This oil-free, vegan chocolate beet cake has no hint of the beet about it. Dark and rich-tasting, it’s a great way to get some beta carotene into your dessert!
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 Dr. Fuhrman lists beets as one of “10 SuperFoods 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.
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!”
Beet Chocolate Cake
Ingredients
- 1 large beet
- water
- unsweetened apple sauce
- 2 tablespoons water
- 1 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
- 1 cup whole wheat flour I like white whole wheat
- 1/2 cup unbleached white flour or more whole wheat
- 1/2 cup cocoa
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 tablespoons cornstarch
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 1/4 teaspoons cinnamon
Instructions
- 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.
Notes
- 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
Nutritional info is approximate.
sweet220
Do you think if I used agave instead of sugar that it would be okay? I am concerned that it would be too wet and not turn out.
SusanV
Honestly, I don’t know. You could try using 3/4 cup of agave instead of the sugar and maybe leave out the 2 tbsp. of water. But there’s always the chance that the chemistry could be thrown off and the cake not rise. Only one way to find out…. 🙂
Alisha
hi! i made this cake and it tastes delicious… but, i followed the receipe down to a tee and i got a really really flat cake , i used plain white flour and wholemeal plain flour was i supposed to use self raising somewhere along the way? cos i know there are different terms for flour in america and australia..?
SusanV
Sorry your cake came out flat. It sound like you used the right flours. Mine wasn’t super-tall–what you see in the photo is two layers stacked together. Did yours rise at all?
Island Vegan
I made this recipe into mini cupcake and topped them with chocolate avocado frosting (not fat free, but full of “good” fats instead of bad). Best. Cupcake. Ever. And they fooled some non vegans, too, which always makes a vegan happy.
Avo frosting recipe in case anyone wants it:
2 ripe Hass avocados
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1/2 cup agave
1/4 cup vegan powdered sugar (or more, add to taste and consistency)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
Puree avos in food processor or with hand blender. Add remaining ingredients. Continue to puree or blend til very smooth.
Marlene
I was lucky enough to get a cupcake from E. It was awesome. Thanks so much!
Esther J
Oh, how delicious they turned out! Moist and rich.
I made the cake batter into cupcakes and made your frosting, Island. OMGoodness, they exceeded all my expectations! The omnivores in my family were well-pleased.
Unfortunately, I had to up the sugar content due to the recipients’ rather large sweet teeth/tooth(s?).
Still, the cupcakes were fantastic.
Thanks very much, Susan and Island, for these keepers!
Pam
I must admit I’m a bit sceptical on this one. However, I decided to give it a try.
I just mixed it up and it’s in the oven now. I do not like beets and I could taste the beet flavor in the dough, I’m hoping that it won’t be as strong in the finished product. I left out the cinnamon and substitued 3/4 c brown sugar for the white.
Gabazoola
You secretly infiltrated my brain and stole my family recipe! 😀 My grandmother used to hide all kinds of vegetables in desserts, including beets, so that her kids would eat them, and my dad passed the “secret” along to me! I’m definitely going to give this cake a try. My best friend is an advocate for vegan cooking and I’m sure she’ll appreciate this. 🙂
Rachel Assuncao
I baked this cake for my daughter’s 3rd birthday party. It was moist, delicious, and chocolaty. I used the reserved beet water to make the icing bright pink! Everyone was talking about how good it was, before I finally blurted out the secret ingredient!
I would omit the cinnamon the next time, it was a bit overwhelming for my liking. And I used sucanat as my sugar of choice, which added a richness to the flavor.
Thanks for the great recipe!
Get Skinny, Go Vegan.
Yum…….sitting here wishing I was eating this for breakfast!!
natyelton
I used 2 full cups of beets, no apple sauce, wheat bran instead of white flour, Substituted almond extract and cut back on the sugar since I used smaller beets and they are generally sweeter than the large. I Used almond butter as the base for the icing but next time I will leave out the banana, It wasn’t overripe but it took over the flavor of the icing. I love it!! I had it for breakfast and the same tommorow only i will top it off with fresh picked strawberries. Thanks for all your recipes!
Sam @ What will I cook today?
This cake was so awesome! Ran out of applesauce so had to sub in Greek yogurt–no longer vegan but still just as good!!
Marina
Hi Susan
First of all Thanks! You are wonderful! How can I make this frosting without the Tofu? Thanks
SusanV
That’s so nice of you to say! I haven’t done this but I’ll bet you could use two bananas and no tofu. I would probably add some lemon juice to keep it from going brown as quickly, but it probably would be best to eat it right away.
Margot
I made this yesterday and it was DELICIOUS! Thank you for the great recipe. I’ll be making a lot more things from your blog! Greetings all the way from Belgium!
SusanV
Hi Margot in Belgium! I’m happy you found your way here. Thanks for posting!
Lisa
Hi Susan!
What a deep debt of gratitude I owe your lovely site – far and away my favorite source for recipes, as a non-vegan “flexitarian” and a great lover of sneaking healthy desserts to parties! I’m looking forward to bringing this delicious-sounding cake to a potluck this weekend, and I was wondering if you recommended dutch-process cocoa or regular (I’m debating Hershey’s Special Dark or plain old cocoa powder). I’m sure either would taste great, but your word is gospel!
Thanks again for being such a fabulous resource (and beautiful pictures!)!
SusanV
Thanks for the kind words, Lisa! I say go with what you have on-hand. Plain old cocoa powder works fine here, but if you happen to have Special Dark, then go for it.
