Johnny Iuzzini'S Chocolate Beet Cupcakes Recipe

• 2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped
• 1 cup plus 4 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon coarse salt
• 1 1/2 cups plus 2 tablespoons sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 3/4 cup vegetable oil
• 4 vanilla beans, scraped, seeds only (or 1 tablespoon vanilla extract)
• 1 cup beet puree

1. Adjust oven racks to upper middle and lower middle positions and preheat the oven to 350u0b0F. Prepare two standard-sized cupcake pans with paper cups.
2. Melt the chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl in the microwave, heating in 15-second increments and stirring between each one. Alternatively, you can place the chopped chocolate in a bowl over a saucepan of simmering water and stir occasionally until melted.
3. Mix the flour, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl. Put the sugar, eggs, and oil in a medium bowl (or the bowl of a stand mixer) and whip at high speed with the whisk attachment until the eggs are pale and roughly tripled in volume, about 2 minutes. Beat in the vanilla, then the dry ingredients in 2 additions, then the chocolate and the beet puree, mixing well after each addition.
4. Fill each cup 3/4 of the way to the top, and bake until a tester placed in the center cupcake comes out clean, about 20 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through. Allow to cool in the trays completely before frosting.

chocolate, flour, baking soda, coarse salt, sugar, eggs, vegetable oil, vanilla beans, beet puree

Taken from www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2010/10/johnny-iuzzinis-chocolate-beet-cupcakes-recipe.html (may not work)