Tacky Christmas Sweater Chocolate Beet Vegan Cupcakes

Tacky Christmas Sweaters have been all the rage for a couple of years now. On a recent trip to Value Village (okay, okay! I go at least once a week!) I spotted a rack of "tacky Christmas sweaters" made up to be as tacky and ridiculous as you can imagine. So silly but so cute! 

These beet cupcakes are inspired by the tacky Christmas sweater trend. Pink doesn't seem like an obvious Christmas color choice but it works with the adorable sprinkles we decorated these cupcakes with.

Basically, you just need a whole lotta festive sprinkles to make your cupcakes as tacky as possible. But, let's be honest, there's nothing tacky about these cupcakes... they're cute as a button! And moist and fluffy! 

 

Vegan Chocolate Beet Cupcakes

adapted from Minimalist Baker

Ingredients
2 medium beets (essentially you need 1/2 C of pureed beets)
1 C unsweetened original almond or soy milk
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
1/4 C veg oil
3/4 C sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 C + 1 Tbsp unbleached AP flour
1/2 C dark cocoa powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt

Directions

Preheat the oven to 375°F, remove the stem from the beets and peel them.

Wrap beets in some tin foil, add a few drops of oil and wrap tightly. Allow to roast for about an hour or until you can insert a knife easily. Set in the fridge (in a bowl to catch juice) to cool to room temperature.

Once cooled, puree the beets in a blender until relatively smooth. Measure out 1/2 cup and set aside.

Whisk together milk and vinegar in a large bowl, allow to curdle. Add sugar, oil, vanilla and the 1/2 cup beets. Beat until foamy and nicely mixed.

Add flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt to a sifter, add into the wet ingredients while mixing with a fork or mixer. Beat until smooth without over mixing.

Pour batter into a lined cupcake tin, filling about 3/4 of the way. Bake for 22 to 25 minutes. Allow to cool before frosting. 

Vanilla Beet Buttercream Frosting

Link to Vanilla Butter Cream Frosting.
Just add a few drips of beet juice that is left over from the pureed beets. Watch your frosting turn a beautiful hue of magenta!