I love Red Velvet cupcakes and the ones from Sprinkles cupcake shop are my favorite. I wanted to try making them at home but was aghast at how much red food coloring goes into making those cupcakes look red! Don’t get me wrong, I am not opposed to using some food coloring, but I just couldn’t use enough to make the cupcakes red enough. And I am also looking for natural ways to color my food if there is one.

So I thought of beets! I have always been in awe of the deep red beet color. I regularly use beets for salads, but this was my first time trying to bake with them for color.

After a few failed attempts I came up with this recipe. I failed a couple of times because I was using baking soda in the recipe. Some chemical reaction with baking soda was discoloring the beets and I could not get the red color no matter how much beet puree I put in. Baking powder ended up working fine and the result was a moist and delicious cupcake. If you don’t tell your kids, they will never know that they are eating beet cupcakes! I wouldn’t call these healthy but love all the extra fiber and nutrients I can sneak in.

So, let’s get started.

Ingredients for these all-natural Red Velvet Cupcakes

Cupcakes

1 1/4 cups All-purpose flour
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 ½ tbs unsweetened cocoa powder
1 ½ tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup beet puree
1/3 cup vegetable oil
2/3 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla extract

Cream Cheese Frosting

1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature – 1 stick
8 oz full-fat cream cheese, room temperature
4 cups powdered sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 Tbsp heavy cream (or whipping cream)
1 tsp vanilla extract

How to make these Red Velvet Cupcakes

To prepare the red velvet cupcakes follow this process

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a cupcake tin with cupcake liners.
Shift the flour into a mixing bowl and add sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt. Mix well.
Add beet puree, oil, vanilla extract, and milk to the dry ingredients. Mix till no dry patches remain, being careful not to over-mix.
Divide the batter evenly between the cupcake tins filling them 2/3 the way full. Bake for about 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out with moist crumbs.
Remove the cupcake pan from the oven and allow them to cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Carefully remove the cupcakes from the pan, and place them on a wire rack to finish cooling.

Cream Cheese Frosting:

Beat the butter and cream cheese on a medium speed for 1 minute with a paddle attachment, until smooth. Add in the vanilla extract and salt, and beat on low until the ingredients are fully incorporated.
Slowly mix in the powdered sugar on a very low speed, 1 cup at a time. If the frosting is too thick, add in additional cream (1/2 tablespoon at a time). If the frosting is too thin, add in more powdered sugar (1/4 cup at a time). Fill a piping bag with the frosting and frost the cupcakes.