Where’s the Beets? Believe it or not, it is in this cake! Another sneaky way to add veggie in your dessert. This Beets Chocolate Cake is soft, moist, with just the right sweetness and a mild earthy flavor from Beets. Nobody knew there was Beets in this Chocolate Cake.

Zucchini and Carrots sits on top of the list when it comes to vegetables used in baking. Carrots is not surprising to me because I like carrot cake, but Zucchini in dessert? Imagine my surprise when I first discover Zucchini for dessert baking. I was hesitant ant first, and kind of weirded out with the idea of it. But it didn’t take long for me to enjoy adding it my baked goods. Since I discovered how to sneak Zucchini in my baked goodies, I was on the roll. My favorite was Zucchini Chocolate Cake, super decadent and moist.

The reason why I am discussing vegetable in baking and reminiscing about my Zucchini Chocolate Cake is because this recipe that we are making today make use of another vegetable. Probably not something as common as zucchini or carrots but it does have its own glory in its owns and different way. I am talking about the vibrant Beets! Yes, today we are making Beets Chocolate Cake or Loaf. Soft and moist, simple and easy breakfast or snack item any day of the year.  This recipe was inspired by the idea of Chocolate Zucchini Cake. I thought if we can use Zucchini and Carrots in baking, why not Beets? Beets like Carrots is a root vegetable. They almost have the same texture and they both have a lot of moisture in them that makes the bake products soft and moist. And so I gave it a shot, bought 3 large Beets and here we are looking at it now. It doesn’t look like Beets, I know 🙂 Is that a good thing or a bad thing? I’d say good, It was nice watching my friends reaction when I told them they just ate Beets. The first thing they said was , “What Beets”? Where is the Beets? In the Cake! Let me show you how to make this Beets Chocolate Cake so you can also sneak in some veggie and make your family and friends ask “Where is the Beets”?

How to Make Beets Chocolate Cake

Making this Beets Chocolate Cake is so easy you can have it for breakfast the same day you want to. Here is a quick breakdown of what you need to do. Full details can be found below in the instruction section

1. Prepare the Beets – Beets is a root vegetables like carrots and potatoes which makes their skin sometimes muddy and dirty. Although you will remove the skin later, it is still best to have it scrub and washed before cooking it. I personally prefer baking the Beets. Baking retains the color of t he Beets which gives more appeal to the cake. The batter will be reddish in color, but the cake itself will not be that bread. Baking takes a lot more time, I always bake it for 60 minutes. You can do this ahead of time, say at night then leave the grated Beets in the refrigerator. This saves you a lot of time when you need to use it for baking. If you do not have much time and in a hurry, you can also boil the Beets. You can also steam it but that would probably take more time. Once the Beets are soft and cool enough to handle, you can start peeling the skin. If the Beets is really cooked through, peeling will not be that difficult. I used a cheese grater to grate the cooked Beets. Measure about 1 cup, do not push it down when measuring. You will end up with too much Beets and the cake could end up too wet and soggy. We don’t want that.
2. Sift Dry Ingredients – Because we are using cocoa powder, it is always best to sift to avoid lumps. Simply sift flour, baking powder, baking soda, cocoa powder and salt.
3. Mix Wet Ingredients – All the wet ingredients goes in another bowl, that simple
4. Dry + Wet Ingredients – Pour the wet to the dry and mix until just combined. At this stage, if you want to add some chocolate chips, this is the time to do it. I highly recommend it, you could not go wrong with more chocolate bits in it.
5. Bake baking time could be around 40 – 50 minutes, often times mine was done at 45 minutes. You can do the toothpick test, insert a toothpick in the center. The toothpick should come out almost clean. I said almost clean because the remaining heat will still continue to bake the cake. We have a lot of moist ingredients in this cake, but we still need to pay close attention to baking time so as not to over-bake and make it dry.
6. Frost – Chocolate Ganache and whipped cream is may favorite frosting. If I want to serve this as a dessert cake, I spread whipped cream in between slices and I drizzle chocolate ganache on top. You can also skip the whipped cream and just use Chocolate Ganache. If serving for breakfast, I like to keep it simple like this. Perfect for coffee or tea.

