Sneaking vegetables into things that are already delicious has been a hobby of mine for the last few months. It’s so exciting to know that when you are eating a dessert, that it actually has some good earthy fruits or vegetables inside of it (not that desserts with vegetables inside should take the place of eating only vegetables, but you have to have a little sweet sometimes!). I started trying to put beets in desserts after my best friend recommended a recipe for chocolate cupcakes with beets inside. That’s when the obsession with chocolate and beets began.

Being a cardiac nurse, I have always wanted to like beets, because they are great for your heart, and they are packed with vitamins. But I couldn’t get past the earthy dirt taste in my mouth. Some day I hope to roast beets and enjoy them, but for now I will just be putting them in desserts!

So, after experimenting with a few recipes and tricks of my own, I have settled on a recipe that I like. Hope you enjoy!

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup roasted pureed beets (depending on size, one should be enough)
• 1 cup almond milk
• 1/4 cup coconut oil
• 1/3 cup honey
• 1 Tbs vanilla or almond extract (I prefer almond for this recipe)
• 1 cup gluten free flour blend
• 1/2 cup cocoa powder (unsweetened)
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• dash of salt

Instructions

1. To roast beets, remove stems and wash under water. (You may leave the beet root on but don’t have to). Dry beets off and wrap in aluminum foil individually. Bake for 1 hour with the oven on 375 degrees. When you can stick a knife easily into them, they are tender enough to take out. Cool to room temperature, then place in a food processor adding water as needed to blend into a puree. You only need 1/2 cup for this recipe, but you can save the rest for other batches. The roasted beets actually freeze well in an air tight container.
2. Place cupcake liners in pan. This recipe makes anywhere between 10-12 cupcakes, or 24 mini cupcakes.
3. Mix together the milk, sugar, oil, and almond/vanilla extract.
4. Add the 1/2 cup of pureed beet into the mixture. Beat until mixture is foamy.
5. In a separate bowl, combine all of the rest of the ingredients (dry ingredients).
6. With a little at a time, add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture. Make sure all the lumps are out.
7. Fill up cupcake liners 3/4 of the way up. Cook for 25 minutes at 375 degrees for normal cupcakes, 20-22 minutes for mini cupcakes. Once you stick a toothpick in a cupcake and it comes out clean, they are finished.
8. Let them cool down, because they like to fall apart if you take them out too soon.
9. I enjoy them plain, but you may add your own icing or peanut butter on top to make things interesting.
10. Enjoy!

Tags

• recipes
• gluten free