Well hello. Here's another recipe based post! Two in a row! Woo. Quite unusual for me, as I tend to veer into writing about the philosophical aspects of life and not always in the nitty gritty of everyday in the kitchen. However, I posted about this recipe on facebook and was requested to put it 'on the blog' and so I am!Was in Goolwa (nearby ocean town) this past few days, escaping the heat in Adelaide (41c on Monday!). My parents and bro joined me and the four kiddies heading down there. I was grateful for the moral (and practical) support as Shane is on a 4WD trip this week... I was feeling slightly daunted at the prospect of being at home, stuck inside (due to heat) for a few days and so we made a plan to get out of town. My sister lives down in Goolwa and was entertaining visitors at the same time. She made too much dessert (is there such a thing?) and so called us to come and collect some. Happy to help. Now my sister really is a domestic goddess, and we knew we were in for a treat. I have to say I had my doubts that the Red Velvet Beetroot cupcakes she was offering might not be up my alley...
I have experienced chocolate beetroot cakes before, well i don't mind them, I have found them to be a little too earthy tasting- know what I mean?
Well, I was pleased to have my doubts driven away with one bite. Delicious! The mascarpone icing finsihed it off a treat! It's light and fluffy, with a slight chocolatey, beetroot flavor. Though the beetroot adds to the colour you still need food colouring to make it really red. Though if you aren't fussed about the presentation you could just leave it out. Personally I think it's kinda fun and novel.
I have always wondered 'whats the deal' with red velvet cake? It seems very American and I assumed it was just red food colouring in a vanilla cake. A bit dumb, I always thought. Though in looking up this recipe a bit I discovered that orginally (yes nowadays its a lot about the food colouring) there was something about the combination of buttermilk, with a little bit of cocoa that causes some reaction making the cake a bit reddish...obviously not red enough otherwise people wouldn't add food colouring. But I guess that's where the idea of making it red all started. Nice to know there is some authentic reason behind it all. I can lay that bug bear to bed...phew.
Despite my annoyance at the idea of simply adding food colouring to make it 'red velvet' there has always been something appealing to me about the cake (though i didn't like to admit it) Now that I have this recipe, that includes the anti-oxidant rich beetroot, I can make, bake and truly enjoy- guilt free! Well, almost, it is quite sweet, I reckon you can cut out at least a 1/4 cup of sugar and not miss it.
Instead of mascarpone icing I experimented with a bit of a cream cheese icing with coconut cream in it. Yummy. I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as I have! :)
red velvet beetroot cakes with mascarpone icing
1 beetroot
100g unsalted butter
1 1/4 cup caster sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
1 3/4 plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
2 tablespoons cocoa
2 tablespoons red food colouring
3/4 cup buttermilk (add a bit of lemon juice or vinegar to the milk to make it curdle)
mascarpone icing
3 cups mascarpone
1/2 cup icing sugar
bake the beetroot first, you need half a cup of puree.
preheat to 180c. PLace butter (softened), sugar and vanilla in a mixer adn beat for 8-10 mins til pale and creamy. Add eggs one at a time, beat well. Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cocoa, food colouring, buttermilk and beetroot puree and beat on low speed until combined. Divide between cupcake tray. Bake for 20-25 mins or until cooked (duh!). Cool for at least 10 mins and turn out.
To make icing place the mascarpone and sugar and whisk to combine. Cut cakes in half and ice in the middle and on top.
I did my own varaiation of the icing- with cream cheese, sour cream, a bit of coconut milk, butter and icing sugar. Then I sprinkled coconut on top to cover the lumps!!
Enjoy!
