Hello loves! I’m back and today, I’ll be sharing a cake recipe that is sooo good and full of healthy beets! Yes, you read it right, there are beets in this cake recipe, and I never thought beets and chocolates would go together so well. I learned about this wonderful cake surprise from Katie Quinn’s Youtube video (video posted below) and Joy the Baker’s blog.
There would be probably a lot of variations with the recipe, living here in the Philippines makes some ingredients quite hard to find. But since, this was for my mum’s 50th birthday surprise, I wouldn’t mind spending even a wee bit for her. 🙂
Chocolate Beet Cake with Beet Cream Cheese Frosting
For the Cake:
2 to 3 medium size beets (unpeeled but trimmed greens)
1 tsp Olive or Vegetable Oil
6 ounces (3/4 cup) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup packed brown sugar
3/4 cup granulated sugar/table sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting the pans (not necessary if you’re using a nonstick pan)
2/3 cup unsweetened natural cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups buttermilk
Buttermilk is a bit hard to find in the grocery store. Though, I happen to encounter a Buttermilk bar in the Butter section. Still, check out this link at Joy the Baker’s Blog for Buttermilk Substitutes
For the Frosting:
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
8 ounces (1 brick) cream cheese, softened
4 to 5 cups powdered sugar, sifted
2 tablespoons grated beets
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract or scrapings of one vanilla bean pod
1-2 teaspoons milk, depending on desired consistency
1/2 teaspoon fresh lemon juice (there are lemons available in SM Grocery Stores, in case you might want to use Dalandan or Kalamansi as another option)
pinch of salt
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. But since mine didn’t have any gauge, I just used my gut instincts and crossed fingers to hopefully work.
Place beets on a piece of foil. Drizzle with just a bit of oil then seal up foil. Place on a baking sheet in the oven. Roast until beets are tender when pierced with a knife, about 1 hour.
Remove the beets from the oven. Open the foil and allow beets to cool completely. Beets will be easy to peel once completely cooled.Grate the peeled beets on the finest grating plane. Measure 3/4 cup of grated beets for the cake and 2 tablespoons for the frosting. Set aside.
Reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees F. Use butter to grease whatever you’ll be baking the cake in. Set aside while you prepare the cake.
With an electric mixer, cream together butter and sugars. Beat on medium speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 to 5 minutes. Beat in eggs, one at a time, for one minute after each addition. Stop the mixer and scrape down the sides of the bowl as necessary. Once eggs are incorporated, beat in beets and vanilla extract until thoroughly combined.
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
Add half of the dry ingredients to the butter and egg mixture. Beating on low speed , slowly add the buttermilk. Once just incorporated, add the other half of the dry ingredients. Beat on medium speed until milk and dry ingredients are just incorporated. Try not to overmix the batter. The batter should be thick and shouldn’t be pourable.
Pour (I know, it might be contradicting) the batter into the cake pan. Joy suggests dividing the batter between two cake pans, which then bakes for 23 to 25 minutes (for a 9-inch pan) or 30-32 minutes (for an 8-inch pan). I personally used a 9-inch pan, though the cooking time took around 49 minutes. Probably because my substitute buttermilk was on the “liquidy” side,
Cake is done when a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean. You may use your knife if no skewer or toothpick is available. Remove from the oven and allow to rest for 10 minutes or more. Invert cakes onto a cooling rack to cool completely before frosting and assembling the cake.
To make the Frosting:
Beat cream cheese for 30 seconds, until pliable and smooth. Add the butter and beat for another 30 seconds, until well combined. Stop the mixer and scrape down the bowl as necessary. Beat in the beets. Add the powdered sugar, vanilla extract, milk, lemon juice, and salt. Beat on medium speed until smooth and silky. Refrigerate the frosting for 30 minutes before frosting the cooled cakes.I cut my cake in half to apply a layer of frosting. Cakes would be easier to slice if refrigerated for at least an hour before serving.
Cake will last, well wrapped in the refrigerator, for up to 4 days. Recipe is from Joy the Baker and Qkatie.
I’m quite proud to say that it only took a few hours before crumbs were the only thing left in the plate. It wasn’t too sweet and you couldn’t really taste the beets. My cousin, Anne who never liked veggies or any plant-based food even took home a slice of cake. *Success* I still have a handful of frosting and beets left and I think I’ll be using them on the Skillet Brownies (another Qkatie’s Vlog). 🙂
Here is Qkatie’s Youtube Channel. Subscribe for more recipes guys!
Merci beaucoup et á bientôt!
NicaCanWrite 