Gingerbread Red Beet Cupcakes
It's the season of gingerbread! Gingerbread cookies, gingerbread houses, and the newest addition to the spread Gingerbread Red Beet Cupcakes! Sip on a cup of your favorite hot cocoa while the holiday flavors of these cupcakes tickle your tastebuds! They're a must for your holiday celebration!
Ingredients
Cupcakes:
2 cups cake flour (or 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour + 1/4 cup corn starch)
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
2 tsp ground ginger
1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground all spice
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 cup vegan butter, softened
1/2 cup coconut sugar
1 large egg + 1 large egg white, room temp
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup unsweetened apple sauce, room temp
1/4 cup molasses
1/4 cup plant-based milk, room temp
Frosting:
1/2 cup vegan butter stick, softened
1/4 cup vegetable shortening (or more vegan butter)
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
3 cups powdered sugar
2 tbsp plant-based milk
2 tsp Suncore Foods® Red Beet Powder
Directions
1. Preheat your oven to 325ºF and line your mini muffin pan with paper liners (this recipe makes 36 mini cupcakes). Bring your eggs to room temperature by placing them in a glass of warm water for around 10 minutes. Now is a good time to make sure your other ingredients are room temperature as well.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and spices; set aside.
3. In a large bowl, use a hand mixer to cream together the vegan butter and coconut sugar until fluffy. Beat in the egg and egg white and then the vanilla. Add in the apple sauce and molasses and beat until well combined. With your hand mixer on low, beat in the dry ingredients until just combined. Then, slowly pour in the milk, beating until everything is just combined - you don't want to over-beat this batter.
4. Scoop or spoon batter into your lined muffin wells, filing each well about 2/3 full. Bake at 325ºF for 10-15 minutes. Allow muffins to cool in the pan for 10 minutes before removing to cool completely on a cooling rack. Now is the time to bake any leftover batter.
5. Once all of your cupcakes are totally cool, you can make your frosting. In a medium bowl, beat together the vegan butter and shortening until creamy. Beat in the vanilla until combined. Sift in the powdered sugar and beat, adding the plant-based milk as you're mixing. Add in the Suncore Foods® Red Beet Powder, adding as much or as little as you'd like until you've reached your desired shade of pink/red. If your red beet powder is chunky, be sure to sift that in as well. If your frosting is too thick, you can add more milk, 1 tsp at a time, until it's smooth but still thick enough to pipe.
6. Add your frosting to a piping bag of plastic bag fitted with a piping tip of your choice. Pipe the frosting, 6 cupcakes at a time, and immediately top with sprinkles or other desired topping. Store cupcakes in an airtight container at room temperature.