About me - image of me in the palace in Ferrera, done in Delauncy style
Hello! I'm Rachael!
  • About Tea with Mum
  • About Me
  • Work with Tea with Mum
  • Say hello!
  • About
  • Blog
    • Parenting
      • Bilinguals kids
    • Home hacks
    • Craft and DIY
      • Kid crafts
      • Seasonal crafts
    • Yum
      • Afternoon Tea
      • Cakes and biscuits
      • Desserts
      • Ice creams and sorbets
      • Salads & savories
      • Tea recipes
      • Traditional German recipes
      • Travel recipes
    • Travel
      • Australia
      • Dinosaurs
      • Europe
      • Middle East
      • Parks, museums and zoos
      • Travel tips
    • Life and loss
  • Say hello!
  • Little helpers

Tea with Mum

Steeping the Soul

Yum, Cakes and biscuits · 16 October 2019

Chocolate beetroot cupcakes with chocolate creme frâiche frosting

Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

I know, chocolate beetroot cupcakes sound unusual. Yet the beetroot in these cupcakes makes these cupcakes super moist, without being cloyingly sweet. The chocolate creme frâiche frosting is the perfect accompaniment. They are delicious in Autumn or any time of the year and are the final cupcakes in our Autumn cupcake quartet.

Disclosure:
Some of the links below are affiliate links. We may earn a small commission if you use these links to make a purchase. Thank you! Please read our full disclosure for more information. 

So where did this idea come from?

My Dad loves beetroot. In fact, this “Bonkers about Beetroot” book would be a perfect stocking stuffer for him for Christmas.

He loves beetroot so much, that Mum convinced him on one trip away to try some chocolate beetroot cake. Now, it’s his go-to cake whenever it is on the menu. He’s never had it as a cupcake though.

Beetroot is a wonderful Fall vegetable – serve it roasted as a side dish with roasted pumpkin, sweet potato and onion. Yum! It is a great source of vitamin C, is one of the most potent antioxidant vegetables and one of the richest sources of glutamine, an amino acid essential to intestinal health. I know I could do with a vitamin boost in Autumn!

Now is the perfect time to try and make these chocolate beetroot cupcakes. I just wish Dad was here to be my expert taste-tester.

Single chocolate beetroot cupcake with chocolate creme frâiche frosting and golden sugar: Autumn cupcake quartet

Tips for the chocolate beetroot cupcakes

The only downside to this chocolate beetroot cupcakes recipe is the number of bowls you will need to wash.

If, unlike my Dad, you are not a fan of beetroot, don’t taste the beetroot. It just helps to make the chocolate cupcakes super moist, very chocolatey and absolutely delicious.

DO NOT use a can of (pickled) beetroot! The vinegar from the ‘juice’ will ruin the cupcakes. Plain beetroot has a subtle, slightly woody sweetness, which lends itself wonderfully to the cupcakes.

At least in Europe, you can normally find cooked and peeled beetroot in vacuum-sealed packets in the fresh fruit and vegetable aisle in your supermarket. This is super easy to use (though still a bit messy). If you have a kitchen machine that is great at grating, pre-peeled beetroot will make cooking these cupcakes a breeze!

Of course, you can peel and cook your own beetroot. However, this can make a real mess, so I prefer to use pre-cooked and peeled beetroot. However, as an added bonus, you can use any beetroot leftovers or extras to dye fabric (or Easter eggs) a dusky pink.

Chocolate beetroot cupcake with chocolate creme frâiche frosting and golden sugar, with open wrapper and half-eaten cupcake: Autumn cupcake quartet

Tips for the chocolate creme frâiche frosting

I made the (almost catastrophic) mistake of buying milk chocolate rather than dark chocolate at the supermarket. I know – I was concentrating on mummying and not on what I was putting in the trolley. Milk chocolate is okay but dark chocolate is So. Much. Better. Trust me: use dark chocolate.

This frosting is great on brownies or Texas sheet cake or as a filling in any chocolate cake. It tends to be a little too runny to pipe onto cupcakes but is otherwise a great recipe to have in your stash for whenever you need something easy and delicious and not too sweet.

The advantages: it’s satiny smooth, super easy, very versatile and delicious.

This reminds me: I should share Mum’s recipe for Texas sheet cake!

