Beet Cake!

Fall colours inspired my baking this week. I bought some beets, not sure what I was gonna make with them at first. Just thought it was the appropriate colour for the season and my kitchen pallet.

This was my first try at making a beet cake, and this is my experimental recipe, but I think it turned out well. The cake is super moist, and has a distinct earthy flavour, and not "beety" at all! other recipes recommended adding about 2 tbs of cocoa powder, which I thought it was just enough to cover the vegetable taste, yet not too overpowering, and your senses go wandering as soon as you take the first bite.

Ingredients:

1 cup beet puree *

1 tbs lemon juice

1 cup milk

1/2 cup canola oil

1-1/4 cups sugar

3 large eggs

1/2 tsp vanilla
2 cups flour

1-1/8 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

2 tbs cocoa powder

* 1 cup beet puree is roughly equivalent to 2 medium beets cooked and pureed in a blender.

You'll also need two 9" round pan or equivalent bundt size

Direction:

- To cook beets: wash them well, then wrap them in a foil and bake them in the oven for 40 to 60 mins, or until they are soft when you pierce them with a fork. Use a blender to puree beets.

- Sift flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and coco powder together and set aside

- Mix 1 cup of the beet puree, lemon juice, milk in a blender and mix well

- In a mixing bowl (or blender) mix sugar, oil and beat for 2 mins on medium speed.

- Add eggs to the oil and sugar mixture, one egg at a time, and mix well after adding each egg.

- Add vanilla extract to the mixture

- Add about 1/3 of the beet mixture, and 1/3 of flour mix,  and fold into the batter with a spatula. Alternate adding flour and beet mix, until finished.

- Grease your baking pan with butter or spray with oil, then dust with some flour.

- Pour batter into the pan

- Bake on 350 F for 40 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean when piercing the cake.

Let cool for 10 min before flipping the cake.

It won't last too long on your kitchen counter!

Half is gone already...nom nom nom...

If you want to have a red velvety cake made with only beets, you need to add more acidity to your cake to keep beets from browning after cooking (vinegar, orange juice, more lemon, etc). I didn't add enough lemon juice to keep the redness after baking, but the taste was good regardless. Maybe my next try will be a red velvet beet cake!