Red Velvet Cupcakes With Orange Buttercream

• CUPCAKES
• 1 pound red beets (3 medium), scrubbed
• 2 cups sifted cake flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoon kosher or fine sea salt
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 cup plus 2 tbsp. granulated sugar
• 3 large eggs, beaten to blend
• 2/3 cup canola oil
• 3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ORANGE BUTTERCREAM
• 1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon pure orange oil*, such as Boyajian brand, or zest of 1 large orange
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. Make cupcakes: Preheat oven to 350u0b0. Wrap each beet in foil, put on a rimmed baking sheet, and roast until tender when pierced, 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Let cool. Peel, cut into chunks, and puree in a food processor. Measure 1 1/4 cups puree.
2. Line a 12-cup muffin pan (1/2-cup size) with paper liners. Sift together flour, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon in a medium bowl. Set aside.
3. Whisk together beet puree, granulated sugar, eggs, oil, and vanilla in a large bowl. With a plastic spatula, stir in flour mixture one-third at a time just until smooth.
4. Spoon batter into muffin cups, filling each almost to the top of the liner. Bake until cupcakes spring back when gently pressed and a toothpick inserted in center of one comes out with a couple of moist crumbs clinging, 25 to 30 minutes. Let cool in pan on a rack 10 minutes. Transfer to rack to cool completely.
5. Make buttercream: Beat butter with a mixer on high speed until very smooth. Add powdered sugar, orange oil, and vanilla; beat on low speed to blend, then on medium until fluffy and smooth.
6. Spread a thick layer of buttercream on cupcakes, swirling it decoratively. Or pipe frosting from a pastry bag, using a star tip.
7. Make ahead: Up to 1 day, chilled.
8. *Find pure orange oil, an essential oil pressed from orange rind (and different from orange extract), at surlatable.com

cupcakes, red beets, cake flour, baking powder, kosher, ground cinnamon, sugar, eggs, canola oil, vanilla, orange buttercream, unsalted butter, powdered sugar, orange oil, vanilla

Taken from www.myrecipes.com/recipe/red-velvet-cupcakes-3 (may not work)