Red Velvet Chocolate Cupcakes

These gluten free red velvet chocolate cupcakes are deliciously sweet, moist and fluffy. They're also grain free, dairy free and paleo.

Traditional Red Velvet Cupcakes are called 'red velvet' from the chemical reaction that occurs when the acidic ingredients are combined with the cocoa making the batter red in hue. Specifically, the cocoa contains a pigment that reacts with buttermilk and vinegar creating a beautiful color. 

Today's red velvet cupcakes get their bright red coloring from artificial food dyes or in the form of the natural coloring of beets.

In order to create a Paleo, gluten free version of this muffin, free of grains and refined sugars, I use almond flour in place of wheat flour and fresh grated beets and raw honey to sweeten it.

To keep it dairy free I used coconut milk in place of buttermilk and coconut oil in place of butter. You will be surprised that these muffins do not taste like coconut. The raw cacao powder seems to hide the coconut flavor well. 

Also in place of the white vinegar, I used apple cider vinegar because that is all I had in my kitchen, but you can use either or.

The muffins turned out super good and I am very pleased with the results. The texture is light, soft and fluffy just as you would expect.

Also, to keep it from being too sweet I used only 2 tablespoons of raw honey and ¼ cup of dark chocolate chips and topped it with an unsweetened coconut-vanilla glaze and a fresh cherry.