For all your favorite red-requiring holiday festivities, skip the food coloring and make red velvet cupcakes with natural ingredients. Swap food coloring for red beet root powder (easily found online) and add our kefir for a smooth, rich texture. Finish it off with a thick dollop of (lactose free!) cream cheese frosting. Sometimes, you can have it all.
Green ValleyIngredients
Red Velvet Cupcakes:
8 oz. Green Valley Lactose-Free Butter, room temperature
¾ cup baker’s sugar
2 large eggs
2 Tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 ½ Tbsps. red beet root powder, sifted (a plant-based food coloring, available online)
2 Tbsp. warm water
1 cup all-purpose flour, sifted
1 cup pastry flour, sifted
2 tsp. baking powder
¾ cup Green Valley Lactose-Free Plain Lowfat Kefir
Cream Cheese Frosting:
1 (8oz) tub Green Valley Lactose-Free Cream Cheese
1 cup powdered sugar, sifted
1 tsp. vanilla extract
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to 350°F. Line a standard muffin tin with cupcake liners. Place butter, sugar and vanilla extract in a large bowl and mix until light and fluffy, approximately 1 minute. Add eggs one at a time and mix until well combined.
- In a separate glass or small bowl mix, warm water and beet powder until smooth; add to the eggs, butter, and sugar mixture.
- In another bowl, combine the pastry flour, all-purpose flour and baking powder. Add 1/3 of this flour mixture to the butter and egg mixture and mix until well combined. Add half of the kefir and continue to blend. Alternate adding flour mixture and kefir until you use it all up, ending with the dry ingredients.
- Spread batter evenly into cupcake liners and bake for 20-35 minutes depending on the size of the cupcakes. Test for doneness by inserting a toothpick, which should come out clean. Cool the cupcakes in the tin on a rack for 10 minutes, then remove from the tin and cool on the rack completely.
- While the cupcakes are in the oven, combine cream cheese, sifted powdered sugar, and vanilla until smooth. Pour frosting into a piping bag with a tip of your choice, and decorate cupcakes with a generous dollop. Enjoy!
Organic Lowfat Kefir 
Lactose-Free Butter 
Lactose-Free Cream Cheese 
