Beet-Velvet Cupcakes, Gut-Healing, Low-gluten for the Gluten-intolerant

Gluten-intolerance, red-dye sensitivity, imbalanced guts, etc.. These low-gluten desserts are a nutritional and deceptive beet alternative to red velvet cupcakes.

Jump to Recipe

You can find a Gluten-free variation at the bottom of the recipe details.

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Servings: 18 Cupcakes

Prep: 1 hour 15 minutes

Bake: 30 minutes

Dry Ingredients

• 2 1/2 cups oats

• 1 teaspoon baking powder

• 1 teaspoon baking soda

• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Wet Ingredients

• 1/3 cups milk

• 2 teaspoon vinegar

• 1/3 cup honey

• 3 eggs

• 3/4 cup cane sugar

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter

• 2 teaspoon vanilla

• 2 tablespoons coco powder

• 1 cup sourdough starter or discard

• 1 cup beet puree

Decoration Ingredients

• 1 3/4 cups heavy whipping cream

• 1 teaspoon vanilla

• 1/4 cup powdered cane sugar

• 1/4 cup beet puree

• 2 white fleshed dragon fruit

• Star cookie cutter

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Before getting into making the cupcakes, you need to prep your beet puree.

I usually do this earlier in the day. Peel 2 to 3 beets, chop them up, wrap them in foil, and bake for 45 to 60 minutes in an oven preheated to 400 degrees. DO NOT boil or steam your beets. You need to retain the color of the beets, and the best way to do that is bake them. Once they are cooked enough to be mashed, let them cool and then puree them.

Method makes all the difference when baking gluten-free or low-gluten.

We're making our own oat flour for this recipe. So, it's important to bring your wet and dry ingredients in at the right time.

There is no reason to buy gluten-free or low-gluten flour. Get a container of old fashioned oats, add your oats, baking powder, baking soda, and salt to a blender. Blend on high twice. I leave the mixture in the blender and set it aside.

Your wet ingredients need to be room temperature.

The bake's rise comes from the baking powder and baking soda. That's why I say you can use sourdough start or discard. However, there is a benefit in using a super active and bubbly starter, because that component has more rise than discard.

The extra rise keeps your beet-velvet cupcakes from being too dense, which is worth being cautious of when using oat flour. With that in mind, the most important step is separating the egg yolks from the whites. Put the whites aside, you're going to whip them up later.

Add butter, sugar, yolks, honey, vanilla, coco powder, and sourdough starter to a large bowl and cream together. Set aside. Then measure out your milk and add vinegar to it.

Set out everything you have prepped: Milk mixture, Wet Mixture, Dry Mixture, and Beet Puree.

Pour a third of you milk mixture, dry mixture, and beet puree into you wet mixture. Fold everything together, but you don't have to mix everything completely. We want to maximize air and avoid overmixing. Add half of each mix, and fold again. Then, add the rest, and fold until everything is combined completely. Set aside.

Now whip up your egg whites until firm. You're going to fold these into the batter, again in three parts, and being extra careful to not over mix.

This batter needs to sit for 15 to 20 minutes. This is EXTREMELY important. The oats need to absorb the extra moisture. If you ever cook with oat flour, and you struggle with it, this may be the step that could improve your bakes. This is also a great time to preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

I use a trigger ice cream scoop to fill the cupcake tins.

It's just right - the perfect batter amount and a clean quick process. I let them sit for another 5 to 10 minutes, and then put them in the oven. You'll bake them for 20 to 30 minutes, until you can stick a toothpick in the center and it comes out clean.

Let them cool and then decorate!

Gluten-Free Variation

The sourdough starter will improve the digestibility, supports gut health, and enhances nutrient absorption due to the natural fermentation process. While this low-gluten version of these beet-velvet cupcakes can be easier on those with a mild gluten intolerance, you can make this completely gluten free by not using sourdough starter and increasing the oats to 3 cups and milk to 3/4 cups.

Other Variations

I use this recipe to make other flavors of cupcakes and muffins: strawberry, blueberry, banana, blackberry, pumpkin, apple, etc... There will be another recipe posted with details on how to make these cupcakes in other flavors. It will be linked HERE.

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Simple, Fun, and Fresh Decorations:

Any frosting would be great on these cupcakes. I love whipped cream, because it's lighter, requires less sugar, and pairs well with our low-gluten theme. You also don't have to use sugar! I often use honey or a homemade syrup. However, if you use whipped cream, you should make it. It's easy, cheap, tastier, and better to know exactly what goes into it.

The first time I made these beet-velvet cupcakes was for my nieces' birthday party. They looove dragon fruit and are allergic to red 40. I made two flavors, gluten-free beet and pink-velvet full fat and sugar. The beet

cupcakes were the clear favorite.

Get a set of star cookie cutters. Slice the dragon fruit into centimeter rings. Cut stars out of the fruit, and try to get some of the peel to create a pink edge.

Whip cream takes 5 minutes to make, if you use a stand mixer or beaters. Put your cream, vanilla, and powdered sugar in a bowl. Start your mixer on low and slowly increase your speed. Once you notice the mixture getting thicker, stop your mixer and add the beet pulp. Whip the cream until it forms soft to medium peaks, where the cream holds its shape but still has a smooth, billowy texture. Be careful not to overwhip; stop as soon as the cream becomes thick and stable. If you see it starting to look grainy or lumpy, you’ve gone too far, and it’s on its way to becoming butter.

Once I ice my beet cupcakes, I alternate decorating with dragon fruit stars and wedges. I made these for my birthday, and my sweet husband had brought me home a variety of macaroons. One of the flavors were dragon fruit. So, I had to top some cupcakes with those as well. The perfect cookie to go on top of a low-gluten cupcake!

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Servings: 18 Cupcakes

Prep: 1 hour 15 minutes

Bake: 30 minutes

Dry Ingredients:

• 2 1/2 cups oats

• 1 tsp baking powder

• 1 tsp baking soda

• 1/4 tsp salt

Wet Ingredients:

• 1/3 cup milk

• 2 tsp vinegar

• 1/3 cup honey

• 3 eggs (yolks and whites separated)

• 3/4 cup cane sugar

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter

• 2 tsp vanilla

• 2 tbsp cocoa powder

• 1 cup sourdough starter/discard

• 1 cup beet puree

Decoration:

• 1 3/4 cups heavy whipping cream

• 1 tsp vanilla

• 1/4 cup powdered cane sugar

• 1/4 cup beet puree

• 2 whole dragon fruit

Steps

1. Prepare Beet Puree: Peel, chop, and wrap beets in foil. Bake at 400°F for 45-60 minutes, then puree when cool.

2. Make Oat Flour: Blend oats, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a blender twice on high.

3. Prepare Wet Mixtures: Separate egg yolks and whites. Cream together butter, sugar, yolks, honey, vanilla, cocoa powder, and sourdough starter. Mix milk with vinegar.

4. Combine Ingredients: Add one-third each of the milk mixture, dry mixture, and beet puree to the wet mixture. Fold gently. Repeat until everything is combined.

5. Whip Egg Whites: Beat egg whites until firm and fold them into the batter in three parts. Don't over mix.

6. Rest Batter: Let the batter sit for 15-20 minutes, preheat oven to 350°F, and fill cupcake tins. Use cupcake liners.

7. Bake: Bake for 20-30 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. Let cool.

8. Decorate: Whip cream with vanilla and powdered sugar. Add pureed beets halfway through, and decorate cupcakes with whipped cream and dragon fruit.