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Tuesday, February 28, 2006

Can't Be Beet Chocolate Cake!

[Please allow me this one cutesie title, and I promise not to do it again (fingers crossed secretly behind back).]

That's no misspelling you see in the title. I actually made chocolate cake yesterday and put beets in it. And, if you're asking (as my husband D. did) Why?, then I'll tell you as I so eloquently told him, Just because.

Just because I had a single solitary beet in the fridge and I wanted to get rid of it. Just because beets are one of "10 Super Foods to Use in Your Recipes." But primarily just because I vowed to get E. to eat beets and like them!

And...it worked! I watched as she finished her piece of cake with Banana-Peanut Butter Sauce, and just as I was about to inform her of the secret ingredient, she looked up at me, reading my mind as only a child can, and said, "Hey, what happened to that yucky red stuff you were cooking?" "It's in the cake," I said, with only a hint of evil glee. "Cool," she said, and brought her plate to the sink.

Well, that was a let-down. But the cake wasn't. It's very dark-cocoa tasting, with no hint of the beet about it. It's not terribly sweet, so probably next time I'll add a bit more sugar. And I'll put it in a smaller pan, or perhaps in two 8-inch round pans. But it's definitely a keeper--and a slick way to get whole wheat flour and beta carotene into your loved ones.

Beet Chocolate Cake with Banana-Peanut Butter Sauce

Beet Chocolate Cake with Banana-Peanut Butter Sauce

1 large beet
water
unsweetened apple sauce
2 tbsp. water
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tsp. apple cider vinegar
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup unbleached white flour
1/2 cup cocoa
1 cup sugar
1 tbsp. cornstarch
2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. cinnamon

Peel and dice one large beet. Place the pieces in a saucepan with water to cover and boil until soft. (I've heard that you can buy canned beets, so you may want to skip this step--and the resulting red hands--by using pre-cooked beets.) Allow the beets to cool, and then drain them, reserving the red water for another purpose. Put the drained beets into the food processor with 1/4 cup (clear) water, and process until pureed.

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Oil or spray your cooking pan(s).

Put the pureed beets into a 2-cup measure. Add enough apple sauce to reach the 2-cup line. Add the 2 tablespoons water, vanilla extract, and apple cider to the beets and mix well.

Mix the dry ingredients together; then add the beet mixture and stir until well-combined. Bake for 35-60 minutes, depending on the size of pan you use: more for small, deep pans and less for a 9X13 pan. (I used a 9X13 pan, and it took 35 minutes.) Test by inserting a toothpick into the center; it's done when the toothpick comes out clean.

Allow to cool completely before cutting and serving.

Banana-Peanut Butter Sauce

1/2 of a 12-ounce package lite, firm silken tofu
1 banana
2 tbsp. natural peanut butter
1/4-1/3 cup agave nectar, to taste
1/4 tsp. vanilla
1/2 tsp. lemon juice

Blend all ingredients in a food processor or blender until smooth. Refrigerate until needed. The sauce will thicken in the fridge, so it's best to give it time to chill if you plan to sandwich it between layers of cake. (Just for fun, the next time I make this, I'll add a couple of drops of the beat juice to it to give it a slightly pink color.) Serve over cake.

This was such a hit that this morning as I was packing her lunch, E. said to me, "Mom, put some of that beet cake in. I want to eat my veggies!"

For more antioxidant-rich recipes, check out Sweetnicks' weekly round-up of nutritious recipes.

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27 Comments:

Blogger Alanna said...

Ah man, you're gonna be popular now! The peanut butter sauce sounds wonderful --

9:27 AM, February 28, 2006  
Blogger EatPeacePlease said...

This looks amazing (can I borrow your oven?!). I love the display, the plate, the tiers and the sauce. Too bad we don't have "scratch and sniff" monitors!

9:35 AM, February 28, 2006  
Blogger SusanV said...

Alanna--You know, I was right in the middle of making this when I thought, "Didn't Alanna say she made something sweet with beets? Was that a cake?" So I must have gotten the idea from you, but forgot it. Now I need to go look at your recipe and see how you did it. Your most popular recipe is about to get another hit!

EatPeacePlease--I love the idea of scratch and sniff monitors! Well, mostly. I guess there are some things out there I really don't want to sniff. LOL

9:41 AM, February 28, 2006  
Blogger KaiVegan said...

I love everything about the pic, too! Standing ovation this time, Susan!
That sniffing thing is too funny.

10:05 AM, February 28, 2006  
Blogger Kourtney said...

I've had chocolate-beet cake made with grated raw beets but never one with cooked beets. Great idea -- I look forward to trying it.

10:26 AM, February 28, 2006  
Blogger Isil S. said...

This looks awesome!
I remember this plate ;)

10:54 AM, February 28, 2006  
Blogger Virginie said...

A few days ago, I saw a recipe of a cake made with beetroot and raspberries, in a french blog and it looked very red. But it contained eggs. And today I see your cocoabeet cake. I do have to taste this amazing mix. Thank you Susan for your idea.

11:15 AM, February 28, 2006  
Blogger Krista said...

That looks way too good to have beet in it!I going to have to try this one for sure.

I still love the plate, too!

3:15 PM, February 28, 2006  
Blogger karina said...

Peanut butter and chocolate - what's not to love? [You'd have to sneak the beets by me, too, btw. I'm not a fan. Maybe this would convert me. ;-)]

Beautiful photo!

