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Vegan Chocolate Beet Cake

Should veggies really have a place in dessert recipes?  I say yes!  We use carrots to make delectable cakes, so why not use beets to enhance the flavor of a chocolate cake!  Colleen Patrick-Goudreau’s Beet Bundt Cake recipe from her cookbook, The Vegan Table: 200 Unforgettable Recipes for Entertaining Every Guest at Every Occasion, ensures that all you will taste is a dense, chocolate treat that is sure to leave you wanting seconds!


Bundt Cake with Piece Missing
Bundt Cake with Piece Missing

Gather your ingredients.  For me, there’s nothing worse than getting halfway through a recipe before realizing I’m missing something!

Chocolate Beet Cake
Chocolate Beet Cake

First, place the beets in a pot of boiling water — the water will likely turn red but that’s ok!  It takes a while to soften the beets, so I recommend starting with this step.

Did you know that beets have crazy health benefits?   They help lower blood pressure, boost stamina, fight inflammation, have anti-cancer properties, are rich in nutrients and fiber, and help with detoxification.  That’s pretty impressive for a vegetable! If you want to learn more about the benefits of beets, click here!

Boiling Beets
Boiling Beets

Once the beets are ready, place them in the food processor…

Beets in Food Processor
Beets in Food Processor

And pulse until pureed!

Pureed Beets in Food Processor
Pureed Beets in Food Processor

Next, melt the chocolate chips.

Melting Chocolate Chips
Melting Chocolate Chips

Place the canola oil, brown sugar, pureed beets, melted chocolate chips, and vanilla into a bowl.  I also like to throw in some extra chocolate chips (and no I don’t think an extra 1/2 cup is too much!), so that my cake will have small bursts of chocolatey flavor!

Wet Ingredients in Chocolate Beet Cake
Wet Ingredients in Chocolate Beet Cake

Mix the wet ingredients together and admire the beautiful dark red batter!

Mixed Wet Ingredients
Mixed Wet Ingredients

Mix the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, and salt) in a separate bowl.

Vegan Chocolate Beet Cake Dry Ingredients
Vegan Chocolate Beet Cake Dry Ingredients

And add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients in small batches.

Mixing Dry and Wet Ingredients
Mixing Dry and Wet Ingredients

Once combined, it’s time to pour the batter into the bundt cake pan.  As you can see from my picture, the batter did NOT fill up my bundt cake pan.  If that’s the case for you, remember that your cooking time will be less.  Or you can always double the recipe for a full bundt pan and even more cake :)

Batter in Bundt Pan
Batter in Bundt Pan

And after a short stay in the oven, you’ll have a delicious looking cake!

Baked Cake in Bundt Pan
Baked Cake in Bundt Pan

Wait for the cake to cool a little before removing the it from the pan.  Then sprinkle lightly with powdered sugar!

Aerial View of Bundt Cake
Aerial View of Bundt Cake

Personally, I love the subtle chocolate flavor and thickness of this cake.  However, there are some easy and tasty substitutions you can also implement according to personal taste like…

– adding extra chocolate chips for extra bursts of chocolate flavor

– adding some cocoa powder for an overall bolder chocolate taste

– topping the cake with a vegan frosting or glaze

– making the batter into cupcakes

 

Vegan Chocolate Beet Cake
Ingredients
  • ½ cup canola oil
  • 1.5 cups packed brown sugar
  • 2 cups pureed beets
  • 1 cup vegan semi-sweet chocolate chips
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • ⅓ teaspoon salt
  • powdered sugar for dusting cake
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees and grease bundt pan.
  2. Mix canola oil, brown sugar, pureed beets, chocolate chips, and vanilla together.
  3. In a separate bowl, mix flour, baking powder and salt.
  4. Add to wet ingredients and mix until combined.
  5. Pour cake batter into bundt cake pan and bake for 30-40 minutes.
  6. Allow cake to cook at least 10 minutes before trying to remove from bundt pan.
  7. Decorate with powdered sugar and any other toppings.
  8. Serve immediately or allow cake to cool completely and store in airtight container.
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