Parenting magazine. Congrats Catherine! I’m planning for my kiddos under sea birthday party at the very beginning of February. I’d love to use this frosting minus the beats. I plan to add a bit of juice from red cabbage which is supposed to make blue instead. Any idea if that would work? Do you need the beat puree for this recipe? I know you also have the butter cream frosting recipe, but I was hoping for a yummy lower sugar version like this one. Thanks for any tips you might have.
It will be a slightly different texture and taste, but I think it should be okay! I would use 3/4 cup sugar and add 1-2 tablespoons more of oil since you’ll be losing some of the moisture that comes from the honey!
if I substitute the honey with coconut palm sugar will it mess up the texture?
You could use a little less beet puree and keep the rest of the ingredients the same if you don’t like the beet flavor!
Ugh! The cupcakes are good but the icing came out a little iffy. Way too beet-y!! What can I do to fix it? I tried adding more powdered sugar and that didn’t help. Suggestions?! They are so stunningly beautiful, I’m dying to make them work!
Just made these for my daughters first birthday. They are a hit! I love that they are so low in sugar, and aren’t super sweet. The color of the frosting is stunningly beautiful. This recipe definitely goes in the recipe box!
Catherine, these are PINKALICIOUS! My 2 1/2 year old toddlers loved them. Thank you so much. We substituted whole wheat pastry flour for the AP flour, and unsweetened applesauce for the oil. We also took your advice and swapped out 3 T of flour for cocoa powder. The result- light, fluffy and delicious red velvety cupcakes. Thank you again Catherine.
These are delish! And we loved the icing. Thank you 🙂