Raspberry Chocolate Beet Cupcakes (Vegan)

If you think that chocolate and beets have about as much in common as Snookie off of Jersey Shore and Mother Theresa, you'd be dead wrong. At first when I heard of this combo, I thought it was truly preposterous, until my curiosity got the better of me. The beets totally blend in with the sweet raspberries and cocoa flavor in these, giving it a dense and delightfully rich texture. I make these cupcakes vegan, because I guarantee no one will ever be able to tell first of all, and vegan desserts are fashioned to be often lower in cholesterol and fat, and contain  more servings of vegetables and fruit. And hey, that means you can have two cupcakes, right? ;)

 Raspberry Chocolate Beet Cupcakes

- 3 cups Flour ( I use Bob;s Red Mill All-Purpose Wheat Flour)

-1.5 cups cane sugar

-1 cup canola oil

-2 cups filtered water

-1 cup powdered sugar

-1 cup Earth Balance Buttery Sticks (Or other vegan butter substitute)

-1/2 cup Vegetable Shortening ( I use Spectrum Vegetable Shortening, it's non-hydrogenated)

-1/4 cup soymilk ( or less)

-1 cup shredded beets

-1/2 cup raspberries

-2 t. baking soda

-4 t. apple cider vinegar.

-1 t. salt

-4 t. vanilla

-1 t. beet powder ( a natural pink food coloring, can be found in bulk of most health food stores and online.)

Directions: Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line small muffin tin pan with muffin liners. Combine flour, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl, and canola oil, 2 t. vanilla, water in another bowl. Add wet to dry and whisk until combined. Add apple cider vinegar at the end and whisk in until incorporated. Fold in beets and raspberries. Spoon into lined muffin cups and bake 20-25 minutes, until toothpick inserted in comes out clean. Cool.

 Frosting: Combine Powdered sugar, buttery sticks and vegan shortening in a medium mixing bowl with a whisk attachment ( or a hand mixer) and beat on medium-high  until combined, 2-5 minutes. combine 1 t. beet powder with the soymilk and mix to combine, then add slowly to the dry frosting and mix until combined, scraping sides of bowl often. Add remaining 2 t. of vanilla. Frost cooled cupcakes and garnish them with shredded beet pieces if desired.

Nothing scary  here, folks. Just a wholesome and innocent pink cupcake for your eating pleasure.

If you give this cupcake to a person without telling them there is beets in it or that it's vegan and they say it tastes weird, I will personally mail you $10,000. Or, since I don't have that kind of money, I will just be really REALLY shocked.

This is a really fun dessert to make for a gathering, because people are always so terrified of these cupcakes until they taste them. And, beet powder is a great way to make a fun pink, purple or red color without using a bunch of chemicals to color your pure little treats. So I double-dog dare you to try these surprisingly delightful cupcakes, you might be surprised at how much you love them.