3:36 PM, February 28, 2006  
Anonymous Evangeline said...

Thanks for the recipe! I can't wait to try it!

5:16 PM, February 28, 2006  
Blogger Shawn Powers said...

Why stop with beets -- throw a handful of spinach in the blender and really feel good about eating the cake! ;o)

Just think, bringing beet-spinach cake to your next potluck...

7:02 PM, February 28, 2006  
Anonymous Jennifer said...

Hi Susan,
I just wanted to stop in and say hello. I can't believe you're from Hammond but living in Jackson (Jackson, MS, right?); it seems we've traded places! Cooking fatfree and vegan must be especially challenging here in the Deep South.

This cake looks delicious--I've tried a similar technique with a baked sweet potato with pretty good results (and beta carotene!)

Best of luck to you too...and it was sunny today, no? Hooray!

5:50 PM, March 01, 2006  
Blogger Nic said...

Incredible! I definately want to try this one. Not only does it look gorgeous, it sounds delicious!

10:29 PM, March 01, 2006  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I made this today and it was terrific. When I pureed the cooked beets it came out to exactly 2 cups. I added a tad bit of applesauce just in case.

I did not have peanut butter but I did have almond butter. So I used that instead. Very nice

Susan, could you use this batter to make cupcakes?

Very, very tasty!!!

9:20 PM, May 07, 2006  
Blogger SusanV said...

Hi Anonymous, I'm so glad you liked it! I don't see any reason why it wouldn't work for cupcakes.

Thanks for posting!

9:32 PM, May 07, 2006  
Anonymous Sarah said...

Thank you so much for this recipe... it's given me the chance to have a real birthday cake again (I haven't been able to eat almost any oil for almost a year due to dietary conditions). You made my b-day special!!

11:47 AM, April 07, 2007  
Anonymous E.O. from WA said...

Hi Susan!
Another great recipe! Everyone I know is trying your recipe because it's SO good!! I've made multiple times now and I'm hooked. Sometimes I've had to change a couple things to the recipe (canned beets or all whole wheat flour or less sugar) and it still comes out amazing. My mom surprised me by making it for my birthday last month! -E.O. from WA

11:04 PM, April 14, 2007  
Anonymous Kari said...

This recipe looks fantastic! I want to make it for a friends birthday, but I noticed the recipe doesn't have any fat in it. Does it turn out ok without it? Is it still moist?

8:47 AM, April 25, 2007  
Anonymous jennbecluv said...

How funny... I just blogged about making beet cake and here you are with one already made. :) Mine wasn't vegan though. Nor was in accompanied by the lovely sauce you made. I'll have to give that a try next time.

11:46 AM, June 25, 2007  
Anonymous wvtrailseeker said...

Now, I have a recipe for my Birthday Cake too. How wonderful of you to post these recipes just for me. LOL
I am going to make the cake, with the German Chocolate Topping you have also posted.
I can't wait to try it all out on my Family.
They will be really surprised, to say the least.
THANKS, you are a true Godsend, for we Vegans.

8:53 PM, January 21, 2008  
Blogger SusanV said...

You're welcome, wvtrailseeker! Hope you enjoy the recipes!

8:54 PM, January 21, 2008  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

oh i cannot wait to make this recipe into cupcakes for valentine's day! how many will this recipe yield? also has anyone tried using agave nectar inplace of the sugar for the cupcake batter? or any other sugar substitute? thanks!

11:59 PM, January 24, 2008  
Anonymous Nancy said...

I have now made two cakes with blended beets substituted for all of the fat. It is moister than most cakes, and probably even more delicious. We are never going back to regular chocolate cake again! YUMMM! I also dusted it with cinnamon, which made a great presentation.

(And I hate beets normally...)

5:09 PM, January 30, 2008  
Anonymous Nancy said...

P.S. My weight watcher's points calculator said it is two points per serving. Hard to believe anything this lucious it two points!

5:11 PM, January 30, 2008  
Blogger Michelle said...

Hey Susan, thanks for another wonderful recipe. I've been cooking lots of food from your blog recently and it's always fantastic. This cake came out very nicely but, as you noted, it could have been a tad sweeter--I was wondering how much more sugar you would recommend next time around. Also, I was making it with a friend who hates bananas (yeah, I don't understand either); do you have any other suggestions about frosting possibilities? Thanks again for all the inventive, healthy, delicious recipes. Your blog has been a huge help to me.

8:40 PM, March 20, 2008  
Blogger Fanny said...

I LOVE this recipe, I've made the cake like 4 times now XD thank you Susan!

I don't mean to be rude, but do you think there is a way to adapt this recipe to include eggs?

Cheers
Fanny

3:10 AM, April 02, 2008  
Anonymous moonwatcher said...

Hi Susan,

thanks again for another great recipe. Although this might sound crazy to all the chocolate lovers out there, I experimented by making this with carob powder because chocolate is restricted on the diet I follow and I feel better if I don't eat it. It was great! Even two chocolate lovers on two different occasions, one of which was my son, laughed at my worries and said it was really good. My son was especially funny, recalling the joys of your orange chocolate cake while eating this, saying the carob was good but the chocolate orange cake was better. . .then a pause as he cleaned his plate. . .then, "is it alright if I have another piece?" !! So carob powder or cocoa powder, your cakes are delicious winners!!

9:08 PM, April 17, 2008  

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