Orange flavoured sponge cakes with a note of cardamom, dyed pink with beetroot water and a surprise blob of plum jam in the middle. They’re topped with a creamy white chocolate and shocking pink beetroot icing. I’ve called them beetroot and orange cupcakes, not so much for the flavour, but for the colour.
It’s the last day of National Cupcake Week and I’m just getting in by the skin of my chinny chin chin. With the Great British Bake Off in full swing everyone seems to have gone baking mad. Home Bargains is one such and they have given me a helping hand with my cupcakes by sending a box full of baking goodies. The brief was to create a Home Bargains showstopper.
Beetroot and Orange Cupcakes
The Home Bargains kit included a tin of pink cupcake paraphernalia. What could I do but go totally pink for the occasion? I’d recently made a few jars of plum jam that was not only very tasty with a sharp tang to it, but was a rather beautiful shade of pink.
I’ve been wanting to attempt cupcakes with a blob of surprise jam in the middle for a long time and I couldn’t wait any longer.
After my blackberry and white chocolate melt experience, I was a little concerned that the jam would either sink to the bottom of the cakes or spurt out all over the place. So I went for a thicker batter than I would normally do, in the hope it would hold the jam.
The mixing bowl provided was perfect for the job, large enough to mix easily whilst being light and sturdy at the same time. I decided to flavour the batter with orange and use beetroot to colour the cake. Before it was cooked, the batter was a lovely shade of pink, but on baking it sadly resumed a more normal hue.
Decoration
I’d intended the icing to be a white chocolate one with a swirl of pink plum jam running through it and I was going to use the piping nozzles and bags included in the kit to apply it. However, time began to run out, so the cakes morphed along the way. I ended up omitting the jam and using beetroot juice instead; I then just applied the icing with a palette knife. To finish, I applied a few of the pink sprinkles provided in the kit. To good effect I thought.
Annoyingly, I couldn’t assemble the accompanying pink presentation box. I made several attempts then realised it was a two person job and CT wasn’t around. The cakes were presented on a plate instead. I was rather taken with the “eat me” flags that came as part of the kit and the colour alone makes these a Showstopper to remember.
Plum Jam Surprise
The cakes were destined for friends with whom we were dining that night and I was hoping the shocking pink wouldn’t offend them. As it happened they had made a pink summer pudding for dessert, so the cakes fitted in rather well.
In fact my beetroot and orange cupcakes received lots of appreciative comments. And thankfully the jam stayed in the middle – for most of them at least. Little Jack Horner could have stuck in his thumb and pulled out a plum, if he’d so wished. CT is no fan of beetroot, so expressed his relief when he couldn’t detect the taste. It’s true, it was the colour of the beetroot rather than the flavour that emerged.
Beetroot Water
When I say beetroot water in the recipe, I mean the water left over from simmering beetroot in a pan. If you only use a little water to cook your beetroot, you’ll get a good strong colour. This is a great way of using up something that might otherwise be thrown away.
Organic September
I’d also like to point out it’s #OrganicSeptember and everything here bar the eggs, sugar and icing sugar is organic, including our homegrown beetroot.
Plum Jam
Oh and here’s the plum jam I made from some rather tart plums, courtesy of my mother’s garden. It’s totally scrumptious.
Other Sweet Vegetable Cakes You Might Like
- Almond & squash cake
- Beetroot chocolate cake
- Chocolate pecan pumpkin cake
- Chocolate courgette squares
- Golden beetroot cake
- Jerusalem artichoke cake
- Kale apple cake
- Nettle, lemon & white chocolate cupcakes
- Parsnip and walnut chocolate chip cake
- Spinach cake with lemon
For even more cakes made with vegetables, hop over to my Sweet Vegetable Bakes board on Pinterest.
Keep in Touch
Thank you for visiting Tin and Thyme. If you make these beetroot and orange cupcakes, I’d love to hear about it in the comments below. Do you have any recommendations or advice for making these cakes?
