Chocolate Beet Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Icing

For the beet purée:
Preheat oven to 375ºF. Wash the beets well. Place the beets on a sheet of foil paper and rub the beets with the oil. Seal the foil so that the beets are well enclosed. Place them on a baking sheet and put the baking sheet in the oven. Roast for approximately 45 minutes to 1 hour depending on the size of the beets. You know they are well cooked when you can easily pierce them with a knife. Remove from the oven, unwrap the beets and let them cool to room temperature before you peel them.

When cool enough to handle, peel the beets and discard the peel. Purée the beet flesh in your food processor. Measure 3/4 cup of beet purée, and set aside. You will also need to set aside another 3 tablespoons of the purée for the cream cheese frosting. You can make the beet purée ahead of time and refrigerate it for up to 3 days.

For the cupcakes:
Place a rack in the centre of your oven and preheat oven to 350ºF. Line 2 regular-sized 12-count muffin pans with paper cups (the recipe actually makes around 20 but may vary a tad).

In a medium bowl, sift together the all-purpose flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

In the bowl of your stand mixer, beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes on medium speed. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the beet purée and vanilla extract. Beat well and scrape the bowl at least a couple of times. Add half of the flour mixture while beating on low-speed, then add all of the coffee and water. Add the rest of the flour mixture and beat the batter for a couple of minutes on medium speed.

Spoon the batter into the paper-lined muffin cups until 3/4 full. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center of a cupcake comes out with just a few crumbs clinging to it, about 18 minutes. Remove the muffin pans from the oven and set on a rack.

Let the cupcakes cool in the pan for 5 minutes. Remove the cupcakes onto wire racks and let them cool completely.

For the cream cheese icing:
In a small bowl, combine the beet purée with the lemon juice and set aside. In the bowl of a stand mixer using the paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese with the butter on medium-high speed until smooth. Beat in the vanilla.

Strain the beet purée and lemon juice mixture so that you are left with only the coloured liquid. Strain the liquid a second time. Add the liquid to the cream cheese mixture and beat until uniform in colour. Beat in the icing sugar, 1 cup at a time until the icing is smooth.

Fill a piping bag fitted with a large tip of your choice and pipe the icing onto the tops of the cupcakes. Or alternatively, you can just spread the icing on the cupcakes. If desired, you can add sprinkles on top.

Now enjoy with your loved ones!

Recipe adapted from Fine Cooking.