Chocolate Beetroot Cupcakes

These were supposed to be red velvet cupcakes, but the beetroot colour clearly wasn't strong enough to permeate the darker cocoa. Nevertheless, these were excellent both in texture (fluffy and deliciously moist at the same time) and in taste (chocolatey with a hint of sweetness from the beetroot). The creamcheese frosting complemented these perfectly. I don't think you could ask for a happier accident! 

Chocolate Beetroot Cupcakes

Adapted from Coconut & Lime

Makes 12 cupcakes

3/4 cup beet puree (yield from about 500g cooked beets)

1/2 cup olive oil

2 eggs
1/4 cup milk
1 teaspoon plain yogurt

1/2 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup cake-flour

1/2 cup cocoa powder

1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)

a pinch of salt

1. Mix all the wet ingredients in a large mixing bowl - beetroot, eggs, milk, yoghurt and vinegar.

2. Add sugar, stir and then add flour, cocoa, baking powder, bicarb and salt. Mix well to get rid of any lumps and to ensure that everything is combined.

3. Divide batter evenly amongst 12 cupcake molds (it will be about 3/4 full). Bake for 15 minutes. Allow to cool down before icing.

For the icing:

57g (1/4 container) plain creamcheese

67g (1/4 container) low-fat cottage cheese

1 1/4 cups icing sugar (confectioner's sugar)

Beat everything together for a minute or two until thick and creamy. Place in refrigerator to thicken further for about 30 minutes. Use to frost cupcakes.

Nutritional info (per cupcake): Calories 268.5, Total fat 11.9 g, Saturated fat 2.9 g, Polyunsaturated fat 0.9 g, Monounsaturated fat 7.2 g, Cholesterol 41.3 mg, Sodium 110.0 mg, Potassium 117.7 mg, Total carbohydrate 37.5 g, Dietary fiber 1.9 g, Sugars 15.1 g, Protein 4.2 g

Borscht

Update: Submitted to Weekend Herb Blogging #199 (hosted by Mele Cotte)

Time to be honest: I'm not a big fan of brothy soups. I prefer my soups thick and smooth. The need for chewing should be minimal. That's not to say I don't like a brothy soup every now and again (can anyone say miso?), but they generally don't form part of my top ten, soup-wise. And apologies to my Eastern European counterparts, but a soup consisting of cabbage and beetroot chunks floating in a thin broth really didn't sound too appealing.

But I am ready to retract my words. Having always wanted to try borscht, because, in spite of everything I said above, it IS a classic, I finally (reluctantly I might add) made it tonight. After a day of movies, pizza and popcorn it seemed like the necessary evi... um... healthy option. Everything was thrown into the pot, without much hope as to the outcome. Even when I dished up and took the photo I still wasn't convinced.

Until that first mouthful.

I was wrong. SO wrong. I do like brothy soups. Or at least I liked this one. A LOT. The ingredients come together beautifully in a lovely rosy, soul-soothing way. Oh borscht, I underestimated you! You are hereby cordially invited to take up residence in my top ten.

Borscht

Adapted (ever so slightly) from Nami-Nami (don't you just love that name!)

Serves 4 - 6

2 tbsp olive oil

500g (1 lb) beetroot, scrubbed and julienned

2 large carrots, scrubbed and julienned

2 medium onions, peeled, quartered and sliced thinly

300g (about 1 1/2 cups) sauerkraut (you can also use regular cabbage)

5 cups boiling water

1 stock cube (preferably vegetable, but I used chicken without any problems)

1 tsp sugar

1 tbsp lemon juice (plus extra to taste)

1 tsp dried dill

a sprinkle of caraway seeds

sour cream, to serve (about 1 tbsp each)

1. Heat olive oil in a large pot. Add beetroot, carrots and onions and saute over medium heat for a few minutes.

2. Add cabbage, stock cube and water, cover and simmer over medium-low heat for about 45 minutes, until vegetables are cooked through.

3. Add sugar, lemon juice, dill and caraway and season to taste with salt and pepper if necessary (I found I didn't need any).

4. Ladle into bowls, serving the soup warm with a dollop of sour cream and an extra sprinkle of dill and caraway seeds.

Nutritional info (per serving): Calories 164.2, Total Fat 8.3 g, Saturated Fat 2.5 g, Polyunsaturated Fat 0.6 g, Monounsaturated Fat 4.7 g, Cholesterol 5.3 mg, Sodium 651 mg, Potassium 294.5 mg, Total Carbohydrate 19.3 g, Dietary Fiber 5.0 g, Sugars 9.0 g, Protein 3.4 g

Good source of: Vitamin A 71.7 %, Vitamin C 25.0 %

Beetroot Soup

I actually bought the beetroot to roast in the oven, along with some other winter vegetables, but it was such a miserable day that I decided that soup would be the only thing that could sufficiently warm us up. 



Had never made beetroot soup before, but I reckoned it couldn't be too different from any other kind of vegetable soup - you know, roast the veggies in the oven, add some stock and puree in a blender and add some dairy for a touch of creaminess. And boy oh boy was this good! The earthy sweetness of the beetroot is enhanced by the roasting and the added yoghurt was sheer genius.

Beetroot Soup

Serves 5 - 6

1 kg beetroot, cubed
1 sweet potato, cubed
2 small onions, cubed
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 teaspoon cumin
salt & pepper
1 cube chicken stock
3 tbsp plain yoghurt

1. Preheat oven to 180C. Place beetroot, sweet potato and onions in an ovenproof dish. Drizzle olive oil over & sprinkle with cumin, salt & pepper. Bake for 1 hour until softened, stirring once.
2. Spoon the vegetables into a cookingpot with 1 cup of water. Blend until smooth with a stick blender.
3. Add the stockcube and yoghurt and heat on the stovetop until warm throughout.
4. Serve warm with crusty bread.

Nutritional info (per serving): Calories 148.5 Total Fat 3.1 g Saturated Fat 0.7 g Polyunsaturated Fat 0.3 g Monounsaturated Fat 1.9 g Cholesterol 0.5 mg Sodium 155.1 mg Potassium 106.9 mg Total Carbohydrate 24.0 g Dietary Fiber 4.4 g Sugars 12.2 g Protein 4.1 g