Chocolate Beet Cupcakes

. I love making this recipe because it is so easy.  All you need is a blender and a muffin tin and you are good to go!

I use oat flour here because I wanted a hearty flour to stand up to the beets.  I roasted whole beets in a 350 oven for an hour plus (the bigger the beet, the longer the roast), then rubbed off the outer skin and pureed them.  This together with the applesauce and the arrowroot (you can sub out cornstarch) are the “eggs” in this recipe.  If you use another flour, then you might have to play with the proportions a bit.  The finished batter should be thick and creamy, almost like a good gelato.

Make sure. your almond milk or milk of choice is unsweetened, since there is plenty of sweetness coming from the beets and the monk fruit. I chose to use monkfruit since it has a zero glycemic index, but regular sugar will work exactly the same as they are a 1:1 swap.  If you don’t have apple cider vinegar, regular white vinegar will work. I am using it here because when combined with the baking soda, it gives the cupcakes a nice “lift” and a good crown; in other words, it leavens them.

Don’t try to use a shortcut and use the strawberries without roasting them or you will end up with strawberry cream cheese soup.  First of all, the roasting makes them sweeter, but more importantly, it releases some of their juices so that you are left with all the flavor and none of the water that would ruin the icing.  You can put them into the oven at the same time that you do the cupcakes and they will both be ready at the same time.  I do, however, recommend refrigerating the frosting before using to let it firm up a bit because, especially with vegan cream cheese, it can get too soft in the blending process.

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup oat flour
• 1/3 cup applesauce
• 2/3 cup pureed beets
• 1/2 cup almond milk
• 1 cup cacao powder (unsweetened)
• 1/3 – 1/2 cup monkfruit
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 heaping Tablespoons arrowroot powder
• 1 Tablespoon apple cider vinegar

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350
2. Combine all ingredients in a blender and blend till smooth
3. Using an ice cream scoop, put 1 scoop in each of 9 lined baking cups.
4. Bake for 25 minutes.  Cool, then frost

Strawberry cream cheese frosting:

Ingredients:

• 1 pint of strawberries (about 12 medium), green part removed and cut into 1/4″ slices
• 1/4 cup cream cheese
• 2 teaspoons powdered monkfruit (optional)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven ot 350.  Place sliced strawberries on a lined baking sheet and roast for 25 minutes.  Remove from oven and allow to cool.
2. In a small blender, combine the roasted berries with the cream cheese and monkfruit if using (taste with just the berries alone, and if it isn’t sweet enough, add the monkfruit, 1 teaspoon at a time.
3. Refrigerate to firm up before using.

Option #2k is to use my Chocolate Fudge frosting.

Enjoy!