Red Velvet Cupcakes (with a secret ingredient)

So I was craving some red velvet cupcakes one afternoon, but I wanted a healthy option, being a runner, and trying to eat healthy. I happened to be cutting up beets for a salad at work when it dawned on me...why not beets in the cupcakes for added moisture, and nutrition! Nobody will know they are in them except me...and traditionally, before there was red food coloring, beets were commonly used to color baked goods red. So when I arrived home that afternoon, I set out to create a more healthful red velvet cupcake recipe. This is what I came up with:

Red Velvet Cupcakes
(with a secret ingredient...)

3/4 cup maple sugar
1 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp salt1 cup cooked pureed beets
2 large organic eggs
1/3 cup milk
1/4 cup walnut oil
2 tsp pure vanilla extract

8 oz neufchatel (or 1/3 less fat cream cheese)
1/4 cup maple sugar
1 Tbsp honey
1 Tbsp pure vanilla extract
2-4 Tbsp milk, or more if needed

Preheat the oven to 375, and line a 12 cup standard muffin tin with liners. In a large bowl, combine sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt and whisk to combine. In a medium bowl, whisk together beets, eggs, milk, oil, and vanilla and whisk to combine. Whisk the dry ingredients into the wet until combined, and spoon into the prepared muffin tins. Bake for about 20 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely on a wire rack. To make frosting, beat the neufchatel with the sugar, until soft and fluffy, then beat in honey, and vanilla, and enough milk to make the frosting a desirable spreadable consistency. Makes 12 cupcakes

These are cupcakes are delicious! Serve them to your friends, and they will never know that they contain beets!