Beet-chocolate cupcakes, goat cheese frosting

To contact us Click HERE

I got a few baby beets in my CSA box this week, but 1) I didn't really get enough for a substantial side dish and 2) my husband doesn't like beets. What do? Answer: bake cupcakes. I roasted the beets for a deep, slightly caramelized flavor, pureed them, and made them into a batter with coconut flour. The beet puree kept the cupcakes very moist so I didn't need much butter or oil.
Beets with goat cheese are a tried-and-true combination that seems to be a staple of fancy restaurants. So the beet cupcakes received a goat cheese frosting, similar to cream cheese frosting. I also added cocoa powder, because chocolate is tasty.
This recipe makes about a half dozen, but you can easily mulitply it. I baked 9 cupcakes but they were on the flat side. Next time I would bake 6 for fluffier cupcakes.
BEET-CHOCOLATE CUPCAKES WITH GOAT CHEESE FROSTINGMakes 6 fluffy cupcakes or 9 flat cupcakes
INGREDIENTS
For the cupcakes:

• Enough beets to yield 1/4 cup of puree (I used little baby beets so it's hard to say how much. One regular-sized beet should do it.)
• 1/4 cup coconut flour
• 1/4 cup cocoa powder (I used the natural kind as opposed to Dutch process because it has a lighter reddish color which complemented the beets)
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 3 eggs
• 1-2 Tbs butter or other fat of choice, melted (tastier with 2 but 1 is enough to keep it moist, due to the beet puree)
• Sweetener of choice to equal 2/3 cup sugar (I used powdered Truvia)

For the frosting:

• 2 oz (weight) cream cheese, softened
• 4 oz (weight) soft goat cheese, softened
• 1 Tbs maple syrup (real or sugar-free)
• Sweetener of choice to equal 2 Tbs sugar (anything but erythritol or Truvia would work, as it tends to crystallize in frosting)

DIRECTIONS

1. Scrub the beet(s) well and coat with a thin layer of oil. Roast at 375 until soft enough that a knife easily pierces it and slides out. Set aside to cool (but keep oven at 375 for baking cupcakes), then rub the skin off with a paper towel. Puree in a food processor until smooth, adding a little bit of water if necessary.
2. Beat the eggs with the melted butter or oil (and sweetener, if using liquid sweetener). Add all the dry ingredients and whisk well.
3. Pour into well-greased muffin tins and bake for about 20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Set aside to cool.
4. For the frosting, beat the goat cheese and cream cheese with an electric mixer until fluffy. Beat in the maple syrup and sweetener. Frost the cupcakes once they are completely cooled.

Variation: For a red velvet cake-esque flavor, substitute 1 Tbs cocoa powder + 1/4 tsp vanilla extract for the 1/4 cup cocoa powder.

Beet-chocolate cupcakes, goat cheese frosting