Best. Cupcakes. Ever. I’m not kidding. These bad boys are seriously chocolately and super duper moist. No milk, no eggs, just… beets?
Yes, you’re reading that right. My friend Salina found the recipe for these cupcakes over at The Minimalist Baker and they looked so delicious that we made them the same day. Not only are beets healthy, but they create a rich moistness to the texture of the cake. And since this is a vegan recipe, they also act as a great egg replacer. Plus, all of your non-vegan friends will love these cupcakes despite the fact that they don’t – gasp – have dairy in them!
Very quickly, I just want to point a few of the health benefits of beets:
- Lowers blood pressure
- Boosts stamina
- Fights inflammation
- Anti-cancer properties
- Rich in fiber
- Detoxification support
So these are healthy cupcakes, right? 🙂
To get started, preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Wash one large beet and cut off the stem and the root. Drizzle some melted coconut oil over it. At the Minimalist Baker, they instruct you to wrap the beet in foil, but we didn’t have any, so I placed the beet in a roasting pan and put a top on it that had holes to allow room for breathing. It worked perfectly. Roast for about an hour, or until you can stick a knife in it without any resistance.
Let the beet cool for a few minutes, then put in a blender. Add a little bit of water and blend until you have a nice puree, adding more water as necessary. Measure out 1/2 a cup and set it aside.
In a bowl, whisk together 1 cup of unsweetened vanilla almond milk and 1 tsp of apple cider vinegar. Let it sit for a few minutes and you will end up with a vegan buttermilk.
Line a muffin pan with paper liners.
Add 3/4 cup granulated sugar, 1/4 cup melted coconut oil, 2 tsp pure vanilla extract, and the beet puree to the buttermilk mixture. Beat until foamy. I used actual beaters for this part.
Slowly add in 1 cup + 1 tbsp of all purpose flour, a scant 1/2 cup of unsweetened cocoa powder, 1 tsp baking soda, 1/2 tsp baking powder, and a pinch of salt. The recipes calls for you to sift the dry ingredients into the wet mixture, but I got ahead of myself and added it all in at once without using a sifter but it worked out okay. I used the beaters to mix everything together to ensure there were no lumps.
Last step is to pour the batter into the paper liners, but only 3/4 of the way full. Bake in oven at 375 degrees for 22-25 minutes. Let them cool before peeling liners off or icing them. Makes 12 cupcakes.
You can make a yummy vanilla frosting by using about 2 cups of powdered sugar and a little bit of So Delicious Coconut Creamer (either the original or vanilla flavor) and beating until you have the consistency you want. Pipe or spread on top. You can also dust cocoa powder or powdered sugar on top if you don’t want to frost them. We added rose petals to ours for a nice pop of color.
You can easily make this recipe gluten free if you like. I would recommend a more neutral flour like brown rice flour or garbanzo bean flour, and mix in a little bit of coconut flour to thicken it.
- 1 large beet (or 2 medium beets)
- 1 cup unsweetened almond milk
- 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ cup melted coconut oil
- 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup + 1tbsp all purpose flour
- scant ½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp baking powder
- pinch of salt
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- a few tbsp So Delicious coconut creamer
- To get started, preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Wash one large beet and cut off the stem and the root. Drizzle some melted coconut oil over it. Wrap tightly in aluminum foil or place in a roasting pan, partially covered. Roast for about an hour, or until you can stick a knife in it without any resistance.
- Let the beet cool for a few minutes, then put in a blender. Add a little bit of water and blend until you have a nice puree, adding more water as necessary. Measure out ½ a cup and set it aside.
- In a bowl, whisk together 1 cup of unsweetened vanilla almond milk and 1 tsp of apple cider vinegar. Let it sit for a few minutes and you will end up with a vegan buttermilk.
- Line a muffin pan with paper liners.
- Add ¾ cup granulated sugar, ¼ cup melted coconut oil, 2 tsp pure vanilla extract, and the beet puree to the buttermilk mixture. Beat until foamy with a whisk or beaters.
- Slowly add in 1 cup + 1 tbsp of all purpose flour, a scant ½ cup of unsweetened cocoa powder, 1 tsp baking soda, ½ tsp baking powder, and a pinch of salt to the wet ingredients mixture. Use beaters to mix everything together to ensure there are no lumps.
- Last step is to pour the batter into the paper liners, but only ¾ of the way full. Bake in oven at 375 degrees for 22-25 minutes. Let them cool before peeling liners off or icing them.
- Make vanilla frosting by using 2 cups of powdered sugar and a little bit of So Delicious Coconut Creamer (either the original or vanilla flavor) and beating until you have the consistency you want. Pipe or spread on top. You can also dust cocoa powder or powdered sugar on top if you don't want to frost them or top with rose petals for a nice pop of color.
- You can easily make this recipe gluten free if you like. I would recommend a more neutral flour like brown rice flour or garbanzo bean flour, and mix in a little bit of coconut flour to thicken it.
Store in an airtight container if there’s any cupcakes leftover. But there won’t be. Trust me.
Enjoy!
Jillian ♥
Do u have to cook the beet for the cupcakes 1st?
Is there a recipe that doesn’t call for cooked beets?
I love to try these cupcakes.
Hi Carmen! Yes, you need to cook the beets first; I wouldn’t recommend using raw beets. But if you don’t like beets, you could try substituting applesauce instead. I haven’t tried it that way, but it might give you the same result that the cooked beets would. Hope that helps!