Hello sweet chocolate beet cake, where have you been all our lives? It has taken my daughters extreme pickiness about fruits and veg for me to learn to cook and bake with nutritional foods mixed in 'for good measure' - and I'm beginning to think I might actually have to thank her for it one day. After all, why not cook with good healthy ingredients baked right in to foods we find yummy?
And by gawsh this is one yummy cake!
And so I came to beetroot cake and my version of the recipe. There are no less than 5 beets in the mix which is enough for 2 cakes or a double decker and honestly probably more beets than our enire family has eaten in their whole lives (until now that is).
And now if you dare, and you should - the recipe:
Sweet Valentine Chocolate Surprise Cake
the ingredients:
for the cake:
oven preheated to 375
wet ingredients:
1 cup softened unsalted butter
1 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
3 eggs -room temp
1 1/2 oz. dark chocolate (bittersweet or unsweetened you choice)
5 medium beets prepared into 2 cups pureed beets
1 tsp vanilla extract
dry ingredients:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp fresh ground nutmeg
cocoa and butter to grease and dust the pans
the frosting:
2 1/2 cups confectioner's sugar
3 tbs cocoa
1/4 cup softened butter
1 tsp vanilla
2 - 4 tbs heavy cream
few tbs hot water as needed
the making:
beet root puree:
In a large pot simmer in water 5 beets, tops and roots removed and quartered. I use local candy stripe beets from the ever awesome farmers market hosted by My Market & the DECA but any beets should do. Don't worry about the skins, you will peel them off with ease after.
Simmer for about 50 minutes till just fork tender.
Drain the beets and let cool to handle. The skins will peel off very easy now.
Cut into smaller pieces and puree with your blender, or handy magic bullet. you can make this well in advance, even freezes well. pink pancakes with leftovers anyone?
the cake:
cream together the sugar with 3/4 cups of the butter, add the eggs and mix well and set aside.
microwave on med-high the chocolate with the remaining butter until melted. let cool slightly.
while the chocolate butter is cooling mix the dry ingredients in a bowl.
butter and dust with coca 2x 8" pans and tap the remaining cocoa into the dry ingredients
add the cooled choco-butter to the beet puree along with the vanilla, mix & add into the butter/sugar mixture.
mix it well. it will look grainy but have faith.
add the flour mixture, ending with a throughout mixing on medium high to bring in some extra air. it will be the most fabulous pink colour now.
split mix into the 2 pans and bake for 35 minutes or just until a toothpick comes out dry.
surprise! it's now a purply chocolate colour. let cool and turn out onto a cooling rack.
*do not try the cake now if you don't want to taste the beets* warm you can taste them a bit, I don't mind it myself but my daughter would probably protest it seemed odd at this point if tasted. My son eats the mix raw - clearly he's fine with it... you are your own judge.
the frosting: easy. add all the ingredients except the water in mixer and beat till mixed well adding drops of water as needed to get a smooth creamy consistency.
As an after dinner cake we make 2 iced single layer cakes in our house. One for us and one to share, but there is more than enough frosting for a nicely frosted double decker for sure.
Now let your family have at it!
...I'm already thinking about my midnight snack/second helping!
hey wait my hubby beat me to it!
BHappy!
hey wait my hubby beat me to it!
BHappy!
