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Home - Cupcakes

Published: Feb 11, 2016 · Modified: Oct 5, 2021 by Amanda Powell · This post may contain affiliate links.

Beet Red Velvet Cupcakes

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These beet red velvet cupcakes are naturally colored, but with all the amazing flavor of a red velvet cupcake. It is topped with a classic cream cheese frosting and sure to be a new favorite.

Ridiculously moist, irresistibly  cute beet red velvet cupcakes
I've always been a fan of using natural ingredients whenever and where ever possible. I've always loved the idea of beet red velvet cupcakes, but I never actually tried making them before now. I've had baked goods like breads and cakes with beets, but using it as a coloring agent was entirely new to me.
And as it turns out, a real science.
Of course, all baking is a science, but it's never been more apparent than when I started devloping this recipe for beet red velvet cupcakes (okay, may macarons also made that abundantly clear to me too). It took me five batches of cupcakes to get this recipe right. That's five dozen cupcakes. That's a lot of cupcakes to have to eat through. Thank goodness for friends!

Ridiculously moist, irresistibly  cute beet red velvet cupcakes
The first time, I completely forgot the principles of baking and made a regular red velvet the way I like them and just added reduced pureed beets instead of the food coloring. Big mistake. They tasted amazing. Like.... really good. But they weren't even a little red. They were like a rusty brown color. The second and third time I was close, but the cupcakes were mostly red on the top, brown on the bottom, and smelled like beets. They didn't taste like beets, but you could smell them. Who wants to smell beets when eating a cupcake? Not me! Plus these were all way too greasy. As in, the liners were just too greasy to touch. Ew.
Finally, finally, I found the perfect balance. They are redder on the top, but still fairly red throughout and you would never know beets were in the cupcakes at all. Instead, they were light, fluffy, and full of non-beety flavor.
So no matter how you feel about beets or food coloring, you've got to try these beet red velvet cupcakes. I mean, they've got beets in them, which basically means they are a health food which means it's totally okay to have about four of them. And who doesn't want that?

Ridiculously moist beet red velvet cupcakes

Recipe Card

Ridiculously moist, irresistibly cute beet red velvet cupcakes

Beet Red Velvet Cupcakes

Amanda Powell
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 20 minutes mins
Cook Time 18 minutes mins
Total Time 38 minutes mins
Servings 14 cupcakes
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Ingredients
  

  • 1 ½ cups beet puree
  • 2 ½ cups cake flour
  • 2 ½ tablespoons natural cocoa powder not Dutch-processed
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 1 ¾ teaspoons baking powder
  • 8 tablespoons unsalted butter melted and cooled
  • 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 1 ¼ cups granulated sugar
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • ¾ cups milk
  • 6 oz cream cheese room temperature
  • 6 tablespoons unsalted butter room temperature
  • 2 ½ cups powdered sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2 tablespoons heavy cream
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Instructions
 

  • Line a muffin tin with cupcake liners. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
  • Heat a skillet on medium high and add the beet puree along with ¼ cup of water. Reduce the beet puree until it is about ¾ cup. Allow to cool to room temperature.
  • In a bowl, mix together the flour, cocoa powder, salt, and baking powder. Whisk to combined. Set aside.
  • In a food processor, add the reduced beets, butter, oil, sugar, egg, vanilla, and milk. Process until well combined - at least 2 - 3 minutes. Transfer to a bowl.
  • Add the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and mix until just combined.
  • Evenly divide the batter among the cupcake liners so they are ¾ of the way full. You will have enough batter leftover for about two more cupcakes. I greased and floured a mini springform pan to turn it into a mini cake and baked for an addition 5 - 6 minutes.
  • Bake the cupcakes for about 18 - 20 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Allow to cool to room temperature.
  • Beat the cream cheese and butter together until smooth and creamy. Add the powdered sugar one cup at a time, beating well between each addition. Add the vanilla and heavy cream and mix on low until combined. Transfer to a piping bag fitted with a piping tip (i used a star tip) and pipe onto the cupcakes. Optionally top with sprinkles.
Tried this recipe?Tag me on Instagram! @acookienameddesire #acookienameddesire

 

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About Amanda Powell

Baker, photographer, and sometimes world traveler behind A Cookie Named Desire. Obsessed with helping people live life sweetly with delicious food to share with the special people in your life and creating lasting memories.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Sarah says

    May 30, 2022 at 8:31 am

    Looking forward to making these. Probably a silly question but beet purée is it just beets blended down??

    Reply
    • Amanda Powell says

      June 01, 2022 at 1:41 pm

      Yes!

      Reply
  2. Traci | Vanilla And Bean says

    February 15, 2016 at 9:54 am

    Way to go Amanda! I KNOW these were a work of love! The beets change everything and their color is so sensitive to acidic ingredients. A tough recipe to master, indeed! These look delicious and your icing is perfection! Yay YOU!!

    Reply
  3. Laura @MotherWouldKnow says

    February 12, 2016 at 6:04 pm

    I love your explanation of the trial-and-error that got you to these cupcakes. Makes me want to run right out and grab a bunch of beets. Glad it wasn't me doing the experimenting - I would have eaten each and every cupcake from the other batches. lol

    Reply
  4. Caitlin says

    February 11, 2016 at 9:01 pm

    This is such an interesting recipe and I'm so intrigued by it - I really want to give it a shot! That's funny that when you initially tried it, it smelled like beets. Someone told me the other day that she thought beets taste the way it smells after it rains. Weirdly accurate description isn't it?

    xx, Caitlin
    http://www.wandererandwolf.wordpress.com

    Reply
  5. Summer says

    February 11, 2016 at 11:10 am

    Love love love these! They are gorgeous ♥

    summerdaisy.net

    Reply
    • Amanda says

      February 11, 2016 at 6:15 pm

      Thank you!

      Reply
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Hey, I'm Amanda!

I am the baker and photographer behind A Cookie Named Desire. I'm a cookbook author, food science nerd, world traveler (sometimes) with a major weakness for cookies and cheese.

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