Chocolate Beet Cake

This is a great moist chocolate cake thanks to the beets. My son loves this cake and he gives it rave reviews whenever I make it. You can make this cake the day before you need it as it gets moister the following day.

Chocolate Beet Cake

For the cake

• 2 medium beets, trimmed ( 1 cup grated beets)
• 1/2 Tbs. vegetable oil
• 3/4 cup butter, softened; more for the pans
• 2 cups all-purpose flour; more for the pans
• 2/3 cup  cocoa powder
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. kosher salt
• 1-3/4 cups granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs, at room temperature
• 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
• 1 ¼ Cups hot water

For the frosting

• 5 oz. (10 Tbs.)  butter
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup cocoa powder
• 3/4 cup heavy cream
• 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
• 2 ½ Cups icing sugar

Prepare the beets

Position a rack in the center of the oven and heat the oven to 375°F. Put the beets in a baking dish, drizzle the oil onto the beets. Enclose the beets in the foil and roast until tender when pierced with a paring knife, about 1 hour. Let cool.

Make the cake

Reduce the oven temperature to 350°F. Coat two 9-inch round cake pans generously with softened butter. Line the bottom of the pans with parchment and coat the parchment with butter. Dust the pans with flour, tapping out any excess.

Peel and grate enough of the beets to yield 3/4 cup. Combine the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt into a medium bowl.

Using a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or an electric hand mixer, beat the butter and sugar on medium-low speed until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in the eggs, one at a time. Mix in the grated beets and the vanilla. Reduce the speed to low and carefully add half of the flour mixture; mix until fully incorporated. Add 1-1/4 cups hot water and the remaining flour mixture, return to medium-low speed and mix until smooth, about 2 minutes. Divide the batter evenly between the prepared pans, smoothing the tops.

Bake the cakes, rotating halfway through baking, until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cakes comes out clean, about 25 minutes. Cool the cakes in their pans on a rack for 10 minutes and then turn them out onto racks and peel off the parchment. Let the cakes cool completely.

Make the frosting

Melt the butter in a 3-quart saucepan over medium heat. Add the sugar and cocoa powder and mix until combined. Stir in the cream and vanilla vanilla. Bring the mixture to a simmer and cook, stirring constantly, until smooth.  Pour the mixture into a bowl and cool down. Stir in icing sugar. Stir until nice and smooth.

Assemble the cake

Place one of the cakes on a cake plate and spread a generous amount of frosting evenly over the top. Top with the second cake and spread a generous amount over top.  Frost the sides with the remaining frosting.

Make Ahead Tips

The beets can be roasted up to 3 days ahead and refrigerated. The cake can be assembled up to 2 days ahead. Cover with a cake dome and store at room temperature. Serve with vanilla ice cream.

Print Recipe:Chocolate Beet Cake

Drizzle a little oil over the beets. Cover the beets with tin foil. Cook until beets are tender.

Prepare the pans. Butter the pans, line with parchment paper, butter the paper and then flour the pans.

Here is the roasted beet. Allow to cool and then peel. 

Grate beets.

Combine flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt in a bowl.

Beat the sugar and the butter. 

Beat in the eggs one at a time.

Add beets and vanilla.

Add half the flour mixture and all the hot water. Then add the rest of the flour mixture.

Mix until smooth.

divide between the two pans. Bake in 375 degree oven for about 20-25 minutes.

Cool cakes for about ten minutes and then remove from pans. Peel off the parchment paper. Let them cool completely.

Melt butter in saucepan. Add sugar and cocoa. Stir until smooth and sugar melted.

Add cream. Remove from heat and pour into a bowl to cool down.

Add icing sugar and stir until smooth.

Frost the cake.