My chocolate hazelnut cupcakes are made in one bowl with beets instead of eggs and oil. A dark delicious devil's food cake with a 2 ingredient frosting.
My chocolate hazelnut cupcakes are a symphony of flavor and texture thanks to the beets which lend moisture, and the glossy 2-ingredient frosting. The devil's food quality is soft and the flavor a deep chocolate, like my healthy chocolate cake made with pumpkin puree. And the frosting is similar to the frosting on my hostess cupcakes, only this one also tastes like hazelnuts. Kind of like nutella in frosting form.
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Why You'll Love These
Tastes like nutella & devils food cake. Both flavors are featured prominently in this recipe, yet in a healthy fashion. That's because the devils food quality stems from beets and cocoa, while the nutella flavoring is actually just a quality extract.
Beets make a moist cake. This cake is so soft and moist thanks to the beets, and leaving off eggs and oil actually make this cake healthier.
Nutritious cupcakes. These hazelnut cupcakes is actually higher in protein than most cakes thanks to the hazelnut flour. Because of that and the beets, each slice has 3 grams of protein and 2 grams of fiber.
Ingredients
Flour - I used all purpose and hazelnut flour here, but all purpose GF.
Cocoa - I used a dark cocoa by Valhrona, but any cocoa works. So does cacao powder.
Sugar - Organic cane sugar.
Milk & Lemon Juice - This acidic mixture reacts with the baking soda to create a fluffy cake texture.
Beets -Boil and puree fresh, or buy frozen beets and steam. Do not use canned.
Leaveners & Flavors - baking soda, baking powder, hazelnut extract.
See the recipe card at the bottom for full information on ingredients and quantities.
Step by Step Instructions
For more detail, visit the complete and printable recipe at the bottom of this post, but here are general steps.
1. Activate milk by adding lemon juice and set aside.
2. Prepare beets (blend store-bought) so you have ½ cup of beet puree at room temperature. See Substitutions for how to prepare beets.
3. Add sugar and wet ingredients to a bowl, and hand mix until combined.
4. Mix up the dry ingredients, and add them to the wet ingredients, then mix up the batter.
5. Pour batter into cake pans or cupcake liners
6. Bake, cool and frost.
Substitutions & Variations
To use pre-cooked beets. Buy them packaged in the produce section. Love beets is one brand. Be sure to buy unflavored. Do not buy canned beets for this recipe, they have all sorts of ingredients that will ruin the batter. Once you unwrap, rinse them, cut into cubes and blend into a puree. Store any leftovers in the refrigerator for a week and add to recipes, including my Chocolate Beet Smoothie.
To use fresh raw beets, you'll need to cook them. Wash fresh beets, scrubbing off dirt and peeling roughly. Chop the beets into chunks and boil for 25 minutes or until you can pierce them easily with a knife. Rinse the beets, drain, cool and and add the beets to a blender and puree them smooth. Add a teaspoon or two of water if needed to get the blender going.
To make the cupcakes gluten-free, swap the all purpose flour for a gluten-free baking flour.
Recipe Tips & Tricks
To use store-bought hazelnut flour, buy hazelnut meal or hazelnut flour such as this brand. Buy it fresh and use the bag within one month and refrigerate once opened.
To make it fresh, buy plain, unroasted hazelnuts, and roast them in the oven. Spread them on a cookie sheet, and roast them at 250 F for 20 minutes. Once roasting is completed, rub gently to remove the skins completely. Pluck out the skinless nuts and let them cool completely, then process into a flour in a blender.
FAQS
Yes, prepare two 7-inch round pans by greasing them and flouring them. Make the batter and divide between the two pans. Bake 350 F for 30 minutes or until a tester comes out clean.
More Cupcake Recipes
If you tried this recipe or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below. Thanks for visiting!
📖 Recipe
Chocolate Hazelnut Cupcakes
Ingredients
- 1 ¼ cup all purpose flour or all purpose gluten-free flour
- ¼ cup hazelnut flour
- ½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 cup organic cane sugar
- 1 cup milk
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice or white vinegar
- ½ cup beet puree* or unsweetened applesauce
- 1 teaspoon hazelnut extract
- pinch of salt
Ganache Frosting
- 1 cup chocolate chips
- ⅓ cup full fat coconut milk from a can, room temperature, shaken
Instructions
Prep
- Preheat oven to 350 F
- Add lemon juice to the milk and set aside.1 tablespoon lemon juice, 1 cup milk
- Either line 12 cupcake pan with liners
- If using ready-cooked beets*, add them to a blender and puree until smooth. If you intend to cook your own beets, see notes.**
Make Cupcakes
- In a large mixing bowl, add the sugar and wet ingredients and stir until the sugar feels less crunchy.1 cup organic cane sugar, 1 cup milk, 1 tablespoon lemon juice, ½ cup beet puree*, 1 teaspoon hazelnut extract
- In another bowl, mix up the dry ingredients. Add the wet to dry and mix up the batter until smooth.1 ¼ cup all purpose flour, ¼ cup hazelnut flour, ½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder, 1 teaspoon baking soda, 1 teaspoon baking powder, pinch of salt
- Pour batter into prepared cupcake pans, filling each well about two-thirds.
- Bake cupcakes for 18 minutes, cool in pan for 2 minutes, then remove from pan and cool on rack before frosting.
Make Ganache Frosting
- Warm the coconut milk in a pot or in the microwave for 60 seconds.⅓ cup full fat coconut milk
- Stir in chocolate chips, stirring until all are melted. If need be, microwave the mixture another 30 seconds to finish melting process.1 cup chocolate chips
- Frost cupcakes by dipping each cooled cupcake into the frosting, and allow to set at room temperature, about 3 minutes.
Storage
- Keep cupcakes at room temperature for up to 48 hours. The cupcakes can be frozen unfrosted in a sealed container for about three months.
Misha
Can I use Bob's Red mill gluten free flour blend instead of all purpose flour?
Dee Dine
Of course, always!
V
Hello 😊
I made this cake for a dinner i was hosting and oh my !!! It was the star of the evening ✨
Thank you so much for sharing 😊
Dee Dine
Best news ever, thanks for sharing!!
Ela
This cake looks wonderful, so rich, and chocolatey! I love the addition of hazelnut flour, the flavor must be so amazing. 🙂
Dee Dine
Thanks Ela! Yes, the hazelnut flour is delicious!