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Roasted Beet Cacao Cupcakes with Maple Cream Cheese Frosting

Print Recipe
Prep Time 1 hour
Cook Time 1 hour 20 minutes
Total Time 2 hours 20 minutes
Ingredients Method

Ingredients
  

  • 1 cup of shredded roasted beets
  • 1 teaspoon olive oil
  • 3/4 cup unsalted butter softened
  • 1 cup organic brown sugar
  • 3/4 cup raw sugar
  • 2 large eggs room temperature
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste or extract
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2/3 cup raw cacoa powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon Himalayian Pink Salt
  • 1 1/4 cups coconut milk
  • Frosting
  • 3/4 cup organic cream cheese room temperature
  • 3 tablespoons organic unsalted butter softened
  • 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup Grade B if possible
  • 1 tsp vanilla bean paste or extract
  • pinch of salt

Method
 

  1. Thoroughly wash beets under running water, trim the leaves, leaving about 1/2 inch of stem. Place clean beets in a piece of foil. Drizzle with just a bit of olive oil. Seal up foil. Place on a baking sheet in the oven. Roast until beets are tender when pierced with a knife, about 1 hour.
  2. Remove the beets from the oven. Open the foil and allow beets to cool completely. Beets will be easy to peel (just using a paring knife) once completely cooled.
  3. Grate the peeled beets using the finest side of a box grater or throw in a food processor if you want larger shreds and are short on time. This is what I did, the texture did not interfere with the fact that it was a chocolate cupcake. Measure 1 cup of grated beets for the cake. Set aside. (Can be done the day before)
  4. Reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees F. Line cupcake tins with cupcake liners. Set pans aside while you prepare the batter.
  5. In the bowl of an electric stand mixer, fitted with a paddle attachment, cream together butter and sugars. Beat on medium speed until fluffy, about 3 to 5 minutes. Beat in eggs, one at a time, for one minute after each addition. Stop the mixer and scrape down the sides of the bowl as necessary. Once eggs are incorporated, beat in roasted beets and vanilla extract until thoroughly combined.
  6. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, raw cacao powder, organic baking soda, organic baking powder, and pink salt.
  7. Add half of the dry ingredients to the butter and egg mixture. Beating on low speed , slowly add the coconut milk. Once just incorporated, add the other half of the dry ingredients. Beat on medium speed until coconut milk and dry ingredients are just incorporated. Try not to overmix the batter. Bowl can be removed from the mixer and mixture folded with a spatula to finish incorporating ingredients.
  8. Spoon the batter into the cups, filling each 3/4 full. Bake for 20-22 minutes (for mini-cupcakes) or 22-24 minutes (for regular-sized cupcakes). Cupcake is done when a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove cupcakes from the oven and allow to rest for 10 minutes. Place on a cooling rack and allow to cool completely before frosting the cupcakes.
  9. Frosting
  10. With an electric mixer, beat together cream cheese and butter until smooth. Add maple syrup, vanilla bean and a pinch of salt and beat again until smooth.
  11. Frost cupcakes as desired. Yields 14-18 cupcakes.