Our Autumn cupcake quartet

These chocolate beetroot cupcakes with chocolate creme frâiche frosting are the final cupcakes in our Autumn cupcake quartet. The beetroot makes them an easy (if a little messy) Fall favourite. The rich chocolate cupcake teams beautifully with the versatile and silky creme frâiche frosting.

They are delicious and moist and perfect for afternoon tea, especially in Autumn.

Which one of our Autumn cupcake quartet is your favourite? Which one are you going to try?

Chocolate beetroot cupcake with chocolate creme frâiche frosting and golden sugar, with open wrapper and half-eaten cupcake and more cupcakes in the background: Autumn cupcake quartet
Chocolate beetroot cupcakes with chocolate creme frâiche frosting: Autumn cupcake quartet; banner
Chocolate beetroot cupcakes with chocolate creme frâiche frosting: Autumn cupcake quartet; delicious and moist, the final cupcake in our quartet, with healthy beetroot

Chocolate beetroot cupcakes with chocolate creme frâiche frosting

The beetroot in these cupcakes makes them super moist and rich, without making them cloyingly sweet. Just perfect!
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 30 mins
Cook Time 1 hr
Cuisine Australian
Servings 20 -24 cupcakes

Equipment

  • Muffin pan
  • patty pans
  • stand blender
  • Saucepan
  • heat-proof bowl
  • whisk
  • Mixing bowls
  • silicone spatula
  • Stand mixer

Ingredients
  

For the cupcakes

  • 200 g butter
  • 250 g of beetroot cooked and peeled
  • 200 g dark chocolate
  • 4 tbsp hot espresso
  • 1 cup plain flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder heaped
  • 3 tbsp cocoa powder
  • 5 eggs separated
  • 3/4 cup caster sugar

For the frosting

  • 400 g dark chocolate
  • 400 mL creme frâiche
  • 1 tsp vanilla essence or vanilla sugar.

Instructions
 

For the cupcakes

  • Preheat the oven to 180°c. Line a muffin pan with patty pans.
  • Blend the beetroots in a food processor or blender to a rough purée.
  • Melt the chocolate in a bowl suspended over a pan of hot water. Pour in the hot coffee. Chop the butter into cubes (approx. 1cm cubes) and stir into the chocolate. Remove the bowl from the water and stir, allowing the butter to melt.
  • Sift the flour, baking powder and cocoa together in another bowl and set aside.
  • Separate the eggs. Whisk the yolks in another bowl until frothy. Add the sugar and whisk until pale yellow.
  • Add the chocolate mixture to the eggs and mix briefly then fold in the beetroot purée.
  • Whisk the egg whites in a separate bowl until soft peaks form.
  • Fold the egg whites into the chocolate mixture, then fold in the flour mixture.
  • Fill the patty pans until they are 2/3 full and bake for 18 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the cake comes out clean.
  • Allow the cupcakes to cool totally before frosting.

For the frosting

  • Melt the chocolate using whatever method you prefer.
  • Add the creme frâiche and vanilla essence and whisk until well combined.
  • Allow to cool to room temperature, stirring occasionally. The frosting will be runny at first but it will thicken nicely as it cools. Whisk the frosting occasionally to avoid lumps.
  • Once the frosting has cooled and thickened, use it to frost the cupcakes.

Notes

Don’t use a can of (pickled) beetroot! You will taste the vinegar from the ‘juice’ in the beetroot, and it will not be good in the cupcakes. Plain beetroot has a subtle sweetness, which lends itself to the cupcakes. You can normally find cooked and peeled beetroot vacuum-sealed in the fruit and veg department of your supermarket.
If you can’t get creme frâiche for the frosting, or it is expensive, use sour cream.

