Tasty beet red velvet cupcakes are made with whole wheat flour and no processed sugar. They’re topped off with a decadent cream cheese frosting.
Whether you’re a Valentine’s Day lover or not, you can’t deny this holiday has some fun desserts tied to it. I mean, when else do you make red velvet? Valentine’s day kind of owns this treat. Why else would you turn a perfectly good chocolate cake red? Precisely my argument here.
Luckily, nature made a red veggie for us that works perfect in this recipe. This unexpected veg works its magic in beet red velvet cupcakes, turning them red without any nasty chemicals. It leaves a slightly earthy taste, but isn’t all that noticeable and gets completely masked by the chocolate. If you’re vehemently opposed to that, you can always add a touch more sugar to burry it further, but I don’t think it’s necessary.
Beet flavor aside, they’re sweet enough to be delicious without having a ton of extra sugar. These red velvet cupcakes are lower in sugar than most yogurts you’ll find!
If you’re really opposed to the reminiscent hint of beet and low sugar, like I said earlier, add an extra touch of sugar. You can always cream a bit (maybe 1/4 cup?) of coconut sugar in at the stage where you’re mixing the beet with other liquid ingredients and add a touch more sugar to the frosting. Even with this, you’ll still have less than 1/3 of the sugar that a regular store bought cupcake has.
I did not do this because they’re plenty sweet for me, but if you’re a devout sugar lover and your sugar meter is skewed in the opposite direction, you’ll probably crave more sweetness.
Look at that stunning batter. So purplish red and beautiful to no end. This is why red velvet is better than plain ol’ chocolate. We eat with our eyes and color is fun. And why cupcakes over cake? Same reason. Cupcakes are always more fun than full blown regular sized cakes. I’m sure we can all agree on that. However good anything is in large form, its even better mini.
If you like the idea of this, check out my chocolate peanut butter cupcakes. That recipe is one of my all time favorites. Those would be on my greatest hits reel for sure.
Or you could do these cheesecake stuffed strawberries to woo your valentine. All of these snacks are tried and true. Wholesome desserts mean you get to eat a bit more of them too, but in this case, you probably won’t need to. These beet red velvet cupcakes are really quite filling.
Another thing I love about these cupcakes is that they keep pretty well. That can’t be said for all desserts for that matter. The sprinkles (if you use them) will melt into the frosting so its best to hold off on that until right before serving, but the cupcakes on their own will hold up in a sealed container in the fridge for a few days.
We were snacking on them for at least three days and feeding them to anyone that stopped by. I have to say, between my husband having a home based business and the oodles of friends that drop by our place on a daily basis, I’m never short on taste testers.
Beet Red Velvet Cupcakes
Ingredients
Cupcakes
- 1 medium sized beet, roasted and cut into wedges (about 1 cup)
- ½ cup almond milk, unsweetened
- 2 tsp. vanilla extract
- 1 cup pure maple syrup
- 1/4 cup coconut oil room temperature and solid but not rock hard
- 1/2 cup plain greek yogurt I used full fat, dairy free yogurt works too
- 2 eggs room temperature
- 1 egg white
- 2 cups white whole-wheat flour
- 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2 tsp. baking powder
- ½ tsp. salt
Frosting
- 8 oz. 1/3 less fat cream cheese
- 1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
- ¼ cup honey
- 1 – 3 tsp. milk if needed (I used almond)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Line muffin pan with muffin pan with liners or spray with baking spray.
- Place beet in food processor and pulse until finely chopped. Add almond milk, vanilla, maple syrup, and yogurt and pulse to thoroughly mix. Add coconut oil, eggs and egg white pulse for about 10 seconds to mix in.
- In a separate bowl, combine flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt and stir to mix. Pour liquid mixture into bowl and stir to combine.
- Pour batter into prepared muffin cups, filling each about ¾ full.
- Bake for 16 – 18 mins until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean. Cool in pan for 10 minutes before moving muffins to a cooling rack for 20 – 30 minutes. Cupcakes must be fully cool before frosting.
- To make frosting, place cream cheese, vanilla, and honey in a bowl and beat with whisk attachment on blender until smooth and creamy.
- Add milk 1 tsp. at a time to thin and make desired consistency. Place in piping bag and pipe over cooled cupcakes.
Nutrition
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Comments & Reviews
What would the amount of pure beet juice be?
Hi there! Do you mean replacing the beet with beet juice? The cut up beet was about 1 cup but I’m not sure what the measurement was after blending. I’d assume about half of that but can’t be sure. Using the pre-roasted store bought beets works great though!
For the cake in the ingredients list you said syrup, and in the description you say to use honey. Then you listed yogurt ingredients list but I don’t see anywhere in directions on when to put it in?
Hi Tiffany – thank you for letting me know about those typos! I just fixed them in the recipe card so it should read correctly that the yogurt is added with the other wet ingredients and the recipe lists maple syrup instead of honey.
A whole cup of Maple syrup?
Yes! It’s distributed between all of the cupcakes and without that much, they won’t be sweet enough.