I’d very much appreciate it if you could rate the recipe. If you post pictures of your creations on social media, please use the hashtag #tinandthyme so I can see them.
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If you’d like more cupcake recipes, follow the link and you’ll find I have quite a lot of them. All delicious and nutritious, of course.
Choclette x
Beetroot and Orange Cupcakes. PIN IT.
Beetroot and Orange Cupcakes – The Recipe
Beetroot and Orange Cakes with White chocolate Icing and a Jam Surprise
Ingredients
- 120 g unsalted butter softened
- 200 g golden caster sugar (I used cardamom sugar)
- 2 tsp orange zest finely grated
- 3 large eggs (I used duck eggs)
- 260 g flour (I used half wholemeal spelt, half white)
- 2 tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
- 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 50 ml beetroot water (the water leftover from boiling beetroots)
- 15 tsp pink jam (I used plum)
Beetroot Icing
- 100 g white chocolate
- 150 g icing sugar
- 110 g unsalted butter softened
- 2 tbsp beetroot water (the water leftover from boiling beetroots)
Instructions
- Cream the first lot of butter and sugar until light and fluffy, then beat in the orange zest.200 g golden caster sugar, 120 g unsalted butter, 2 tsp orange zest
- Beat in the eggs one by one, adding a little of the flour in between each one to prevent curdling.3 large eggs
- Sift in the flour, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda and stir adding the vinegar and beetroot water as you go along.260 g flour, 2 tsp baking powder, ¼ tsp bicarbonate of soda (baking soda), 50 ml beetroot water, 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- Spoon half the batter into 15 cupcake cases, make a slight dent in the middle and add a tsp of jam to each. Top with the remaining batter.15 tsp pink jam
- Bake at 180℃ (350℉, Gas 4) for 20 minutes until the cakes are well risen and golden on top. Turn out onto a rack to cool.
Beetroot Icing
- Melt the white chocolate in a bowl over a pan of hot water and allow to cool a little.100 g white chocolate
- Cream the icing sugar and 2nd lot of butter, then beat in the white chocolate.150 g icing sugar, 110 g unsalted butter
- Beat in the 2 tbsp beetroot water one by one until a smooth icing consistency is reached. If the mixture curdles and won’t come together, add a little more beetroot juice and continue to beat.2 tbsp beetroot water
- Spread the icing over the cooled cakes and leave for an hour or so to set.
Notes
Nutrition Estimate
Sharing
I’m sending these beetroot and orange cupcakes off to Laura over at I’d Much Rather Bake Than …. She hosts the Biscuit Barrel challenge which is all about birthday celebrations this month. Happy Birthday Laura and congratulations on the Biscuit Barrel being one year old this month.
The theme for this month’s Love Cakes with Ness over at JibberJabberUK is Back to School – Something New. Well I can honestly say I’ve never put beetroot in icing before and nor have I tried to bake jam into the middle of cupcakes either.
Thanks to Peppermint Soda for my Home Bargains Showstopper kit, I was not required to write a positive review and as always all opinions are my own.
Jibber JabberUK says
I love a hidden surprise in a cupcake and the natural colouring from the beetroot is gorgeous! Thanks for linking up this month.
Choclette Blogger says
Thank you Ness
Bintu Hardy says
The pink icing is such fun. The kids would love it.
Choclette Blogger says
Tthanks Bintu – you never know, you might like it too 😉
Sarah Trivuncic says
What a gorgeous colour! I couldn’t say no to one of those 🙂
Choclette Blogger says
Thanks Sarah, they are certainly not going to go unnoticed.
Alida says
These cakes have an incredible colour. They really look lovely. Delicious with plums!
Choclette Blogger says
Thanks Alida – beetroot is a wonderful thing 😉
Gloria Baker says
I love beetroot cakes I think the color is amazing .
Look beautiful:)
Choclette says
Thank you Gloria. It’s true, beetroot can work really well in cakes.