Nutrition

Serving: 1gCalories: 266.3kcalCarbohydrates: 29.68gProtein: 5.05gFat: 14.36gSaturated Fat: 7.96gCholesterol: 42.92mgSodium: 47.63mgPotassium: 302.84mgFiber: 4.06gSugar: 17.48gVitamin A: 91.72IUVitamin C: 0.61mgCalcium: 46.47mgIron: 4.27mg
Keyword autumn cupcakes, chocolate beetroot cupcakes, chocolate creme frâiche frosting
Have you tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
Bon appetite sign-off

Try our other Autumn cupcakes

Pumpkin spice cupcakes with maple cream cheese frosting

Maple parsnip cupcakes with maple buttercream frosting

Black velvet cupcakes with creme patisserie slime and marshmallow cobwebs (Halloween)

2020 Autumn cupcake quartet

Oktoberfest cupcakes with beer caramel

Thanksgiving cupcakes: sweet potato cupcakes with marshmallow cream cheese frosting and caramelised pecans

Mummy cupcakes (Halloween)

Chai cupcakes with spiced cream cheese frosting

Chocolate beetroot cupcakes with chocolate creme frâiche frosting: Autumn cupcake quartet; delicious and moist, the final cupcake in our quartet, with healthy beetroot; cupcakes cooling on a wire rack

Before you go: Sign up for our emails (form below) for sneak peeks and access to our Little helpers, including these useful kitchen conversion charts

Temperature conversion chart - Free!

Posted In: Yum, Cakes and biscuits · Tagged: Autumn cupcake quartet, Autumn cupcakes, Autumn recipes, beetroot, chocolate beetroot cupcakes, chocolate creme frâiche frosting, chocolate cupcakes, chocolate red beet cupcakes, chocolate sour cream frosting, Fall recipes

Want to see what we’ve got brewing?

Subscribe to our emails for exclusive content and sneak peeks. As a gift, we'll give you access to all our Little helpers.

Privacy Policy

By subscribing, you confirm that you have read and accept the Tea with Mum Privacy policy. You can unsubscribe at any time.

You’ll Also Love

Black velvet cupcakes with green 'slime' crème pâtissière, purple cream cheese frosting, marshmallow cobwebs and bat decoration; Autumn cupcake quartet; Halloween cupcakesGruesome Halloween cupcakes: black velvet cupcakes with slime and cobwebs
Maple parsnip cupcakes with maple buttercream: Autumn cupcake quartet; cupcake with sprinklesUnusual maple parsnip cupcakes with maple buttercream frosting
Pumpkin spice cupcakes with maple cream cheese frosting; The first in our Autumn cupcakes quartet; with cupcake on a blue background; teawithmumPumpkin spice cupcakes with maple cream cheese frosting: our Autumn cupcake quartet

Comments

  1. Raquel says

    16 October 2019 at 1:58 pm

    I never would’ve thought to use beetroot, but that makes so much sense! I totally believe that it would make a very moist cupcake (:

    Reply
  2. Kathy Walker says

    16 October 2019 at 6:33 pm

    These look so good. I’m going to give it a try and make them even thou I’m not a baker. Thanks, I’ll let you know how they come out!

    Reply
    • Rachael Matthews says

      16 October 2019 at 9:37 pm

      Please do! Good luck!

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




Next Post >

Princesses, dinosaurs and Lego: fun day trips in and around Munich with kids

Hi and welcome to Tea with Mum. Follow us as we steep our soul and share our travels, parenting tips, tasty recipes, easy crafts & thoughts on life & loss, one cup at a time.
Happy Spring sidebar image, with a watercolour image of a bicycle

New Little Helpers

Little helpers banner: Let us help you: Little helpers: Free access when you subscribe: with watercolor image of paperclip with ribbon

Stay updated

Access all our Little helpers as a gift when you subscribe to our newsletter!

You can unsubscribe at any time.

Search

Categories

  • Parenting
  • Home hacks
  • Craft and DIY
  • Yum
  • Travel
  • Life and loss

hello!

I’m Rachael and these are my chats with my late Mum over a cup of tea. Let's make your life easier with simple & delicious recipes, easy craft ideas, home hacks, parenting tips, travel hints, tricks & itineraries and tonnes of Little helpers. Come share our adventures and take time for tea.

Who and what

  • About Tea with Mum
  • About me
  • Say hello
  • Work with us

Shop My Favourites

  • Travel essentials
  • Kitchen tools
  • Kid’s stuff
  • Craft supplies
  • Blogging resources

Travel

  • Europe
  • Australia
  • Parks, museums and zoos
  • Travel tips
  • Dinosaurs

Yum

  • Cakes and biscuits
  • Ice creams and sorbets
  • Travel recipes
  • Tea recipes
  • Privacy Policy
  • Disclosure
  • Terms of Use

Copyright © 2022 Tea with Mum · Theme by 17th Avenue