Now upon reading this, some of you may think I have made a mistake. Chocolate…and beets. This is not your typical Duncan Hines or the chocolate cake Bill Cosby served his kids for breakfast, but make no mistake, this cake is delicious. Even as a beet enthusiast, I do not want to find obscure beet bits in my baked goods, so I assure you there are none. There isn’t even a strong beet flavor, instead the beets in this cake create an incredibly moist and rich chocolate cake, almost like a brownie.
With the dark chocolate and depth of the coffee, this cake becomes very rich, and in my opinion, does not need any accompaniment other than some powdered sugar and a tall glass of milk. If you’re feeling adventurous, other similar recipes have crème fraîche or mascarpone as a suggested pairing.
- 1 cup beets (I used 3 medium beets), washed
- ¾ cup & 2 tablespoons organic butter, cut into tablespoon sized chunks, at room temperature
- 7 oz. (¾ cups & 2 tablespoons) good quality dark chocolate (at least 70%)
- 4 tablespoons ground coffee
- 1¼ teaspoons baking powder
- 5 organic eggs, separated
- 3 tablespoons cocoa powder
- 1¼ cup fine cane sugar
- Powdered sugar (for dusting)
- Preheat the oven to 325° F
- Butter an 8-inch pan to set aside
- Boil the beets in salted water until tender (the time depends on the size of the beet—on average about 30 minutes)
- Rinse the beets under cool water until comfortable to handle
- Peel the skin of each beet and cube
- Using a food processor, grind the peeled beets to smooth puree (make sure the end result is as smooth as possible so you don’t have unsightly beet chunks in your cake!)
- Roughly chop the chocolate, then place in a heatproof bowl over simmering water to melt
- Stir the chocolate gently but frequently to achieve a smooth liquid
- Switch the heat to low on the simmering pot and stir in the ground coffee
- Once the coffee has been incorporated thoroughly into the chocolate mixture, stir in the butter a few chunks
- Let the butter soften and melt, stirring occasionally
- When this mixture is complete, turn off the heat completely and set the chocolate aside to cool slightly
- While the chocolate is cooling, mix together the flour, cocoa powder, and baking powder in a separate bowl
- Returning to the chocolate mixture, quickly whisk in the eggs yolks and the beet puree
- Whip the egg white in a separate bowl until stiff, then stir in the sugar
- Gently fold the eggs whites and sugar into the chocolate mixture
- Stir the dry mixture in, a little bit at a time
- Once mixed thoroughly, pour the cake batter into the prepared cake pan
- Bake until you can pull a toothpick or a fork out clean (about 50 minutes)
- Set aside to cool and serve with a dusting of powdered sugar
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