Chocolate Beet Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Icing

Delicious for any celebration, these moist and fluffy Chocolate Beet Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Icing make a fabulous sweet treat!

These beetroot cupcakes are the best chocolate cupcakes I've ever tasted! They have a deep chocolate flavor and are so moist and tender. They have a fluffy texture and taste simply amazing with the frosting.

These beet cupcakes are similar in appearance to red velvet cupcakes. They have a reddish hue when you cut into them but are made without any food colouring. It's all from the colour of the beets.

A touch of beet purée is also added to the icing which is why it's tinted pink. You can skip this step if you prefer a regular cream cheese frosting.

How to Make Beetroot Cupcakes

Including beets in chocolate cake is nothing new. There are plenty of recipes for chocolate and beet cakes, brownies and pancakes online.

The beets help add moisture to the cupcakes which means these cupcakes stay moist for days after having baked them.

Here's an overview of the ingredients and steps to making this cupcake recipe. You will find the ingredient amounts in the recipe card at the end of this post.

Ingredients Overview:

• Beet purée. You'll need to roast or steam about 4-5 small beets to make the purée.
• Vegetable, light olive oil or grapeseed oil
• All-purpose flour
• Dutch-processed cocoa
• Baking powder, baking soda and salt
• Unsalted butter
• Granulated sugar
• Eggs 
• Pure vanilla extract
• Coffee. You'll need to brew a cup of coffee.
• Water
• Cream cheese 
• Lemon juice. Freshly squeezed
• Icing sugar

Steps Overview:

The first step in making these cupcakes is to roast the beets, let them cool to room temperature and purée them in a food processor.

Since beets are so delicious and good for you, you may want to roast a few extra beets for snacking or adding to a salad like this Roasted Beet and Orange Salad.

Next, you'll need to make the cupcake batter. Sift the dry ingredients in a medium mixing bowl and whisk to blend.

Combine the butter and sugar in the bowl of your food mixer and blend until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, beet purée and vanilla extract, beating after each addition.

Once blended, add half of the flour mixture while beating on low speed, then add all of the coffee and water. Add the rest of the flour mixture and beat the batter for a couple of minutes until well blended.

Spoon the batter into the paper-lined muffin tin until 3/4 full. Bake until a toothpick inserted into a cupcake comes out with just a few crumbs clinging to it, about 18 minutes.

Let the chocolate cupcakes cool in the pan on a rack for 5 minutes. Remove the cupcakes onto wire racks and let cool completely before frosting.

How to Make the Cream Cheese Frosting

For a pink coloured frosting, combine the reserved beet purée with the lemon juice. Strain the beet purée and lemon juice mixture so that you are left with only pink lemon-beet juice.

Using a mixer, beat the cream cheese and butter on medium-high speed until smooth. Beat in the vanilla and lemon-beet juice. Add the icing sugar and beat until well blended and the icing is smooth.

Storage Instructions

Unfrosted cupcakes can be stored at room temperature in an airtight container for up to three to four days. Once frosted the cupcakes should be stored in the refrigerator.

I hope you enjoy these chocolate beet cupcakes as much as we do!

More Delicious Sweet Treats

• Mini Apple Bundt Cakes
• Cinnamon Bundt Cake
• Gluten-Free Almond Flour Brownies
• Healthier Sugar Cookies

Chocolate Beet Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Icing

Author: Adapted from Fine Cooking

Delicious, moist and fluffy chocolate cupcakes made with beet purée and topped with a decadent cream cheese icing. 

4.67 from 9 votes

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Prep Time 1 hr 15 mins

Cook Time 18 mins

Total Time 1 hr 33 mins

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Servings 20 cupcakes

Calories 295 kcal

Ingredients

  

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For the Cupcakes:

• ¾ cup beet purée + 3 Tbs. beet purée for the icing about 4-5 small beets
• 2 teaspoons vegetable oil
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• ⅔ cup Dutch-processed cocoa
• 1- ½ teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ¾ cup unsalted butter
• 1-3/4 cups granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs room temperature
• 1 ½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• ¾ cup hot strong coffee
• ½ cup hot water

For the Cream Cheese Icing:

• 250 grams brick cream cheese regular, softened
• ¼ cup unsalted butter softened
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 3 tablespoons beet purée
• 4 cups icing sugar sifted

Instructions

 

To Make the Beet Purée:

•  Preheat your oven to 375ºF.
• Wash the beets really well. Place the beets in foil paper and add 2 teaspoons of vegetable oil, rub the beets with the oil and then seal the foil so that the beets are well enclosed. Place them on a baking sheet and roast for approximately 45 minutes to an hour depending on the size of the beets, you know they are well cooked when you can easily pierce them with a knife. Remove from the oven, unwrap the beets and let them cool to room temperature before you peel them.
• Purée the beets in your food processor and measure 3/4 cup of beet purée. Set aside. You will also need to set aside another 3 tablespoons of the purée for the cream cheese frosting. You can make the beet purée ahead of time and refrigerate it for up to 3 days.

To Make the Chocolate Beet Cupcakes:

•  Place a rack in the centre of your oven and preheat oven to 350ºF.
• In a medium bowl, sift together the all-purpose flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder and salt.
• In the bowl of your mixer, beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy about 3 minutes on medium speed.
• Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
• Add the beet purée and the vanilla extract. Beat well and scrape the bowl at least a couple of times.
• Add half of the flour mixture while beating on low-speed, then add all of the coffee and water. Add the rest of the flour mixture and beat the batter for a couple of minutes on medium speed.
• Spoon the batter into the paper-lined muffin cups until 3/4 full.
• Bake until a toothpick inserted in a cupcake comes out with just a few crumbs clinging to it, about 18 minutes.
• Let the cupcakes cool in the pan on a rack for 5 minutes. Remove cupcakes onto wire racks and let cool completely.

For the Cream Cheese Icing:

• In a small bowl, combine the beet purée with the lemon juice and set aside. Strain the beet purée and lemon juice mixture so that you are left with only the coloured liquid. Strain the liquid a second time and set aside.
  
• In the bowl of a stand mixer using the paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese with the butter on medium-high speed until smooth.
• Beat in the vanilla. Add the reserved beet coloured liquid and beat until well blended.
  
• Beat in the icing sugar, one cup at a time until the icing is smooth.

To Assemble Cupcakes:

• Fill a piping bag fitted with a large tip of your choice and pipe the icing onto the tops of the cupcakes. Or you can just spread the icing on the cupcakes. If desired you can add sprinkles to the tops.

Nutrition

Calories: 295kcalCarbohydrates: 39gProtein: 3gFat: 14gSaturated Fat: 9gCholesterol: 54mgSodium: 218mgPotassium: 147mgFiber: 1gSugar: 27gVitamin A: 475IUVitamin C: 0.7mgCalcium: 40mgIron: 1.2mg

Keyword Beetroot Cupcakes, Chocolate Beet Cupcakes, Chocolate Beet Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Icing, Chocolate Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

Tried this recipe? Have any questions, comments or suggestions? Leave a comment below!Mention @sweetandsavourypursuits or tag #sweetandsavourypursuits!

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