Best with Cooked Beets

Beet & Vanilla Cupcake with Rose Butter Frosting

Prep Time: 45 minutes plus drying time // Cook Time: 20 minutes Servings: 12 cupcakes

What to do

  1. Make the crystallized rose petals the day before you want to serve the cupcakes. They will keep in an airtight container for a few weeks. Lay out a piece of silicon-coated baking paper on a tray. Pick through the petals and choose 12 of the loveliest looking ones and lay them on the tray. Brush gently with egg white and sprinkle all over the caster sugar. Allow to dry in a warm place for 8 hours before using.
  2. When ready to make the cupcakes, preheat the oven to 350°F
  3. Blend together the sugar and butter until light and creamy, add the egg yolks, flour, pureed beets and vanilla and beat until smooth
  4. In a clean bowl whisk the egg whites until fairly stiff. Take a large spoon of egg white and beat into the mixture to loosen it a little. Then, using a big metal spoon fold the remaining egg whites gently through the mixture, taking care not to over beat.
  5. Spoon the mix into 12 holder cupcake baking pan and bake in the oven for about 20 minutes, or until the cakes are firm to the touch. Remove and cool on a wire rack.
  6. To make the icing, beat the icing sugar and butter together, either in a food mixer or by hand with a wooden spoon. add a few drops of rose flower water to taste, and a few drops of beet juice to color the icing.
  7. Spread generously or pipe over the cooled cupcakes and top each with a rose petal.

What you’ll Need

For the Cupcakes:

175g caster sugar
175g unsalted butter
3 large eggs, separated
175g self raising flour
175g plain cooked beets, drained (hold a few drops of beet juice back to use for coloring) and pureed
1 tbsp vanilla extract

For the icing:

300g icing sugar
150g unsalted butter, slightly softened
a few drops of rose flower water, to taste
a few drops of beet juice, to color

For the crystallized rose petals:

3 organic pink roses, separated
1 egg white
Caster sugar