Vegan Naturally Coloured Red Velvet Cupcakes - Eggless Red Velvet Cake - No Artificial Colour

February is a month with Romance in the air. Whether you care or not, it is hard not to get caught up in the festivities. Valentine's Day is here and you might as well celebrate and enjoy! Now when it comes to celebration, what better way to celebrate than with a piece of cake?

Red Velvet Cake fits the romantic bill perfectly. The beautiful red colour contracted by the white frosting... hmmm, yumm!! The cake has a hint of cocoa and of course as the name suggests, it is red in colour. The frosting is usually Cream Cheese.

Red Velvet Cake has been in my list of cakes to bake for quite sometime. But then, my list is way too long and ever growing. A lifetime is not enough to work thru it. You can check out some awesome pins from around the world here. Ok, I think I am getting a little distracted here, don't you think? The reason I did not bake a red velvet cake is cause I realized that in the standard recipe the red colour is achieved by the addition of red food colour (loads of it). Well, that is not something that impressed me. So when I saw this recipe here, I jumped straight in.

I could not capture the colour of the cake well in the photo cause of poor lighting that day. But believe me it was beautifully red. Do you want to know the secret ingredient that makes the cake moist and gives it the beautiful red colour? Beets! Yes, you read it right. It is the humble Beetroot. What's more? You will not taste the beets at all. How cool is that?

This month holds another special place in our hearts. I got married to my loving Husband on this day 8 years ago. Can't believe its been that long, just feels like yesterday. We have shared a wonderful journey together so far and added a new member to our little family along the way! Here's to many wonderful years to come! That little bear is one of the first gifts I got from my husband. I think he was working out of a list - flowers, chocolate, teddy, dinner, perfume. Gosh, those were the days :-) Hint, Hint!

Ingredients

Beet Puree 3/4 cup (I cooked and pureed a couple of small beets)
Oil 1/3 cup
Sugar 1 1/4 cup (250 gms)
Vanilla Extract 1.5 tsp
All Purpose Flour 1 1/4 cup (160 gms)
Salt 1/4 tsp
Cocoa Powder 1.5 tbsp
Baking Powder 1.5 tsp
Milk (Use a Vegan Milk or Regular Milk) 3/4 cup
(the original recipe called for 1 cup. I found this already very watery, so i added only 3/4 cup)

Method of Preparation

1. Puree the beets after cooking. You can choose to buy some cooked beets as well.

2. Add it to the mixing bowl along with the oil and beat till combined.

3. Add the sugar and vanilla and mix well.

4. In a separate bowl, mix the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt.

5. Add the dry ingredients to the bowl alternating with milk. Beat till just combined.

6. Line a muffin tray with cupcake liners. Preheat oven to 175 C (350 F).

7. Pour the batter to the cases. I use a icecream scoop for this as it helps me pour uniform portions. 1 scoop works great for each cupcake.

8. Bake for 20-25 min till it is done and a tester comes out clean. It took me 22 min.

Buttercream Frosting
This frosting is enough to frost 12 cup cakes. I did not add too much frosting. If you want a fully covered cupcake, you might want to increase the quantity. (I did not get Vegan butter, so made with butter)

Ingredients

Butter or Non Dairy Margarine 125 gms
Icing Sugar 250 gms
Milk (or Soy Milk) 1-2 tbsp

Method of Preparation

1. Make sure the butter is in room temperature. Beat the butter in a bowl till light and fluffy.

2. Add sugar in 2-3 portions and beat till combined and has a butter cream texture. Add milk as required it is is too thick.

3. Frost the cakes with the buttercream frosting.