2 beets, medium
2/3 cup raw cane sugar
2/3 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 tbsp. ground flax meal
6 tbsp. water
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. cinnamon
3/4 tsp. ginger
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. allspice
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 cup soymilk
1 cup nondairy butter (I use Earth Balance Vegan Buttery Sticks)
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
1 tsp. vanilla
4 cups sifted powdered sugar
1/4 cup soymilk
3/4 cup nondairy chocolate chips, melted

1. Preheat the oven to 350F, and line muffin tins with paper liners
2. Peel and grate the 2 beets, set aside.
3. Combine sugars, oil, flax and water in a mixing bowl and beat well.
4. Add beets, continuing to beat.
5. Sift together flour, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, baking soda, allspice and salt, then add to the above wet ingredients, alternating between the flour mix and the soymilk.
6. Pour into muffin tins, filling each one 3/4 full, and bake 20-25 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
7. For the frosting: Beat the vegan buttery sticks and vanilla, and add the cocoa and powdered sugar gradually. Add the soymilk until the desired consistency is reached, adding a little more than 1/4 cup if necessary.
8. Optional: Melt 3/4 cup of nondairy chocolate, and spoon a thin layer over each cooled cupcake before decorating with the chocolate buttercream frosting as desired. Garnish with chocolate shavings for additional appeal.

Any brand soymilk or almond, rice, etc milk will do (I use unsweetened vanilla almond milk).