This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Love Beets. All opinions are 100% mine.
Quick and easy red velvet mug cake coloured with beets. Low carb and gluten-free. And you can enter the Love Beets Beet the Odds Sweepstakes to win a year’s supply of Love Beets products.
Okay, I have a confession to make. I don’t actually like beets. I want to, I really do and I have tried many, many times. I know they are remarkably healthy for me and I typically love healthy foods. And so many friends and family absolutely love them and rave about them. So I somehow feel that the inability to enjoy beets in their basic form is a personal failing on my part. But I’ve learned much as a healthy food blogger and that is to never give up. Our tastebuds change as we grow older so it’s always worth giving foods a chance every so often. And if that fails but you still want to enjoy the health benefits, you can always mix them into smoothies and baked goods!
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I received some lovely samples of Love Beets marinated baby beets and vacuum-packed cooked beets. I tried them out and while I can’t yet say I’ve been won over, I know I can still put them to good (and healthy!) uses. And I got an overwhelmingly positive response on my Facebook page when I asked who liked beets, so I certainly think it’s worth creating recipes with those beautiful crimson orbs. Love Beets products are conveniently packaged and they have some wonderful flavours (some contain sugar so are higher carb but several are simply baby beets in vinegar or pre-cooked beets). The vacuum packed steamed beets are organic, which I love.
That deep rich crimson colour is indicative of so many valuable nutrients, such as potassium, folic acid, and antioxidants. Potassium is a critical mineral in muscle-contraction, including our hearts, and folic acid is important in pre-natal development. February is American Heart Month, so it seems apropos to bring you a beet-based recipe. And right now, you can enter the Love Beets Beet the Odds Facebook Sweeps!
Love Beets’ Beet the Odds Facebook Sweeps:
• Love Beets will post 4 Love Beets beet recipes and ask fans to share their favorite recipe in order to receive a free product coupon and be entered in the sweeps for a chance to win a grand prize. In addition, every time a fan shares the giveaway with a friend, he or she gets an additional entry.
• The grand prize includes a year’s supply of Love Beets (26 free product vouchers) and a free nutrition/healthy living consultation with a noted nutritionist and cookbook author Ellie Krieger.
The deep red of beets is also a great way to add natural colours to your baked goods. Red Velvet typically takes a scary amount of red food dye, but some beet puree can give you that same colour with no chemicals. I decided to give it a try with these low carb mug cakes and was delighted with the colour and very happy with the flavour. And it was a great way for me to get some beets into my own diet!
Enter the Beet the Odds Sweepstakes here!
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 vacuum-packed steamed beets
- 2 tbsp water
- 1 cup almond flour
- 1/3 cup Swerve Sweetener or other erythritol
- 2 tbsp coconut flour
- 1 tbsp cocoa powder
- 2 tsp baking powder
- Pinch salt
- 2 eggs
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 3 ounces cream cheese, softened
- 3 tbsp whipping cream, room temperature
- 1/4 cup powdered Swerve Sweetener or other powdered erythritol
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
- For the cakes, puree beets and water together in a food processor or blender until smooth.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together almond flour, sweetener, coconut flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt.
- Stir in beet puree, eggs, lemon juice and and vanilla extract.
- Divide between 4 mugs and cook on high in the microwave for 1 to 1 1/2 minutes, depending on how gooey you want it.
- For the frosting, combine cream cheese, whipping cream, sweetener and vanilla and beat until smooth. Pipe or spoon onto warm mug cakes.
Read more at https://alldayidreamaboutfood.com/?p=6519#5SmoOHUmIzF2s00r.99
- 1 1/2 vacuum-packed steamed beets
- 2 tbsp water
- 1 cup almond flour
- 1/3 cup Swerve Sweetener or other erythritol
- 2 tbsp coconut flour
- 1 tbsp cocoa powder
- 2 tsp baking powder
- Pinch salt
- 2 eggs
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 3 ounces cream cheese softened
- 3 tbsp whipping cream room temperature
- 1/4 cup powdered Swerve Sweetener or other powdered erythritol
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
-
For the cakes, puree beets and water together in a food processor or blender until smooth.
-
In a medium bowl, whisk together almond flour, sweetener, coconut flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt.
-
Stir in beet puree, eggs, lemon juice and and vanilla extract.
-
Divide between 4 mugs and cook on high in the microwave for 1 to 1 1/2 minutes, depending on how gooey you want it.
-
For the frosting, combine cream cheese, whipping cream, sweetener and vanilla and beat until smooth. Pipe or spoon onto warm mug cakes.
Mary. says
Redneck “cupcakes” get it? Besides, febuary is not only for valentines day, it’s also national heart health month. And did you know the original “red velvet” cake, was made with beets?
Carolyn says
Good to know!
Carol Snipes says
I love the recipes here. My husband loves beets, me…not so much, but I will try this.
Carolyn says
I don’t like them either…so that says a lot because I loved these cakes!
Anita says
If I would use fresh beets and cook them, how much would it take? I have some in my fridge right now… YUM!
Carolyn says
It takes about 1/2 cup of beet puree.
Anita says
And also, how long would they bake if I baked them instead of used the microwave?
