Chocolate Beet Cake

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The following is from Pat Coffie.  Pat was kind enough to make a beet cake following this recipe and share it with our CSA members in Waverly this Tuesday.  After you try this beet cake, you will not leave the beets from your share with us ever again...

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Chocolate Beet Cake Recipe

from About.com Home Cooking by Peggy Trowbridge Filippone.

Pat Coffie’s comments in green.

Don’t be turned off by the beets.  You won’t taste them at all, and they make the cake very moist.  This easy cake is rich, chocolate decadence at its finest.  It is surprisingly light and not overly sweet so the chocolate flavor shines.  You must try it to believe it.

Prep time:  15

Cook Time:  30

Ingredients:

1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour

1 ½ teaspoon baking soda

¼ teaspoon salt

1 can (15 oz.) whole or quartered beets, drained (reserve ½ cup liquid)

1 ¼ cups granulated sugar

1 cup vegetable oil

½ cup juice from beets

3 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3 squares (1 ounce each) unsweetened chocolate, melted

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

For icing:

1 cup white chocolate chips.  Optional.

White chips soak up some of the color and become dirty-looking.  Use chocolate chips or skip altogether.

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Arrange rack in center.  Line a 9 x 13 inch baking pan with non-stick foil.

 

Don’t waste foil.  Use oil or grease and flour for the pan.

Use small loaf pans to have size for freezing or gifts and to keep from eating the whole thing at once!  Buy them at the end of summer for real savings next year.

In a medium bowl, measure flour, baking soda, and salt.  Whisk to combine.  Set aside.

For fresh beets:  Cut off tops and bottoms of beets, wash them very well as you’ll be using some of that cooking water in the recipe.  Boil till soft.  Peel after boiling.  Cut into pieces and place pieces in blender.  Instead of reserving ½ cup of juice, put that in blender with beets. Liquify.

You can combine fresh and canned in case you do not have enough to make the 15 oz with one or the other.  Scorched beets smell terrible—watch that boiling pot.

Puree drained beets in a food processor or heavy-duty blender.  Scrape into a large bowl.  Add sugar, vegetable oil and the beet juice.  Mix on medium speed until combined.  Add eggs and vanilla, blending until completely incorporated.

Add flour mixture to the beet mixture.  Using medium speed, mix until combined, at least two minutes, scraping down sides often.  Add melted unsweetened chocolate and mix till combined.

Pour into baking pan.  Distribute chocolate chips evenly over the top of the batter.  Bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out lean.  Let cool to room temperature.

If using smaller pans, allow a few minutes less time and check with toothpick often.

Icing:

Melt white chocolate chips in a double-boiler or microwave, being very careful not to scorch it.  Cool until just warm, but still liquid.  Scrape into a ziptop bag, squeeze out the air, and seal the bag.  Cut a small piece from the corner of the bag and drizzle white chocolate in a zig-zag pattern evenly over the top of the cake.  Let sit to harden.

Optional icing:

Simply sift powdered sugar over the top of the cake.

Forget icing altogether.  The chocolate chips sprinkled on top before baking will be plenty as a topping.  Use whipped cream or some such rather than icing.