Editorial Food Photographer | Happy Bloody Valentine's Day Beet Cupcakes

I've never been big on Valentine's Day, or any holiday for that matter, except perhaps Halloween, which is why my branding is all orange. This recipe is perfect for me--sweet on the outside, blood red on the inside. So whether you're celebrating the gooey-ness of Valentine's Day or hating the holiday and everything it stands for, these cupcakes can very well represent either feeling in a tasty treat.

Just as I'm not-that-into Valentine's Day, I'm also not-that-into beets. I have found ways to eat them that aren't so bad-fried, roasted in tiny tiny pieces, in dishes made by world-renowned chefs....Yet putting them into cakes and cupcakes is the easiest way to use them up AND make other people eat them.  

Chocolate Beet Cupcakes with Orange Icing (Adapted from southernfood.about.com) 

Cake Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup cocoa powder
3 large eggs, beaten
1 cup vegetable oil
1 1/2 cups grated beets
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 tblsp lemon juice

Icing Ingredients (Adapted from Wilton.com)

1/2 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
1 package (8 oz. each) cream cheese, softened
4 cups sifted confectioners' sugar
1 tablespoon milk
1 tablespoon orange juice
1 teaspoon orange zest
Preheat oven to 350°. Combine flour, soda, salt, sugar and cocoa in a bowl; set aside. In a mixing bowl, combine the eggs and oil. Beat in vanilla and continue beating until well blended. Slowly beat in dry ingredients until well mixed; stir in beets and lemon juice. Pour into paper-lined cupcake tins. Bake at 350° for 20 to 25 minutes, or until cupcakes bounce back when touched lightly with finger.
In medium mixer bowl, cream butter and cream cheese together until smooth. Add sugar one cup at a time and milk. Mix well. Beat on high until smooth (only 30 seconds to 1 minute).
Frost cupcakes when cooled.

I like the orange icing to compliment the sweetness of the cupcakes. The lemon juice in the batter is meant to keep more of the red color from the beets, because when the cupcakes are baked, they turn into more of a brown color than a red color. You could always add red dye to fake the color, too.
Decorate with tiny hearts and red lips, or vampire teeth and drops of blood-your choice. Happy Bloody Valentine's Day to you all!