Healthy Red Velvet Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
Beets give these chocolatey gluten-free cupcakes a fabulously soft and moist texture and the cream cheese frosting a vibrant pink hue. The beet flavor is masked by the cocoa in the cupcake and by the cream cheese and sugar in the frosting.... all anyone will taste is pure yumminess!
Author: Healthy Gluten-Free Family
Recipe type: Dessert, Cupcakes, Valentines Day
Cuisine: Gluten Free, Vegetarian, Dairy-Free optional, Egg-optional, Nut-Free
Serves: 12 cupcakes
Ingredients
- 2 cups cooked beets, diced into ½-inch cubes (time hack: we used Love Beets already cooked beets)
- ⅔ cup buttermilk OR make your own (1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar + up to ⅔ cup milk of choice-- see below)
- 1½ cups gluten-free all purpose flour with xanthum gum (we used GF Jules, affiliate link)
- ½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 large egg (or flax egg -- Mix 1 tablespoon flaxseed meal with 2.5 tablespoon water)
- ¼ cup canola oil or grapeseed oil (we used grapeseed oil)
- 1 cup packed confectioners’ sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Cream Cheese Frosting
- ¾ cup packed confectioner sugar
- 5 ounces cream cheese or dairy free cream cheese, at room temperature
- 2 tablespoons of the beet puree you'll make for the cupcake
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 12 full size muffin cups with paper liners.
If making your own buttermilk or flax egg, do so now.
- To make buttermilk: add 1 tablespoon of apple cider vinegar to a liquid measuring cup, then add enough milk to fill to ⅔ cup. Let sit 10 minutes or longer while it "curdles"
- Mix 1 tablespoon flaxseed meal with 2.5 tablespoon water in a small bowl and stir to combine. Let rest for 5 minutes to thicken.
Make beet puree
- Add beets and buttermilk to a blender and puree until smooth. Reserve 2 tablespoons of the beet puree in a medium bowl for the frosting. Pour the rest into a large bowl mixing bowl.
Cupcake batter
- Whisk flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl and combine with a fork or pastry cutter.
- Whisk egg, oil, 1 cup confectioners' sugar and vanilla into the beet puree in the large bowl.
- Stir in the dry ingredients until just combined.
- Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin cups.
- Bake the cupcakes until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 18 to 20 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely.
Frosting
- Combine ¾ cup confectioners' sugar and cream cheese with the reserved beet puree in the medium bowl. Beat with an electric mixer until smooth.
- Top each cooled cupcake with frosting
- Store in the refrigerator.
These cupcakes were so delicious! We made them for my three year old’s birthday and she LOVED them. I don’t like to hide ingredients from her, so she helped us make them, knew beets were one of the main ingredients and still devoured them. Thank you for always sharing the most unique and delightful recipes!
Aw, love this! I love that you baked with your daughter and I love that you didn’t hide the ingredients from her! I think it’s great for kids to know that ingredients can be used in different ways, for different dishes and taste great! When I bake, my kids always like to guess if it is one of my hidden veggie recipes or not lol