Red Velvet Hot Cocoa

I roasted three beets and pureed them for my red velvet cupcakes with cream cheese frosting.  I intended to use the leftovers as baby food for my infant.

And I will.  But I had to steal just a teaspoon of beet puree to try another fun idea:

Red velvet hot cocoa!

If you can do it with cake, why not with hot cocoa?

8 ounces of hot milk (I nuke mine for 2:30)
2 heaping teaspoons unsweetened cocoa
1 teaspoon of maple syrup
1 teaspoon beet puree

Put the cocoa in a mug and stir the hot milk in (don't delay, or clumps will form!).  Once you have your hot cocoa, add the teaspoon of maple syrup and the teaspoon of beet puree.

It comes out rich and a little bitter, almost as if it were made with dark chocolate.  Delicious!  And, unlike my cupcakes, the hot cocoa maintained the gorgeous, red beet color!