Don’t you think it’s only appropriate that I follow up a “day in my life” with a delicious dessert? Desserts should never be off limits. You can have your cupcake and eat it too when you use super high quality ingredients, pack a little of your veggies in, and make some smart and healthy ingredient substitutions. Leave out the processed sugar and add in coconut nectar. Instead of cheap cake mixes, work with finely ground almond flour. Skip the red food coloring and use beets (you know how bad they stain your hands, imagine what they do to this batter!) to color this traditionally “red” recipe.
Beet “Red” Velvet Cupcakes
Makes approx. 12 cupcakes
Ingredients:
2 large beets, finely grated
2 organic eggs
1 tsp. pure vanilla bean powder (or you can use vanilla extract)
½ tsp. ground cinnamon
pinch of sea salt
1 ½ cups finely ground almond meal
3 T. cocoa powder
3 T. 4th & Heart Vanilla Bean Grass-fed Ghee, melted
¼ cup Coconut Secret coconut nectar
½ cup frozen organic raspberries
1 tsp. gluten free baking powder
Frosting:
1 container Kite Hill Almond Cream Cheese
1 T. lemon juice and zest of 1 lemon
1 tsp. vanilla powder or 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 T. maple syrup or 3-4 drops vanilla stevia
1/2 cup cashews, soaked in warm water minimum 3 hours
Drain cashews and pat dry. Add all ingredients into high-powered blender and blend until smooth. Spread on cupcakes when completely cooled
Directions:
Preheat your oven to 350 F and line a cupcake tin with cupcake liners.
In a medium mixing bowl, combine shredded beets, eggs, vanilla, cinnamon, almond meal, cacao, coconut nectar, ghee and baking powder into a large bowl. Mix ingredients together until smooth, then add raspberries and fold in.
Spoon batter into the lined cupcake tin, filling about 3/4 way full. Place in oven and bake for 40 minutes, until cooked throughout. Remove from the oven and cool completely in the tin.
Best kept in fridge.
