These muffins are a luscious, wholesome take on the traditional 'Red Velvet' cupcake.
It's a funny sounding combination - beetroot and chocolate - but one which totally works! The rich sweetness of the beets mellows the natural bitterness of the cocoa, and the deep burgundy colour of the muffins makes you feel as if you're eating some fantastical treat from Willy Wonka's factory! They're rich, moist chocolate muffins without any of the cocoa fats and solids.
In terms of health benefits, they are just miraculous.
Red beetroot has super high levels of antioxidants which help protect the body against heart disease and cancers. It also contains high levels of the amino acid, betaine, which has such potent anti-cancer properties that it's often used in natural leukemia treatments. High in fibre, beets actively reduce cholesterol levels and work to keep that digestive system squeaky clean. Finally, they're packed with high quality iron - (important for blood creation) - and folic acid - (a compound that lowers the risk of birth defects in newborns).
Cocoa is just as wondrous. Recent studies at Cornell University proved that a cup of cocoa is up to 3 times richer in antioxidants than a cup of green tea! So it seems that eating cocoa is one of the most effective ways we can help our bodies neutralise harmful, carcinogenic substances.
INGREDIENTS:
2 cups wholemeal self-raising flour
3/4 cup brown sugar
2/3 cup cocoa powder (and extra for dusting)
1 1/2 tspns bicarbonate soda
1 tspn baking powder
2 large or 3 medium red beetroots - (NB: this should equal about 1 1/3 cups of beetroot puree)
1/2 cup sunflower oil
1 tspn lemon juice
1 egg
1/4 cup skim milk
1 cup low fat vanilla yoghurt.
And to make them just that tiny bit naughtier....
CREAM CHEESE ICING:
200 grams reduced fat cream cheese
1 1/2 cups icing sugar (sifted)
good squeeze of lemon juice
Peel beets with a vegetable peeler to get rid of the rough outer layer. Cut beets into quarters, then place them in a microwave safe dish with half a cup of water and cover (preferably with another plate - NOT plastic wrap). Microwave on med-high for approximately 8-10 minutes, or until beets are soft. Alternatively, you can steam the beets but this method will take longer. Never boil the beets - boiling them will drain them of colour and leech them of their vitamins.
Puree beets using an electric blender, or, if that's not available, mash them as well as you can with a potato masher or grate them using a cheese grater. The latter processes will obviously mean that the beets won't be fully incorporated throughout the muffins, but little chunks of beets are still yummy!
Mix flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, cocoa powder and set aside. In a separate bowl, whisk oil, eggs, lemon juice, milk and yoghurt until airy.
Combine all ingredients, including beets, and stir until just incorporated. Divide amongst patty pans until each is filled to its rim and bake in a fan forced oven at 190ºC for 20 minutes or until muffins have a slight spring to the touch. I find that 20 minutes is the perfect amount of cooking time for these, but you may want to vary the time to suit your oven.
ICING:
Yes, I know, icing is not exactly health food. But this substitutes butter for a low fat cream cheese so it is definitely more virtuous. It's not a must, but the slight tang in the cream cheese is perfect with the rich cocoa flavour, and it just fancies them up to look much naughtier than they are!
Beat cream cheese, lemon juice and icing sugar together and allow to cool in the fridge for half an hour or so. Spread generously across the tops of each muffin and dust with a bit of extra cocoa for serving.
DELICIOUS!
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