Ingredients:
1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1 1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 tbsp dark cocoa powder (not Dutch processed)
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 cup fresh pureed beets*
1/3 cup oil (I use a sunflower/ rice bran oil blend)
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Method:
*I used 3 medium sized beets and got approximately 1 1/2 cups of purée.
Wash the beets, scrape/ peel and slice them. Cook them (steam cook or microwave) till they’re well done. Cool and purée the cooked beets along with about 3 or 4 tbsps of water, in a blender till smooth. Keep aside. You can do this ahead and refrigerate the purée for a day or else freeze it till required.
To make the cupcakes, first whisk together the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder and salt in a bowl till well mixed. Keep aside.
Put the puréed beets, oil, lemon juice and vanilla extract into another bowl and lightly whisk together till mixed well.
Pour this into the bowl with the dry ingredients and mix just enough to combine. Divide the batter equally between 12 cupcake tins lined with paper cups.
Bake the cupcakes at 180C for about 20 to 25 minutes. A skewer/ toothpick inserted into the centre should come out clean once they’re done.
Cool completely and decorate with frosting of your choice. The usual choices are butter roux (boiled) frosting or cream cheese frosting.
Hannah suggests cream cheese frosting. I thought a light frosting (preferably not buttercream) might taste good with these cupcakes and the creamy mascarpone frosting is just perfect.
This is not too sweet, light yet creamy and I feel its perfect with the tangy notes of this particular cupcake.
Mascarpone Frosting:
Ingredients:
3/4 cup chilled cream (25% fat)
¼ cup confectioner’s sugar
1 cup mascarpone cheese*
1 tsp vanilla extract
Method:
*To make your own mascarpone cheese (enough for this recipe), heat 150ml of 25% cream over simmering water till it reaches a temperature of 82 to 85C. Add 1 1/2 tsp of lemon juice or white vinegar to the hot cream and stir till it thickens a bit (curdles). The thickened cream should coat your spoon well.
Take this curdled cream off the heat and allow to cool. Pour this into a strainer lined with a cotton towel and allow to drain in the fridge, overnight. Please note that very little “whey” drains out here, unlike for paneer or ricotta.
Your macarpone is ready to use. Use it within 4 days of making it.
To make the mascarpone frosting, beat the chilled cream till stiff. Add the sugar and vanilla extract and beat till well incorporated.
Using a spoon, break the lumps in the mascarpone. Add this to the whipped cream, and beat on slow speed just long enough so that the mascarpone is well incorporated into the cream.
Use to decorate the cupcakes as desired. This frosting pipes well but stays soft, so it would be a good idea to refrigerate them until ready to be served.
1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1 1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 tbsp dark cocoa powder (not Dutch processed)
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 cup fresh pureed beets*
1/3 cup oil (I use a sunflower/ rice bran oil blend)
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Method:
*I used 3 medium sized beets and got approximately 1 1/2 cups of purée.
Wash the beets, scrape/ peel and slice them. Cook them (steam cook or microwave) till they’re well done. Cool and purée the cooked beets along with about 3 or 4 tbsps of water, in a blender till smooth. Keep aside. You can do this ahead and refrigerate the purée for a day or else freeze it till required.
To make the cupcakes, first whisk together the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder and salt in a bowl till well mixed. Keep aside.
Put the puréed beets, oil, lemon juice and vanilla extract into another bowl and lightly whisk together till mixed well.
Pour this into the bowl with the dry ingredients and mix just enough to combine. Divide the batter equally between 12 cupcake tins lined with paper cups.
Bake the cupcakes at 180C for about 20 to 25 minutes. A skewer/ toothpick inserted into the centre should come out clean once they’re done.
Cool completely and decorate with frosting of your choice. The usual choices are butter roux (boiled) frosting or cream cheese frosting.
Hannah suggests cream cheese frosting. I thought a light frosting (preferably not buttercream) might taste good with these cupcakes and the creamy mascarpone frosting is just perfect.
This is not too sweet, light yet creamy and I feel its perfect with the tangy notes of this particular cupcake.
Mascarpone Frosting:
Ingredients:
3/4 cup chilled cream (25% fat)
¼ cup confectioner’s sugar
1 cup mascarpone cheese*
1 tsp vanilla extract
Method:
*To make your own mascarpone cheese (enough for this recipe), heat 150ml of 25% cream over simmering water till it reaches a temperature of 82 to 85C. Add 1 1/2 tsp of lemon juice or white vinegar to the hot cream and stir till it thickens a bit (curdles). The thickened cream should coat your spoon well.
Take this curdled cream off the heat and allow to cool. Pour this into a strainer lined with a cotton towel and allow to drain in the fridge, overnight. Please note that very little “whey” drains out here, unlike for paneer or ricotta.
Your macarpone is ready to use. Use it within 4 days of making it.
To make the mascarpone frosting, beat the chilled cream till stiff. Add the sugar and vanilla extract and beat till well incorporated.
Using a spoon, break the lumps in the mascarpone. Add this to the whipped cream, and beat on slow speed just long enough so that the mascarpone is well incorporated into the cream.
Use to decorate the cupcakes as desired. This frosting pipes well but stays soft, so it would be a good idea to refrigerate them until ready to be served.