The other week I was tasked with baking some dairy-free birthday cupcakes. I immediately panicked - a cake without butter or lashings of buttercream, how will that be worthy of a birthday cake?! Fortunately, I remembered my success with Madeleine Shaw's beetroot cupcakes, which are topped with creamy whipped coconut cream. Adapting the recipe to use coconut oil instead of butter, I was left with a satisfyingly indulgent, dairy-free cake that's perfect for birthdays, celebrations or simply a mid-afternoon treat.
Ingredients:
The cupcakes:
250g buckwheat flour
3 tbsp raw cacao powder or cocoa powder
1 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp baking powder
½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
200g butter or coconut oil
250g coconut sugar
2 small-medium raw beetroots, finely grated
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 large eggs
150ml coconut milk drink
Whipped coconut cream:
400ml coconut cream (canned not a bar)
½ tsp cinnamon
Sweetener of choice (optional)
Method:
1. Preheat the oven to 160°C
2. In a bowl combine the flour, cacao/cocoa, cinnamon, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda.
3. Use a food processor to cream the butter/coconut oil and coconut sugar for a few minutes, until light and fluffy, then add the beetroot and vanilla.
4. Pour the contents of the food processor into the dry ingredients. Add the eggs one by one followed by the coconut milk, stirring vigorously. If using coconut oil, the mixture might look as if it has split but don't worry as they will bake fine.
5. Divide the mixture into a muffin tin, filling each one nearly to the top.
6. Bake for 18 minutes
7. Whisk the coconut cream with an electric whisk until light and fluffy. Stir through cinnamon as well as your preferred sweetener (optional) and whisk again.
8. Once cool, top the cakes with the whipped coconut cream and sprinkle with cinnamon.Labels: baking, beetroot, chocolate, chocolate cake, cinnamon, coconut, coconut cream, coconut frosting, cupcakes, dairy-free, dates, Food, hazelnuts, Recipe, red velvet
