Savour the unique blend of rich chocolate and earthy roasted beetroot in these indulgent cupcakes. The beetroot’s natural sweetness enhances the deep cocoa flavour and adds a moist, tender texture. Finished with a luscious frosting, each bite offers a delightful surprise, combining indulgence with a playful twist on a classic dessert.
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Indulge in the delightful fusion of rich chocolate and earthy beetroot with these decadent chocolate beetroot cupcakes.
The natural sweetness of beetroot enhances the deep cocoa flavour and lends a moist and tender crumb, creating a unique and irresistible dessert.
Each bite offers a surprising depth of flavour, with the vibrant beetroot adding a subtle hint of colour and a nutrient boost.
Topped with a luscious beetroot frosting, these cupcakes are a deliciously indulgent treat that will satisfy your sweet tooth while offering a playful twist on a classic favourite.
Ingredients
To roast the beetroot
- 3 medium raw beetroot
- 2 tablespoons of sunflower oil
For the batter
- 50 grams of cocoa powder
- 225 grams self-raising flour
- 1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
- 180 grams of light brown soft sugar
- 125 grams butter
- 100 grams 70% dark chocolate
- 3 large free-range eggs
For the beetroot frosting
- 300 grams of icing sugar
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 2 tablespoons of full-fat milk
- 1 tbsp roasted beetroot puree
- assorted sprinkles for decoration
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How to make chocolate beetroot cupcakes
For the roasted beetroot
- Preheat oven to 200 C/ 425 F
- Wash the beetroots thoroughly under cold water to remove any traces of dirt. Leave at 2-3 cm of stalk at the top and the root tail intact.
- Place the beetroot on a baking tray and drizzle with the sunflower oil.
- Roast for 90 minutes, turning every 20-30 minutes, until the beetroot is tender. A knife will slide in and out of the beetroot easily when it is ready.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely.
- When cooled, the skin will slip off. Discard the skin, top and bottom, and place the whole beetroot in a blender. Puree. You will likely need to use the blender tamper to keep things moving.
For the roasted beetroot cupcake batter
- Preheat oven to 180 C/ 350 F. Line a 12-hole cupcake tin with large paper cupcake cases.
- Sift the flour, ground cocoa powder and bicarbonate of soda into a large bowl.
- Break the dark chocolate into small pieces in a heat-proof bowl along with the butter and suspend over a pan of barely simmering water. Usually, I boil the kettle, pour the chocolate into the pan, place the bowl on top, and leave it off the heat, stirring once or twice, until it has melted.
- Stir 250 grams of room-temperature roasted beetroot into the dry ingredients along with the chocolate mixture until just combined.
- Spoon into the paper cupcake cases. They will be full, but rest assured it will be ok.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes in the centre of the oven until a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean.
- Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
To make the beetroot frosting
- To make the frosting, sift the icing sugar into a bowl and beat it with the softened butter, milk, and beetroot puree until it reaches the desired consistency. I use a food processor for this.
- Using a piping bag, pipe swirls of frosting on the top of the cupcakes. Decorate with sprinkles.
- Store in an airtight container. Cupcakes will keep lovely for a few days.
Recipe Difficulty Levels
Easy
Requires basic cooking skills and ingredients you most likely already have in your kitchen.
Moderate
Requires more experience, preparation and/or cooking time. You may have to source special ingredients.
Challenging
Recipes requiring more advanced skills and experience and maybe some special equipment.
Chocolate Beetroot Cupcakes
Ingredients
Roasted beetroot
- 3 medium raw beetroot
- 2 tbsp sunflower oil
Chocolate beetroot batter
- 50 grams cocoa powder
- 225 grams self-raising flour
- 1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
- 180 grams light brown soft sugar
- 125 grams butter
- 100 grams dark chocolate 70% cocoa solids
- 3 large free-range eggs
Beetroot frosting
- 300 grams icing sugar
- 4 tbsp butter
- 2 tbsp full fat milk
- 1 tbsp roasted beetroot puree
- sprinkles for decoration
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Equipment
Instructions
To roast the beetroot
- Preheat oven to 200 C/ 425 F
- Wash 3 medium raw beetroot thoroughly under cold water to remove any traces of dirt. Leave at 2-3 cm of stalk at the top and the root tail intact.
- Place the beetroot on a baking tray and drizzle with 2 tbsp sunflower oil.
- Roast for 90 minutes, turning every 20-30 minutes, until the beetroot is tender. A knife will slide in and out of the beetroot easily when it is ready.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely.
- When cooled, the skin will slip off. Discard the skin, top and bottom, and place the whole beetroot in a blender. Puree. You will likely need to use the blender tamper to keep things moving.
To make the batter
- Preheat oven to 180 C/ 350 F. Line a 12-hole cupcake tin with large paper cupcake cases.
- Sift 225 grams self-raising flour, 180 grams light brown soft sugar, 50 grams cocoa powder and 1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda into a large bowl.
- Break 100 grams dark chocolate into small pieces in a heat proof bowl, add 125 grams butter and suspend over a pan of barely simmering water. Usually I boil the kettle, pour it into a pan, place the bowl on top and leave it off the heat, stirring once or twice, until it has melted.
- Stir 250 grams of room temperature roasted beetroot into the dry ingredients along with the chocolate mixture and 3 large free-range eggs, beaten. Stir until just combined.
- Spoon into the paper cupcake cases. They will be full, but rest assured it will be ok.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes in the centre of the oven until a skewer, inserted into the centre of a cake comes out clean.
- Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
To frost and decorate
- To make the frosting, sift 300 grams icing sugar into a bowl and beat with 4 tbsp butter, softened, 2 tbsp full fat milk and 1 tbsp roasted beetroot puree until it reaches the desired consistency. I use a food processor for this.
- Using a disposable piping bag, pipe swirls of frosting on the top of the cupcakes. Decorate with sprinkles as desired
- Store in an airtight container. Cupcakes will keep lovely for a few days.
Notes
Nutrition
Other cupcake recipes you might like
Chocolate Beetroot Fudge/Truffles are used in Sarah’s Chocolate Aubergine Cake
Beet Nut Butter Cups by Kate
Red Velvet Raw Vegan Beetroot Bounty Bars by Shaheen
Shetland Beef & Valhalla Ale Slow Cooker Pie
Love the colour combination of these
These look amazing, I haven’t cooked sweet things with beetroot but must give it a try
These look delicious – i have tried chocolate and beetroot before and it went really well!
Like you I have only ever tried the pickled variety from the supermarket, but I think these cakes look delicious so will definitely give them a try
Looks so good but sounds so wrong!
I’ve only ever had cake with the boiled beetroot too – these look gorgeous, that pink colour is amazing! #tastytuesdays
Wow what an interesting recipe – Must try!
I wash my piping bag in the dishwasher or washing machine, and find that gets rid of odours without shelling out for disposable bags, with their attendant waste.
Im not a fan of beetroot but these look so good i will have to try them.
I adore the idea of using roasted beetroot in baking instead of the usual boiled. I’ve made both chocolate beetroot cake and brownies which went down a storm, but your pretty little cupcakes are next on the list to try…
Oh wow these look incredible, love that they are so good for you too! Thanks for linking up to #tastytuesdays
Oh, they look so pretty and another recipe that ticks my virtously naughty box. 🙂
that frosting looks amazing – I bought beetroot powder because I love the colour beetroot gives but have run out and need some more. though I never got such a pink from the powder. one of my friends once told me of the sensuous feeling of boiling beetroots, and then rubbing the skin off them – but I love to roast beetroot – though I can’t remember how I used it when I made beetroot brownies which is probably my favourite us of beetroot and chocolate but I really want to try these cupcakes – they look so dark and luscious
They look amazing and such an intense colour. I love beetroot in cakes, it makes them so moist and rich.
You are not alone – I also grew up knowing only vinegary pickled beetroot from a bottle – which I loathed. The first time I tasted a sweet, earthy slow-roasted beetroot was a total revelation! I am in love with these gorgeous cupcakes. Never tried baking with cocoa nibs but you might have inspired me with this recipe!
What need food colourings when nature provides such a vivid palette!
What beautiful looking cakes. I love beetroot but have never baked with it. Your piping is great, its an art I have to master
What a beautiful colour! I love beetroot, and I love cupcakes, so should be a good match up 😉
So ptretty and yet so hard to believe all the colour and taste comes from such an earthy vegetable! Thanks for linking up.
I have to keep re-visiting this page Elizabeth. These cupcakes are just so gorgeous. I am not sure whether I am most drawn to the colour (which is totally stunning), or the delicate feathery layers of piping sprinkled with nibs (which looks like a work of art) or the sumptuous beetrooty sponge (which sounds mouth-wateringly decadent)……. Either way, I will have to risk making a gluten free version (Let’s hope it was the sugar-free element that resulted in the need for the bin!).
I have that cookbook too, but think your adapted beetroot cupcakes sound much better than the original recipe. I love the colour of the icing too and I have beetroot in my fridge ready to bake with. I never ever have used a re-usable piping bag as I am fully aware of how much they stink, it is quite disgusting!
Oh my goodness Elizabeth, I can’t believe how utterly gorgeous these cupcakes are. They are the sort my friends and I would sit there looking at for ages before one of us was brave enough to destroy their prettiness and dig in. If I had more time (you may have noticed I go for verrry quick recipes just lately, thanks uni) I would be making these this weekend. I’m coming back to this recipe though when time permits. I think the idea would translate perfectly into a layer cake too =)
These look incredible! I’ve never tried beetroot cakes – will have to now
Do give it a go – they are rather lovely! 🙂
How gorgeous! I love the colour! The only time I have ever had a beetroot cake was in a cafe once and it was delicious! I have never baked with them myself though!
You should give it a go! Super easy 🙂
Wow, what a fabulous colour that beetroot has made of your icing. Love your idea of roasting beetroot for the cakes. I’ve only used boiled or grated raw up until now, but next time ….
I thought so too (and so did the kids!). I’ve never tried grating beetroot into bakes before, I ought to give that a go too!
I think the Brits kill this beautiful vegetable by pickling it to death when it tastes of nothing but vinegar. I love it, such an understated veg. Your cupcakes look fantastic! I bet they were demolished quickly
Thanks Galina, and I am inclined to agree with regards to pickling! Suppose it does make the vegetable last the winter months though…
Oh my word, how could I not try these, they sound delicious. I love beetroot too !!
Heehee, thank you!
Simply gorgeous Elisabeth! So, so, so pretty. I needed a dose of pretty (having a baaaad day) just wish I could also taste it! Thanks for linking to #CookBlogShare it’s fantastic having your recipes in the mix
Oh dear – I hope your day improved! Pretty cupcakes certainly do help 🙂 Thank you for your lovely comment!