Red Velvet Cupcakes with Beetroot

This recipe is from The Art of Baking.

Ingredients:

¾ cup vegetable oil
2 cups flour
1 ½ tsp baking powder
¼ tsp salt
2 eggs
1 cup buttermilk
1 ½ cup sugar
½ cup cocoa powder
2 cups pureed cooked beets (about 4)
1 tsp vanilla

For the frosting:
1 ½ cup butter
8 oz cream cheese
5 cups powdered sugar
½ cup pureed cooked beets (about 1)
½ cup semi-sweet chocolate, melted

In a medium sauce pan, boil all 5 beets.  Boil on a low for about 30 minutes or until the beets are soft enough in the center.  Drain and let them cool.  Once they are cool, peel the skin off with your fingers and cut off the stem and tail of each beet.

Puree all beets in a food processor and set aside. In a large bowl, combine your oil, eggs, sugar and 2 cups of the pureed beets and vanilla and buttermilk.  Add flour, baking powder, salt and cocoa powder. Place batter in cupcake liners filling them to the top.

Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes.

For Frosting: Puree all the ingredients.  You may need to refrigerate the frosting a little bit before frosting the cupcakes.  Enjoy!