Healthy Red Velvet Cupcakes

|Karen Fischer

This is an Easter treat that can be enjoyed at any time of the year. Many eczema sufferers react to sugar so this cupcake recipe uses eczema-friendly ingredients including alkalising grated beetroot and rice malt syrup instead of sugar. 

As as sugar is acid-forming in the body, I tend to negatively react to sugar. So when I bake sweet foods I add alkaline fine calcium powder to give the recipe acid-alkaline balance. I find I don't react to sweetener/sugars when I have the calcium powder at the same time.

The recipe is dairy-free, milk-free, wheat-free and can be made egg- and gluten-free if you modify the recipe (see notes in brackets for instructions). It makes about 12 medium cupcakes.

This recipe does not contain cocoa or cacao as they contain caffeine which can really dry out your skin (especially if you have eczema or TSW).

I don't have eczema but my skin get's flakey and dry if I eat anything with cacao or cocoa in it. I know cacao is popular right now but it's like my skin can't hold water when I eat it.

Cocoa/cacao can give you pimples if you are acne prone... I only break out when I have cacao or chocolate so I limit these.

A skin-friendly alternative is pure carob powder. I can eat foods made from carob powder all day and my skin stays clear. So this recipe uses carob powder. Carob powder is rich in skin-loving minerals including calcium, magnesium, copper and manganese.

You should also try carbo tea, it's a lovely caffeine-free drink. 

INGREDIENTS 
2 large or 3 small fresh beetroot, raw, peeled and grated
2 eggs (or egg substitute, see below)
4 tablespoons rice bran oil (80mls)
1/3 cup rice malt syrup
1 cup whole spelt flour (use gluten-free flour if necessary, see notes)
2 scoops fine calcium powder (Skin Friend PM)
2 teaspoons baking powder (refer to packet instructions)
¼ cup carob powder, sifted

METHOD
  1. Pre-heat the oven to 180°C (160°C fan forced) (350°F) and line a cupcake tray with paper liners or alternatively grease the tray with rice bran oil.
  2. Using a food processor on high speed, combine the grated beetroot, eggs, rice bran oil and rice malt syrup until smooth.
  3. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, calcium powder, baking powder and carob, sift and mix until well combined. Then pour in the wet mixture and stir with a spoon until combined.
  4. Fill patty cases to ¾ full and bake for 18 minutes or until the middle bounces back when touched.
  5. Remove from the oven and cool on a wire rack.

NOTES: if using gluten-free self-raising flour, omit the baking powder and baking soda from the recipe.
Optional: For special occasions such as Easter, dust a little icing sugar on top just before serving.

Egg alternative: Use ground flaxseeds as an egg replacement. 1 tablespoon of ground flaxseeds mixed with 2 tablespoons of water (allow 15 minutes to expand) is equivalent to 1 egg.

Products 

At Eczema Life, we recommend nutritionist Karen Fischer's low food chemical program (The Eczema Detox) along with additive-free supplements for skin health and wellbeing. Click on the images to view more details:

          

 

The Eczema Toolkit

the holistic way to clear skin

The Eczema Detox is Karen Fischer's latest best-selling eczema manual designed to help you find relief. Through her work she found some patients needed a special program to identify personal triggers, so the FID Program was created. The Eczema Clear Skin Toolkit combines gut health and nutrition with soothing, barrier repair skincare and supplements to calm the itch and support skin repair, the immune system and more. If you’ve tried everything and nothing has worked, this is the skin calming toolkit you've been praying for.

learn more

Eczema Friend

the itch buster  |  rash cream

The low pH eczema cream that helps to relieve itchy skin, red skin rash and mild eczema and dermatitis. Suitable for all types of rashes. It's the cream you'll wish you had tried first.

learn more

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Frequently asked questions

Does food allergy trigger eczema?

Food allergy and eczema are closely linked, and allergies can absolutely make eczema worse, but they're often not what starts it in the first place. In fact, research suggests the reverse may be more accurate: eczema itself may come first and increase the risk of developing food allergies, rather than the other way around (Tsakok et al. 2016). One study found that babies with eczema were up to six times more likely to become
sensitised to foods compared to those without eczema. In children with established eczema, up to 66% showed food sensitisation, with confirmed food allergy in up to 81% of cases (Tsakok et al. 2016).

If you or your child has a diagnosed food allergy, those foods should be avoided for now. For additional guidance, the Food Intolerance Diagnosis (FID) Program in The Eczema Detox book can help identify food intolerances that do not show up in allergy tests (see next FAQ).
Do food allergy tests help eczema?

Skin prick tests and other food allergy tests including blood tests and patch tests can be unreliable on their own, so an oral food
challenge (supervised by an allergy specialist if you are prone to anaphylaxis), is the most accurate way to confirm whether you or your child is reacting to a particular food. For additional guidance, the FID Program in The Eczema Detox book can help you to identify your personal triggers.
About the authors

Ren Karen Fischer is a nutritionist, mother of two, and award-winning author of seven books, including the bestsellers The Eczema Diet and The Eczema Detox. Fischer is also a peer-reviewed published researcher, and is currently undertaking eczema research as part of a Master's by Research at Bond University. Combining clinical research with real-world experience, she is dedicated to advancing evidence-based care for eczema.

Nutritionist Bonnie Taylor holds a Bachelor of Health Science degree and helps people with eczema identify their individual triggers through the FID Program. Taylor has worked alongside Fischer for many years and offers nutrition consultations by appointment.