I considered titling this recipe “chocolatier red velvet cake” and keeping the “b” word out, for fear that you would be completely offended by it, but this seemed unfair to beets. After all, carrot cake (like the Kitchen Sink Carrot Cake in my cookbook and this Gluten Free Carrot) enjoys love and esteem. Why not a beet cake?

Both root vegetables are naturally sweet, making them ideal for baking desserts.Both make the cake more moist and tender.Also, both resulting cakes can be slathered with cream cheese icing (which for many of you I know is the point).

This moist chocolate beetroot cake is my answer to red velvet cake, which gives me a quantitative reaction of meh.

It’s not chocolate. And it’s not vanilla.It’s not really anything at all, other than a vehicle for cream cheese frosting and a really good way to use up an entire bottle of red food coloring.

Now, before you go off in defense of red velvet, let me ask you this: is it the cake you love or the cream cheese frosting? Nine out of 10 times, the answer I receive is “the frosting.” If we are eating cake, we should love both the cake AND the frosting! Today’s chocolate beet cake is what I wished red velvet tasted like.

The chocolate in our in our chocolate beet cake is more prevalent than red velvet, but it does not overwhelm.If you want a chocolate cake that slowly satisfies, rather than immediately smacks with its richness (like Mocha Cake or Flourless Chocolate Torte), it’s perfect.It tastes UH-MAZING with cream cheese frosting.

YOU CANNOT TASTE THE BEETS. I really cannot overstate this enough (we are making CAKE, not Beet Salad or a Beet Smoothie).

How to Make Chocolate Beet Cake

The most stubborn of beet haters, dessert purists, and even red-velvet devotees will find this beet cake irresistible.

The Ingredients

Beets. The sneaky star of the show! With natural sweetness and beautiful color, beets are a surprisingly excellent healthy baking ingredient. Skeptics, fear not: their hallmark earthiness is masked by the chocolate. Flour. I used all-purpose flour and whole wheat pastry flour for this cake. The whole wheat flour is imperceptible, but it adds a subtle nutritional boost. Chocolate. Unsweetened chocolate gives the cake that unmistakable, craveable deep chocolate richness. Oil. Canola oil helps make this cake supremely moist. Eggs. Eggs are key for a perfect beet cake texture. Sugar. Adds sweetness and helps keep the cake moist. Greek Yogurt. Nonfat Greek yogurt acts as a tangy balance to the sweetness, and it helps make the cake fluffy and moist. The extra boost of protein doesn’t hurt either! Vanilla. Pure vanilla extract enhances the overall flavor of the cake. Cream Cheese Glaze. Vanilla cream cheese glaze turns this cake into something truly special.

The Directions

Storage Tips

To Store. Cover and refrigerate leftover cake for up to 4 days. To Freeze. Wrap the cake tightly with plastic wrap and freeze in an airtight, freezer-safe storage container for up to 3 months. Let thaw overnight in the refrigerator before reheating. 

Bundt Pan. Perfect for making this chocolate beet cake. Food Processor. Great for pureeing the beets. Spatula. My favorite all-purpose spatula.

Beet cake is that yogi master of the chocolate cake world, balancing undeniable chocolate bliss, outrageous moisture, and a luscious gilding of cream-cheese frosting with light texture and taste.

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