Vicki E
Just one more reason to love beets! Thanks so much for a cool & sneaky way to get everybody to eat this misunderstood veggie!
janzy
I just made this and I loved it! I had some beets from trader joes,already cooked, and I just really cannot get into beets (I am trying!) so when I saw this recipe I thought what a great way to use a beet! I used one cup beets and one cup applesauce because that is all the beet I had. I also used almond butter instead of peanut. It is so good I want to hide it from everyone else!
Tracy
Can I use whole wheat flour in place of the unbleached white and if so, the same amount of flour?
Thanks!
Tracy
Susan Voisin
Yes, just use the same amount.
Tracy
Thanks so much!
Carol
Hello, Susan!
At first place, I LOVE your blog and your ideas and recipes.
I’m from Brazil and it’s hard to find apple sauce here. What can I do in order to replace it?
Thanks.
Susan Voisin
Any kind of pureed fruit should do. Soft fruits like peaches and plums can just be peeled and pureed in the blender or food processor. Or you can cook apples and puree them to make your own apple sauce.
alilmonkey
Can’t wait to try this.. I love beets And chocolate.. what is not to love!!
http://www.gravatar.com/avatar/420048430fa668f752307b8e1591ff9a.png
Michele
I’m hunting for recipes for my little one’s first birthday tomorrow. I also just happen to have a lone beet rolling around the fridge and think this will make a fabulous first bite of cake! If it’s half as good as your orange chocolate bundt cake, we have a winner!
Irina
Thanks for the recipe! My report:
http://gotovitvkucno.blogspot.com/2012/06/blog-post_7529.html
Shari
I made this cake for Fathers Day = Yummy!
Sarah
Vegan newbie here! 🙂 Just made this into cupcakes for my daughters birthday party tomorrow and tried one to taste test… AMAZING! 🙂 I’m planning to concoct a low-er fat peanut butter frosting for them! Thank you for this recipe!
Katrin
Dear Susan,
since I started a vegan diet recently I was verry happy to find your blog!
Especially about this great recepy I am very grateful. I made the cake three times with beet, last time I replaced the beet with pumpkin puree that was left over, and it turned out delicious as well!
Looking forward to trying out more!
Greetings from Berlin,
Katrin
Joslyn
Hi-
I just printed “Can’t be beet choclate cake”. Unfortunately, the nutrition “guide” didn’t print. Is there a reason why?
Joslyn
P.S. Have you thought about putting together a cookbook?
Nancy Nurse
Oh gosh, what oh what have I done wrong AGAIN??? I had to bake it for TWO HOURS and it’s STILL not really cooked. I followed this recipe to a “T”. I’m afraid to slice it because the last test (done with a sharp knife) still had some wet ingredients on it but after two hours, I just gave up and took it out. Perhaps it will continue to cook a bit. I just don’t know. I’m so so discouraged. Practically everything that I’ve tried since I’ve become vegan has not come out well and requires much longer to bake. Could it be my oven in Ireland? Or could it be that I’m using U.S. measurements with U.K. measures perhaps? If anyone has an thoughts, I sure would appreciate them.
Nancy Nurse
Addendum to my first question: I forgot to mention that I didn’t have the proper cake pan and had to use a Bread Loaf type of pan, so it was quite deep. Perhaps that’s why it took so long to bake.
P.S. I just tried a slice and the flavor is fabulous! But, it’s still not quite done. Oh, and for those of you that want to substitute sugar, I used 1/2 cup xylitol and about 1/3 cup sugar (don’t like it too sweet)
Susan Voisin
You found the answer! You definitely need to use a regular cake pan with this cake. A loaf pan is much too deep and it may never get done.
MaryP
Susan,
Did you edit the recipe based on your comments about needing more sugar and a different pan? Don’t know if I should follow the recipe as written or make the adjustments!
Susan Voisin
No, this is the recipe as I made it. Some people may find it needs more sugar, as I did back then, when I was used to things sweeter. Today I would probably enjoy it as-is since I rarely eat sugar at all anymore.
Angel Wilcox
That’s was Pretty neat and Funny at the same time.
mami lee
Is this cake gluten free and also the german chocolate frosting, is that gluten free?
Susan Voisin
The German chocolate frosting is gluten-free, but this cake isn’t.
Caroline
What a lovely cake!
Nope, you would never know there’s a big beet in there!
I had a baked beet on hand, and all ingredients as well, so I tried this one.
I used 3/4 c. Gluten-free Oat flour (I powdered it in a clean coffee mill)
and 3/4 c. All-purpose Gluten-free flour, and I baked it on a cookie sheet.
The texture is light and it is yummy without any frosting at all! …although I look forward to trying the Banana-PB sauce soon ! Thanks, I am enjoying your recipes!
justin
I really like this recipe, thanks for offereing it up. I was wondering though, my cake (cakes) did not rise, at all. Were they supposed to? I can’t figure a thing I missed on the ingredients.
thanks again
Susan Voisin
They should have risen. Sorry about that! It could be the altitude or different brands of ingredients. I just don’t know why that would happen.
justin
No worries Susan. I am suspecting water or lack of may be the cause. The mix was very thick after stirred and I thought of adding some water to smooth it down, but decided against it. I’m new to this way of baking and thought that the consistency was to be expected without oil. Currently the cakes are probably perfect for brownies
sian
what is the purpose of the apple sauce….can it be left out?
🙂
caroline
Hi!
I can’t wait to try this recipe, i’m just a little confuse about the qty of beets pure and apple sauce. Can you please give me an approximate measurement.
thank you!!
Susan Voisin
You will need 2 cups of beets and apple sauce combined, so to play it safe, I would have at least 1 1/2 cups of apple sauce on hand. Since the size of beets varies, it’s hard time say exactly how much apple sauce you will need to make up the difference.