Vegan Beetroot Cupcakes with Vegan Cream Cheese and Coconut Frosting

There are very few people in the Israeli food and blogging industry who truly inspire me.

One of them is the vegan baker and blogger Olga Tuchscher, who also happens to be—as the universe would have it—a good friend of mine (I can't be blamed, she's the sweetest person on earth).

And just by chance, today she is launching the brand-new version of her blog "The Secret Ingredient" (which turned out absolutely stunning).

For those who don't know Olga and her blog, this is a wonderful opportunity, and the story behind it is even better.

The blog was established in 2012 and primarily reflected Olga herself through her recipes. As Olga transitioned to veganism, the blog gradually became vegan as well.

Today, she boasts a completely vegan blog that focuses mainly on vegan pastry and confectionery, with recipes and photography that are perfect and precise.

Now for the best part of this post

A few weeks ago, I popped into Olga's kitchen, and together we prepared two wonderful sweet recipes. Along the way, we talked a lot about love, food, and veganism.

Which recipes?

One recipe is for these Vegan Beetroot Cupcakes with Cream Cheese and Coconut frosting, and the second is a Vegan Mocha Mousse Cake with Figs, which is published on "The Secret Ingredient" blog. You can see it here.

I drew inspiration for the beetroot cupcakes from Red Velvet—a classic recipe that essentially contains cocoa, flour, and red food coloring.

To skip the food coloring while adding minerals, vitamins, and dietary fiber, I used two whole beetroots, which dyed the cupcake batter a stunning red color and added a pleasant sweetness.

The cupcakes have a very subtle, almost imperceptible beetroot flavor, making them great for kids (a fantastic way to sneak in vegetables!).

The combination with cocoa powder creates a deep red velvet hue and a particularly festive look.

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How to eat this?

One cupcake can be a perfect "cheat meal" solution when you want to treat yourself to something sweet while remaining calorically balanced.

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Nutritional values by nutritionist and fitness coach Noam Bechar

One cupcake contains:

365 kcal

4.5 g protein

39 g carbohydrates

21 g fat (of which 8 g saturated fat)

1.6 g dietary fiber

50 mg calcium

Want another beetroot recipe? How about beetroot hummus that takes only 5 minutes?

Vegan Beetroot Muffins

Prep time 5 minutes

Cook time 25 minutes

Total time 30 minutes

Servings 8 cupcakes

Ingredients

• 2 cooked beetroots 200 g - vacuum-packed is fine
• 1/2 cup sugar 90 g
• 180 g self-rising flour 1 cup + 4 tablespoons
• 1/2 cup canola oil 120 ml
• 1 tablespoon ground flaxseed
• 1/2 teaspoon cocoa powder

Frosting

• 250 g plain soy cream cheese (like Tnuva or similar) any brand of vegan cream cheese you like
• 6 tablespoons coconut oil 60 ml
• 4 tablespoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

1. Start with the cupcakes.
2. In a small bowl, mix the flaxseed with 2-3 tablespoons of water and set aside for half an hour until a sticky gel forms.
3. Preheat oven to medium heat (180°C).
4. In a blender, blend the beetroots well until a smooth puree is formed with no lumps.
5. In a deep bowl, combine the flour, sugar, oil, beetroot puree, flax gel, and cocoa powder. Mix well until you have a batter with a deep, beautiful color. If the batter seems too dry, add 2-3 tablespoons of water.
6. Transfer to a muffin tin.
7. Bake for 25-28 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out dry. Remove and let cool completely.
8. Prepare the frosting.
9. In a deep bowl, combine the soy cream cheese, coconut oil, 4 tablespoons sugar, and vanilla extract. Whisk together until a smooth frosting forms.
10. Frost each cupcake with about 40 g of cream.
11. Garnish with a few frozen raspberries on top.

Personal Notes

You can replace the self-rising flour with 70% white flour and 30% whole wheat flour + 1 teaspoon baking powder.

You can add an extra half teaspoon of cocoa for a more chocolatey flavor.

White sugar can be replaced with date syrup (Silan) or maple syrup – nutritionally and metabolically, the effect is similar.

Coconut oil cannot be replaced with other oils – it is necessary for the frosting to set.