Carolyn says
I can’t say for sure but I’d start at 325F and 10 minutes and keep checking every few minutes after that.
Susan Hayes says
I love beets, my husband loves red velvet cake, match made in heaven via your genius kitchen! Can’t wait to try this recipe:-)
Jocelyn (Grandbaby Cakes) says
These mug cakes are seriously unbelievable! And gluten free too? And low carb? Sold!
Pamela says
I’m so excited to try this; especially since I had just made Red Velvet cupcakes for Valentine’s day. Now I have an excuse to make more. I just read and pinned a couple of recipes on my Pinterest board about incorporating and camouflaging vegetables in tasty dishes so this (along with my doctor’s admonishments) is really timely. I like beets and I already checked in my area to see where I could find the ones you referred to. We only have one store, Whole Foods, that carries them but I usually go there biweekly so it’s on my list for the next trip. Thanks for sharing!
Alyssa (Everyday Maven) says
I am in your camp. I want to like beets so badly but unfortunately they are not one of my favorites. Although, I do really like them roasted and with cheese! I have been hearing about Love Beets – I have to try them.
Carolyn says
They have some great flavours of marinated beets. I wanted to try the Sweetfire ones but as the name suggests, they contain added sugar 🙁 Might just have to make up my own!
Sarah Grace says
Wow looks so delicious!!
xoxo Sarah Grace, Fresh Fit N Healthy.
joan says
I’ve got some carrot puree in my freezer and I have been trying to find a low carb recipe for carrot cake. This looks like it would work.
Carolyn says
I can’t see why it wouldn’t, although I don’t think it will be very red! 🙂
joan says
Ah, but it will be the right color for carrot cake! Changing out the cocoa for cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and cloves also. I’ll let you know how it turns out.
Cathy says
Two questions.
1. Is the quantity of beets 1 1/2 beets or cups?
2. Do you microwave the mugs collectively or individually for the stated time?
These look awesome and I’m anxious to try them. I love beets and red velvet cake!
Carolyn says
The beets are actually 1 and one half beets. It ends up being about 1/2 cup puree. The Love Beets cooked beets are very small.
Microwave them one at a time.
mellissa @ ibreatheimhungry says
These are gorgeous Carolyn! I love red velvet cake but hate that they are so loaded with fake dye – not to mention the carbs! This is the perfect healthy substitute that I bet even my family would eat! And don’t feel bad – cooked beets is one of the few foods I’ve hated most of my life unless they were pickled or hidden in a recipe like this one! I will occasionally stomach chilled cooked beets chopped in a salad, but still can’t eat them when warm!
Carolyn says
Hey girl, I am trying your chicken tonight. I am ridiculously excited about this fact and will give them a huge shout out if they taste as good as they look!
Anita says
Thanks for answering my questions Carolyn…I’m looking forward to trying these. YUMMOOOOOOO! I love your blog…and I’m still waiting on that cookbook… 🙂
Carolyn says
Yeah, I am waiting on that cookbook too, lol!
Sylvie @ Gourmande in the Kitchen says
Now this is a red velvet cake I can dig into!
Alison @ Ingredients, Inc. says
fabulous idea!!
Jeanette | Jeanette's Healthy Living says
LOVE how you used beets to make red velvet! I always cringe at the amount of red food coloring that goes into red velvet cake, so this is such a healthy alternative.
Carolyn says
Thanks, Jeanette!
Lora @cakeduchess says
I am a huge beet fan, but I seem to be in the minority. I love golden beets and red beets and am intrigued with these darling mug cakes!! Great job and great contest, Carolyn!
Dina says
great healthy sweet treat!
Melody says
Made these last night they are awesome! Thanks so much for posting this.
Carolyn says
Glad you liked them!
Nancy L says
25 g. of fat seems really high for one serving size. Is this a mistake?
Carolyn says
No. Considering the fact that almond flour alone has 14 g of fat per 1/4 cup (and it’s 1/4 cup per serving here), plus the cream, eggs and cream cheese…it adds up.
Sarah says
I’ve added beets when baking cakes in an oven and they turn into a dull brown colour after baking 🙁 I’m surprised that the red colour of the beets did not change in this recipe. Is it becuase it was microwaved?
Carolyn says
That’s a good question, I don’t know. Besides this recipe I’ve never baked with beets before. Maybe it was using the vacuum packed beets too?
Nicole says
Could you use something in place of the almond flour? Something that is still healthy, I don’t want to use all purpose flour. Would whole wheat pastry work? or flax meal?
Carolyn says
If you wanted to use whole wheat flour, I would look up a mug cake recipe that uses regular flour. Almond flour and wheat flour are not really directly swappable and I don’t bake with wheat flour any more so I really can’t say what would work best.
Kapu says
What are love beets? Could I use any kind of beets?
Carolyn says
They need to be cooked beets but yes, any sort of pureed cooked beets would work.
Pan says
Using a tip from one of your other red velvet recipes, I used 6 tbsp almond milk and a few drops of red food coloring instead of the beets, along with about 10 drops of stevia. These came out great! I’ve made them twice now.
Maxiwell says
I love beets, my husband loves red velvet cake, match made in heaven via your genius kitchen! Thnaks