Sometimes the only thing you need is a cake. Feels familiar? So let me introduce you to a chocolate and beetroot cake. No need to be afraid – we do use a lot of beets in this recipe, but you can’t taste it in the result. Also, if you are afraid of too many beets, then just skip the beetroot powder in the frosting (yes, there also is a frosting!) and substitute this with pink pitaya powder or just fresh berries or skip it altogether. The main purpose of the powder here is to color the “cheesecake” frosting into a nice pink-purple color anyway, so if you are happy with white, just go for it.
The cake itself is quite moist and decadent anyway and a few of my friends have mentioned that this is the best vegan cake they have ever had. To make it even more luscious, I added a whipped tofu frosting for extra moisture. And of course, I needed to go the extra mile and also candied some beetroot ribbons. For this, I first created a sugar syrup – 1 cup of water and ½ cups of regular sugar. Bring to boil, add beetroot ribbons (or just very thinly cut beetroot slices), and simmer them for 30 minutes until they turn slightly translucent). Then drain them and leave them to cool. I also cooked the rest of the syrup down to beetroot caramel, but I am honestly not sure yet, where or how I will use this.
So you can go a little crazy with this cake. Go all in and do all the elements for an extra fancy cake. Or keep it simple and only do one element. It is delicious either way!
Vegan Beet-Chocolate Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
Cooking time: 1 hour
Ingredients:
For the cake base:
14 oz grams boiled beets
3 ½ oz dark chocolate
2 tbsp flaxseed flour + 4 tbsp water mixed
2 oz coconut oil
½ cup cashew milk
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
9 oz all-purpose flour
2 oz cocoa powder
5 oz coconut sugar
2 tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
Extra coconut oil and cocoa to cover the cake pan
For the frosting:
12 oz silken tofu
1 tbsp coconut oil
3.5 oz oat-based whipping cream
1 tsp agave syrup (or sugar)
1 tbsp beetroot powder
Instructions:
Place the parchment in the bottom of an 8-inch cake pan, cover the bottom and the sides with a thin layer of coconut oil and sprinkle with cocoa powder. Keep the prepared pan in the fridge until you prepare the batter.
Preheat the oven to 360F.
Melt the chocolate and leave it to cool slightly.
Blitz the beetroot to a smooth puree and mix in the melted chocolate, flax and water mix, coconut oil, cashew milk, and vanilla extract.
In another bowl sieve and mix all the dry ingredients.
Gently mix the wet ingredients with the dry ingredients only until incorporated and do not overmix.
Pour the batter into a pan and bake for 40 minutes.
Blitz the tofu until smooth. Stick blender works wonderfully here or use a regular blender.
Mix in the coconut oil, agave syrup, beetroot powder, and vanilla extract.
Separately, whip the cream to stiff peaks and fold it in.
To assemble, let the cake base cool completely, then cover with the frosting (or if you feel extra fancy, you can cut the base into two and create a layer cake – there is enough frosting for two layers!) and decorate with candied beetroot, edible flowers or raspberries.
By Kadri Raig
Kadri is a food blogger and yoga teacher from Estonia. She loves to spend time in the kitchen, but most of her recipes are simple and don’t take more than 20 minutes of active cooking time. She thinks that everybody can find time to cook healthy food at home, it is just a question of planning. "I work in an office full time, teach yoga 7-8 hours a week and write a blog. So if I manage to cook most of my meals, then so do you!" Connect with Kadri and enjoy many more of her delicious healthy recipes on her website here: www.kahvliga.ee.
Enjoy this FREE 25-Minute yoga class from home, before your delicious mushrooms!
25-Minute Full Body Yoga with Keith Allen