Phil in the Kitchen says
I’ve never been offended by shocking pink. (Well, maybe once when I was given a lift in a shocking pink car). These sound not just delicious but also good fun. Cardamom and plum jam are two baking ingredients that I’d definitely always welcome. They’re not used enough in my opinion.
Choclette says
Oh Phil, you’ve made me feel all nostalgic now for the days when people were able to be a bit whackier and could drive such wonders as shocking pink cars. You don’t really see any weird and wonderfuls on the roads these days.
Nayna Kanabar says
I don’t know about anyone else but I love the pink icing, its very girlie and pretty. Have you tried injecting the jam in the cake after its baked with one of them pointy nozzles.I saw one in lakeland.
Choclette says
Thanks Nayna. I know you’re meant to inject the jam afterwards for the best results, but it seems rather a faff and I was trying to see if I could get something to work which was a bit easier.
All That I'm Eating says
I love that shocking pink beetroot icing! Lovely idea and how nice that they morphed as you went along, it’s always good when that happens!
Choclette says
Haha yes, as long as they morph in the right way!
Barefoot Mahala says
I really like the sound of orange and cardamom sponge. I’ll have to try these
Choclette says
I often pair orange and cardamom, I think they compliment each other very nicely.
GG says
These cupcakes have such an amazing colour. Fabulous on the outside and a lovely jammy surprise in the centre. GG
Choclette says
Thanks GG – sometimes it’s time to sit up and be noticed 😉
Karen S Booth says
WOW! What vibrant and colourful cakes Choclette and with beetroot too, one of my favourite veggies to use in baking!
Choclette says
Beetroot is a very underrated vegetable Karen.
Kitty Kaos says
I love beetroot never tried it in cake though that sounds really interesting. May need to give these a try xx
Choclette says
Ah Kitty, you must try a good dark chocolate beetroot cake – works so well.
Katie says
Wow what a bright and vibrant shade of pink, love it! Beetroot juice is amazing at colouring things. They look so cheery
Choclette says
Thanks Katie. I was pleased at just how vibrant the beetroot made these, without making it taste beetrooty.
Kate Glutenfreealchemist says
Shocking pink? No kidding! My daughter would go wild for these! Love the jam in the middle and the flavour combination too! I meant to make some cupcakes this week, but sadly had to decorate instead…… Completely ran out of time…… darn!
Choclette says
Well next time you cook some beetroot, you could make some for her – the icing at least. Yes time has a horrid habit of running away and I never seem to do half the things I have on my list. I take it the decorating was of the house kind rather than the cake kind?
Kate Glutenfreealchemist says
Sadly yes! Sparkly purple with turquoise!!! Nine year olds eh???
Choclette Blogger says
Goodness Kate, that must make for a lively atmosphere.
Angie Schneider says
That beetroot white chocolate icing sounds heavenly!
Choclette says
Thanks Angie. Loved the icing for the colour, but it did taste good too.
The Caked Crusader says
I can never come out of Home Bargains empty handed! Love you cupcakes – the colour is amazing
Choclette says
Thanks CC, you are lucky to have a Home Bargains store in your vicinity.
belleau kitchen says
Love that colour. Such a fab electro 80s pop colour. Also loving the idea of beetroot and orange. I can totally see how this would be gorgeous.
Choclette says
Thanks Dom – you’re right, back to the 80s it is 🙂
Hannah Hearsey says
SO bright! I love them!
Choclette says
Thanks Hannah – sometimes shocking pink is just what is needed.
Laura Denman says
I love these! So perfect for a girly birthday party or a friendly get together and that colour is amazing =) Thanks for sharing them with the Biscuit Barrel.
Choclette says
Thanks Laura – aren’t the boys meant to be reclaiming pink these days?
Janice Pattie says
Wow, what a pop of colour! You always make such great cakes with your veggies, jam in the middle is definitely the way to go, glad everyone enjoyed them.
Choclette says
Thanks Janice. As you know I do enjoy coming up with new ways of using ingredients – especially when they work!