The first time I made these beetroot and chocolate cupcakes was long before I had small boys to bake them for. I’ve only made them a couple of times since then as I now realise as a health conscious parent that they’ve got more sugar in than you might want to give your baby/toddler. On the plus side though they have a portion of veg in and good fats not just a dose of sugar/carbohydrate so if you feel the urge to eat cake it’s not all bad.
I struggle with sugar cravings at certain times of the month and often eat healthily by day then lose all will power by the evening and reach for sugary snacks. This week I decided to embrace the idea of a sweet elvenses after a slow walk home from school drop-off with Luca. I had everything I needed to make these beetroot and chocolate cupcakes, a willing helper and my list of favourite podcasts ready to play on Stitcher. When I reviewed the recipe I felt confident reducing the amount of sugar would make them more tooth kind without compromising the flavour. At nearly 2 years old Luca is such a lover of cake and all things sweet so this reduced sugar version is definitely the one I shall return to now (please note I didn’t say ‘low sugar’ as they’re not! – I’ve included the nutritional information at the end of the ingredients list)
I think this recipe could work with even less sugar with the addition of a banana. I reduced the sugar content by more than half that of the original recipe and switched out castor sugar for a 5:1 blend of coconut sugar and stevia. The quantities below made a tray of 12 cupcakes the perfect size for toddler hands (they look small in the picture below because I optimistically used muffin cases forgetting I’d halved the ingredients!)
Ingredients to make 12 cupcakes or 6 large size cupcakes
185g beetroot (one large beet)
150ml oil (I use rapeseed oil or coconut oil)
150g self-raising flour
50g dark chocolate melted or cocoa powder
55g raisins
2 eggs
50g sugar (I used coconut sugar this time)
10g stevia
Nutritional value per cupcake (calculated using the free app Myfitness pal):
213 calories, 17.6g carbs, 14.9g fat, 2.9g protein
To make beetroot and chocolate cupcakes
- Pre heat oven to 185°c
- Cook raw beetroot until soft or use pre-cooked shop bought beetroot and blend (I used the Magimix this time but have used a hand mixer before as well)
- In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs into the oil. Add to the cooked beetroot and mix well.
- Melt the chocolate in a bowl over a saucepan of simmering water. Add the melted chocolate to the egg/oil/beetroot mixture.
- If using cocoa powder instead of melted chocolate add it to your sifted flour in a separate bowl. Add the sugar and raisins. Mix well.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix everything together lightly.
- Spoon the mixture into cupcake cases bake for 20-25 minutes until brown and risen or a fork comes out of it clean.
Mmmm. They look delicious. Love the colour of them, so rich a deep. I have never cooked with coconut sugar before. These are something I would love to try with my boys. It’s always good to try and find new recipes. It looks like your boys enjoyed them too. I can relate to the bit about eating healthily in the day and then undoing it all in the evening. I also like the fact you are clear they are reduced sugar and not low sugar and that you explained the nutritional values were found in my fitness pal. A great post!
Cherie @mymamamusings
I’d never used it before either but spotted it in Tesco. It’s a light brown colour and has a slightly caramelly taste. I think it’s a good transition option for reducing sugar as like other alternatives like maple syrup or agave syrup it’s expensive compared to granulated sugar. I think I’m going to experiment more with using banana and baby fruit pots.
Not giving in to evening snacking is hard when you’re tired and feel you deserve a treat for making it through the day intact!
Try drinking more nettle tea before you are due as thos definitely reduces sugar cravings.
Been using coconut sugar as a replacement for regular sugar for a while now in cooking. And since cutting regular sugar actually find most regular things way to sweet. But delighted when I no longer reached for sweet things except fruit.
Can’t wait to try these as I love beetroot and also been told it’s good for iron levels and blood pressure.
That’s a good tip, thank you. I’m not keen on nettle but can tolerate it with peppermint and I’m all for being medicinal sometimes about the things you’re not keen on if they’re going to do you some good! I’ve had times when I’ve stopped sugar and you’re right that you’re taste buds adjust. The dark chocolate as well as the beetroot will help your iron levels ;o)
Thanks so much for taking the time to comment, I really appreciate your interaction x
[…] have the cake! Update – I posted this recipe again in 2018 using less sugar – click here if you’d prefer to see that […]