The Big Three Zero
Happy birthday to ME.
Well, it’s official. I’m 30 today!
I really do feel like 30 is the new 20 for my generation. To be honest, I feel like I’m in better physical shape than I was for most of my twenties and I’m really excited to see what the next decade holds!
To celebrate, I made myself some really good cupcakes. They have two kinds of beets in them, but you would never know it unless I told you… which I just did.
Chocolate Beet Cupcakes
Yield: 24 cupcakes
Prep Time:
Total Time:
Ingredients:
Batter:
3/4 cup unsalted butter, soft
1 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup cocoa powder, sifted
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup roasted, shredded red beets (about 4 small beets)
1 1/4 cup buttermilk
Frosting:
1 cup unsalted butter
8 ounces cream cheese
1/4 cup roasted, shredded beets (about 1 small beet)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon milk
1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
Pinch of salt
4-5 cups powdered sugar
Helpful Equipment:
Stand Mixer
Cupcake tins
Wire mesh sifter
Food processor or box grater
Piping bag or just use a plastic bag with the end snipped off
Directions:
1) Cut off stems for beets and lay them out on a baking sheet. Bake at 400 degrees F. until they are tender, about an hour for small beets. If you get larger ones you'll have to add on 15-20 minutes.
2) Let beets cool slightly, then peel them and grate them using either a box grater or food processor. The want the beet shreds to be very fine for the batter and somewhat fine for the frosting.
3) Stir together dry ingredients (flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, cocoa powder). Sift cocoa powder to remove clumps.
4) In the bowl of a stand mixer with paddle attachment or with a hand mixer, beat together butter and sugars until they are soft and light. Then add in one egg at a time and stir in vanilla. Finally, mix in shredded beets.
5) Add half of the dry ingredients to the bowl and mix until just combined. Then add buttermilk and mix. Then add the last half of the dry ingredients and mix until you can see no flour. Try not to over mix it.
6) Spoon batter out in 1/4 cup cupcakes into a prepared tin. Then bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 17-18 minutes until a tester comes out clean from the center. Let cupcakes cool before frosting.
7) For frosting, beat together butter, cream cheese, vanilla, milk, a pinch of salt, and shredded beets. When it's smooth, starting adding powdered sugar until it reaches the thickness you want. You'll need 4-5 cups of powdered sugar.
8) When cupcakes are cool, frost them and serve!
Adapted from a Joy the Baker cake recipe.
The Beets
I always heard that you can make good cakes with beets and they have an almost red velvet feel to them. The batter turns a deep red color and the flavor changes subtly. Beets and chocolate actually go really well together so it all works out.
You need to roast the beets though before you can use them in the batter. Just cut off the stems and roast them at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for about an hour. I used smaller beets so they roast faster. If you use larger ones, it might take 90 minutes.
Roasted.
When the the beets are cool enough to handle you can peel them easily with a small paring knife.
I wanted a golden beet for the frosting.
Red for batter. Gold for frosting.
I wanted the beets in pretty small shreds for both the frosting and the batter so I just ran them through my food processor. You could use a box grater also, but if you do you’ll want to chop them up a bit after you grate them so they are in fine shreds.
If you have a food processor, just shred them and then pulse them for a few seconds.
Small shreds.
For the red beets I pulsed them into even smaller pieces. I didn’t want any huge chunks in the batter.
Really fine shreds.
You can actually make most of the batter while you’re roasting your beets.
The Batter
This batter comes together in two pieces like most batters. There’s your dry ingredients (flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and cocoa powder). It helps to sift your cocoa powder to eliminate lumps.
Meanwhile, cream together the butter and two sugars in a stand mixer or with a hand mixer until the mixture is light and soft.
The dry and the wet.
Then add in your eggs and vanilla to the creamed butter.
Once those are mixed in, fold in your shredded red beets. I used roughly a cup. If you use a bit more or less though, it shouldn’t affect the recipe.
Then add half of the dry ingredients, followed by the buttermilk, and then the last half of the dry ingredients. Gently mix each of these additions into the batter base. Then your batter is done!
Ready to go.
Portion out your cupcakes into 1/4 cup portions. You should get about 24 cupcakes.
In the tins.
Bake these guys at 350 degrees Fahrenheit until a tester comes out of the center clean. This should take about 17-18 minutes.
Then let your cupcakes cool before frosting.
Out of the oven.
The frosting I used for these is a basic cream cheese frosting with the grated golden beets folded in. I was hoping that this would turn the frosting a goldish color, but it didn’t really work. If you used red beets, I think you would get a better color.
Just beat together the cream cheese, butter, vanilla, milk, and a pinch of salt. Then add your beets and powdered sugar until it’s nice and thick.
Not quite as gold as I would’ve liked.
Frost each cupcake liberally! I use a piping bag for this but you can just slather it on however you like. No need to get fancy.
I’m not the best cupcake froster in the world.
Bring it on thirty. If I can make chocolate beet cupcakes, I can handle a new decade.
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Whitney @ The Newlywed Chefs - "Nick, you've done your job well! I've been reminded that I need to mak..."
Never realised you needed to roast the beets first. That might explain a few things…
Thanks!
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Oh – and happy birthday; from the perspective of (mid)-50s, I can assure you it just gets better and better.
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Why you young whippersnapper! Happy Birthday!
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Happy Birthday Nick! They sure look better than red velvet with all of that red dye!
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Happy Birthday, Nick!
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Happy Birthday, Nick! The cupcakes look delish–love the addition of buttermilk. I’ve been using it a lot in my baking lately and I love the results.
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Happy Birthday, Nick!
Hmm I think I am going to have to try these.
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Happy birthday!
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Happy birthday, Nick! I’ll be right over to help you celebrate by eating those cupcakes. ;)
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You made your own birthday cupcakes? That does sound like you.
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Happy birthday!
Way, way, way back in the day my Nana made beet cake. It was chocolate cake made with jarred baby food beets. It was the best chocolate cake ever. You can’t buy them anymore of course, but those who told you you can make good cake from it – they were right!!!
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Happy birthday!! Hope you have a fantastic day!
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Happy birthday Nick! Those cupcakes look great!
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These cupcakes are to DIE for. Happy Birthday Nick!
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Wishing you many happy returns!
Great the way beetroot and chocolate combine – check out Hugh Fearnley Whithingstall’s Beetroot Brownies – they taste like truffles!
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30? I don’t think I remember that one . . . . Happy cupcake eating!
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Happy Birthday Nick!! Hope your day is wonderful!
Never been a fan of beets…but this recipe might just change my mind!
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Happy birthday, Nick! Blessings today (enjoy those cupcakes) and throughout your new year ahead — these are good days ; )
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Happy Birthday Nick! I always wanted to try to make beet cake. These look really good! I love that the beets are in both the cake and the frosting :)
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Happy Birthday. You are but a baby…
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THanks for the great comments everybody!
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Happy Birthday Nick. Are these really “chocolaty” and moist?
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Nick replied: — March 3rd, 2013 @ 10:12 am
They are mildly chocolatey and pretty moist assuming you don’t overcook them. :)
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Happy Birthday!! I’ve had TWO 30th birthdays, they are wonderful. Your cupcakes look great.
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