Red Velvet Cupcakes with Goat Cheese Frosting

Ingredients

3 medium size organic beets, washed well and dried

¾ C Organic Valley buttermilk

Juice of 1 organic lemon (4 Tbsp.)

1 Tbsp. Spectrum Organic Distilled white vinegar

2 tsp. Frontier Co-op vanilla extract

2 C War Eagle Mills all-purpose flour

¼ C Frontier Co-Op bulk beet root powder

2 Tbsp. Ghirardelli Unsweetened Cocoa

1 tsp. Bob’s Red Mill baking soda

1 tsp. kosher salt

½ tsp. Rumford baking powder

¾ C Organic Valley unsalted butter, room temp

1 ¾ C Wholesome granulated sugar

3 lg. Farmers Hen House eggs, room temp

Preparation

Step 1

Preheat oven to 400.

Step 2

Wrap clean beats in aluminum foil. Bake until a knife inserts easily, about 1 hour. Cool.

Step 3

Once cool enough to handle, peel the beets. Add your beets to a food processor or blender and pulse until pureed. Measure out 1 C.

Step 4

Add your 1 C beets with your buttermilk, lemon juice, vinegar, and vanilla, until smooth.

Step 5

Sift together the flour, beet root powder, cocoa, baking powder, salt, and baking soda. Set aside.

Step 6

In the bowl of a stand mixer, add your butter and sugar, using the paddle attachment, mix until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes.

Step 7

Add in your eggs, thoroughly mixing after each one.

Step 8

Alternating, add your liquid and dry ingredients. Beginning and ending with the dry mixture. Mix until combine before adding more in. Scrape down the sides as you go.

Step 9

Preheat oven to 350.

Step 10

Line a muffin tin with cupcake liners.

Step 11

Spray an ice cream scoop with non-stick spray. Divide batter into liners, about 2/3 of the way full.

Step 12

Smooth the tops and bang on the counter a couple of times to release any air bubbles.

Step 13

Place in a preheated oven and bake for 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Bake until a tooth pick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Remove from oven. Allow to cool in muffin tin for 5 minutes then remove to a cooling rack to cool completely.

Step 14

Repeat with the remaining batter.

Step 15

Once cool, frost your cupcakes and enjoy!

**It is very important to use natural cocoa instead of Dutch processed. The vibrant red color will not be achieved with the Dutch processed cocoa. Natural cocoa has a reddish-brown tint and is much lighter than the Dutch processed.