To Frost or Not To Frost – The Choice is Yours

Here’s a teaser on how it look like if you decide to fancy it up with a frosting. I personally would not say no to this. Layers of chocolate cake, whipped cream and chocolate ganache top with stewed berries. Seriously, why not?

For me, both option is delicious. It often comes down to the timing on when I want to serve it. When I serve this for breakfast, I like to have this plain like this. If am serving it as dessert cake, I would say frost it. Chocolate Ganache is a very simple and decadent frosting that you can make in less than 5 minutes. You won’t regret it, or maybe you will because you may end up eating more that what you intend to. Look at this? How could anyone say No to this? Not me at least.

Another option is whipped cream. There are so many frosting that you can use to frost this cake, but I am just going with the simple and easy one that you can make in less than 15 minutes with only 2 ingredients. Give both a try.

Vibrantly Thick and Reddish Batter

Expect a thick reddish cake batter like this. Don’t worry, the color will subside and it will look like a chocolate cake. Unlike Zucchini and Carrots that do not have much taste, Beets have a bit of a Beets taste. I can taste the Beets but not in a strong overwhelming way. It has a slight earthy flavor, but nothing too strong. The cake itself is soft and moist, thanks to yogurt, oil and Beets.

Ingredients:

• 1 and 1/4 cups All-Purpose Flour (spoon & leveled)
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 tablespoon Natural Cocoa Powder
• 1/3 teaspoon Salt
• 1/3 cup vegetable Oil, canola oil, or melted coconut oil
• 2 large Eggs, at room temperature
• 1/3 cup plain greek Yogurt, at room temperature
• 2/3 cup packed light or dark Brown Sugar
• 1 teaspoon Pure Vanilla Extract
• 3 Large Beets – about 1 cup once grated. Do not packed in the measuring cup. Lightly add whatever fits without pushing it down
• 2 tablespoon Water

Optional Frosting:

• Chocolate Ganache
• Whipped Cream

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C). Grease a 9×5 inch loaf pan and line it with parchment paper.
2. Scrub and wash the Beets. Use a sharp knife or any pointed object and poke small holes all over the Beets to allow the steam to come out during baking. Arrange the Beets on a baking dish and pour 2 tbsp of water. You don’t need a lot. You just need to wet the bottom of the pan so the steam will cook the Beets without making it dry.
3. Prepare the Beets for 60 minutes. Test if cooked all the way by pushing a knife, if the knife goes all the way out without resistance, it is good enough. The skin will also starts to wrinkle and steam will come out of the holes. Remove from the oven and let cool until manageable to hold. Remove the skin and grate using a fine cheese grater. Set aside while you make the batter.
4. Sift the All-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, cocoa powder and salt together in a large bowl until combined. Set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk the oil, eggs, brown sugar, yogurt , pure vanilla extract, and grated beets together until combined. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and gently whisk until just combined. Batter will be semi-thick and vibrantly reddish.
5. Spread the batter into prepared loaf pan. Bake for 40 – 45 minutes. Baking times vary so keep an eye on yours. The bread is done when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out mostly clean with zero raw batter. If needed, extend another 5 minutes of baking. Remove the bread from the oven.
   • Factors Affecting Baking Time: Oven temperature. moisture level of sugar (dry brown sugar has less moisture), amount of grated Beets (this could vary slightly on how you measure the Beets), type of yogurt (regular yogurt are more watery compared to greek yogurt).
6. Cool completely in the pan set on a wire rack before removing and frosting.
7. Optional Frosting: For a more decadent treat, drizzle chocolate ganache on top or spread some homemade whipped cream in between slices. 3 slices with whipped cream frosting in between and drizzle of chocolate ganache on top is what I love to do when I want to make it look more fancy. try it!
8. Storing without frosting: Cover and store leftover bread at room temperature for up to 3-4 days or in the refrigerator for up to about 10 days. Storing with frosting: Cover and store leftover bread in the refrigerator for up to about 1 week.

Makes 8 slices

Nutritional Information

Nutritional Information was calculated using Veryfitwell Recipe Calorie and Nutrition Calculator. For details about Nutritional Information in this website, please read the Disclaimer page.

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