Chocolate Beet Cake

By á-57724

makes either three 8-inch round layers, two 9-by-13-inch sheet cakes or a lot of cupcakes

Ingredients

• Dark Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting:
• 2 1/2 cups puréed cooked beets
• 6 eggs, beaten
• 3/4 cup good-quality cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 1/2 cups vegetable oil
• 3 3/4 cups granulated sugar
• 3 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 Tablespoon baking soda
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 6 ounces bittersweet chocolate
• 3 sticks unsalted butter (12 ounces), room temperature
• 12 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
• 1 tablespoon vanilla
• 3 cups sifted confectioner’s sugar

Preparation

Step 1

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F.

2. Oil three 8-inch-round cake pans and line them with parchment paper.

3. In a small mixing bowl, beat the beets and eggs. Combine the cocoa powder, vanilla and oil in a large measuring cup.

4. In a large mixing bowl, whisk the sugar, flour, baking soda and salt until combined. Add the cocoa powder mixture to the flour and stir with a rubber spatula until well combined. Add the beet mixture and stir just until combined.

5. Pour the batter into the prepared pans. Bake until the sides of the cake pull away from the pan and a wooden skewer slid into the cake’s center comes out clean, 20 to 25 minutes.

6. Cool the cakes for 10 minutes and tip them out of the pans onto wire racks to cool completely.

Frosting:

1. Melt the chocolate in a bowl over a pan of simmering water. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool to room temperature.

2. In a stand mixer, use the whisk attachment to beat the butter and cream cheese until perfectly smooth. Add the vanilla and scrape down the sides of the bowl.

3. Add the confectioner’s sugar and blend on medium speed until it is fully incorporated. Add the cooled chocolate mixture and blend on medium-high speed until it is very smooth and light.

4. Spread one-third of the frosting on top of each of the cooled cake layers and stack them to create three tiers. Leave the sides unfrosted.