Vegan Ginger-Beet Cupcakes with Very Pink Frosting
Between my CSA takings and my weekly farmers market ritual buying spree, I end up spending a lot of time thinking of how to turn seasonal veggies into dinner. So why not turn them into dessert?
Inspired by this fascinating vegan Chocolate Beetroot cake from Kathryn’s information-rich blog Limes & Lycopene, I designed a lively-tasting vegan cupcake - with beets - that lives up to it’s party pink exterior.
There’s a really cool (geeky?) science-experimenty situation happening in this recipe; the uncooked batter is a murky magenta from the grated beets but when baked it turns to a gold flaxen color. More beet research suggests that if left uneaten long enough the pink icing will turn back into white in a magic-disappearing ink sort of way but I suspect that these cupcakes won’t last long enough for you to test this hypothesis.
I’m entering these cupcakes to Minko’s (another Aussie!) Think Pink for Pinktober event over at Couture Cupcakes - she promises to send $1 to the National Breast Cancer Foundation for every pink recipe. Check out her Pinktober Pomegranate Turkish Delight Cupcakes - um, wow! I also can’t wait to try her vegan Lime Zucchini Pistachio Cupcakes - another creative veggie-packed dairy-free dessert!
Time: 25 minutes plus 20 minutes to bake plus cooling time before frosting
Makes: 12 cupcakes
Vegan Ginger-Beet Cupcakes with Very Pink Frosting
Cupcakes
2 tsp apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup plain or vanilla soymilk
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup light brown sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup of raw grated beet (a bit less than one medium-sized beet)
3 tsp fresh ginger, grated
1/2 cup coconut oil (or any mild-tasting veggie oil)
3/4 tsp vanilla extract
spray oilFrosting
1/4 cup vegan margarine
1/4 cup vegetable shortening
1/2 cup confectioners sugar
1/4 cup soymilk
splash beet juice (extra grated beet mixed with water)
squeeze of lemon
dash salt
Preheat the oven to 350ยบ.
Fill a cupcake tray with 12 cupcake liners (I like to spray the inside of the muffin papers with spray oil to help the cupcakes release). Set aside.
Mix the vinegar with the soy mix well and set aside (the mixture will curdle).
In a large mixing bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt.
In another mixing bowl whisk together the soymilk mixture, beet, ginger, coconut oil, and vanilla. Add the wet to the dry ingredients and beat until smooth using a hand-held mixer, stopping once to scrape down the sides of the bowl.
Fill each muffin cup 2/3 full with batter. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted in the middle of a cupcake comes out clean.
Let cool in the pans for 5 minutes, then remove cupcakes from the pan and place on a wire rack. Let the cupcakes cool completely before frosting.
To make the frosting, first cream together the vegan margarine and shortening. You want to cream these together REALLY well, so mix vigorously with a fork for 5 minutes, until your arm is very tired.
Beat the powdered sugar into the margarine mixture until well combined. Then add a splash of beet juice for color and a squeeze of lemon and pinch of salt to help balance out the sweet. Mix for another few minutes until the frosting is pink pink and fluffy fluffy.
October 11th, 2007 19:11
Ah, how exciting an extension of the chocolate beetroot cake! These look gorgeous Vanessa - much, MUCH prettier than my cake.
I’m going to have to try out your receipe next time I’m in a baking mood.
October 11th, 2007 23:19
Vanessa, These cupcakes look great, I am a cupcakes fan for sure, I might give these a try myself. I also love beet!
Hope all is well.
Kathy Lewandowski
October 12th, 2007 00:11
these look stunning! I will definitely give them a try soon.
October 12th, 2007 09:38
I have been colouring cupcake frosting with a paste made from beet powder and water, and have not yet encountered the colour fading phenom! I wonder how long it takes to happen - I don’t think cupcakes can go uneaten long enough to find out!
Here’s a photo of my pink and yellow (tumeric) cupcakes if you’d like to check it out:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/lemonholistic/527639647/
October 12th, 2007 18:37
Vanessa, these are beautiful!
October 12th, 2007 19:47
beautiful…
and how interesting.. the science and the fading color.
I’ll have to do this and watch it fade.
October 13th, 2007 17:25
What!?! I never thought that beetroot would be a yummy dessert item, but I would love to try these!
October 15th, 2007 15:43
Kathryn - I owe it all to you! Next time I’d like to try chocolate - I bet it goes great with beets!
Kathy - as always, nice to hear from you! Let me know if you try them.
Celine - thanks for stopping by! Let me know how they turn out.
Cordelia - I’m not strong enough to debunk the myth!!! Has anyone else heard about this phenomenon?
Cassie - nice to hear from you!
Melody - please try! There’s no way I can leave my uneaten for long enough… even in the name of science
Cakespy - I think beets are just as sweet as carrots and carrot cake is so popular. They’re sweeter, of course, than zuchinni and think about how many people go crazy over zuchinni bread… I’m wondering if people are afraid of the color?
October 15th, 2007 17:44
Vanessa, I’ve never heard of this phenomenon you mentioned. Also, if the red beet color is an issue with some, there are always yellow beets! Would love to see a yellow beet cupcake!
October 16th, 2007 12:35
Wow, those look so cute! Even better is the name. I like saying “ginger-beet”: ginger-beet, ginger-beet, ginger-beet.