No Red Food Dye Red Velvet Cupcakes

 

I have always admired red velvet cakes.  They make a stunning presentation.  But other than a huge flop I attempted as a kid with my lovely girlfriend, Karalea, I just couldn't bring myself to add a full bottle of die to a cake to get the color.  It just seems sinfully unnatural!  So I did a little research and discovered that modern cooks are just being lazy by adding the food dye and it has become an acceptable standard.  True red-velvet cake was invented when a chef discovered this beautiful red reaction occurs when acidic foods are combined with beets.

 

Yes, beets! That funny looking purple root that tastes exactly like mud.  I loved the idea of using beets as the base for cake.  Beets are rich in iron and folic acid, which are two nutrients in which most women are deficient, especially pregnant and breastfeeding women.  I have been either pregnant or breastfeeding for 3 1/2 years now, so I am all about adding beets to my diet!  Regardless of the obvious nutritional benefits, I was a bit dubious about how a beet would taste in a cake.  I had to find out.

 

 

 

I cannot claim this recipe as my own.  I found it on Sophistimom's blog.  It seems she shares my concerns with the unnaturalness of modern red velvet cakes and did some experimenting in her kitchen until she came up with the perfect recipe.  Click the link below to get the recipe. 

 

http://www.sophistimom.com/all-natural-red-velvet-cupcakes/

In her recipe you will see that she made the cake in her blender.  I just couldn't bring myself to do that, it just seemed so naughty to make a cake in that manner.  So like a good girl, I creamed my sugar and butter, added the eggs, beets, vinegar and lemon juice, then added my dry ingredients.  I ended up doubling the cocoa and used an extra tablespoon of lemon juice because the batter still looked a bit purple.  These additions helped, but when I put the cupcakes in the oven they were still just slightly purple hued.  But, when they came out of the oven, they looked like the image above.  This photo is untouched, that is REALLY how red they were!  Stunning! I frosted them with a German buttercream cream cheese frosting with crushed up candy canes in the frosting, and then topped them with crushed candy cane. 

I am pleased to report that these cupcakes might have possibly tasted better than they look.   The cupcakes taste just earthy enough that you know you are eating something unique, but not enough that you feel like you are eating a dirty root vegetable.  The frosting was a perfect compliment adding a peppermint kick that reminds you what time of year it is, and plays off the cocoa in the cake very nicely.  This makes a very dense cake, which would be a perfect texture for a layer cake, but I would recommend doubling the recipe if you are headed in that direction.