vegan chocolate beet cake

Check out my gluten-free & refined-sugar-free version of the vegan chocolate beet cake!

It’s about time.

Really, I’ve had this blog for over a month now, and this is my first dessert recipe?
I think I’m equal parts astonished & impressed by that fact; I suppose the last month has been a healthy one!

This is an appropriate dessert to start with.  In fact, the photograph in my blog header features this recipe, handwritten in my spiral notebook, boldly declaring “YUM!” on the side.  Yet, until now, besides the few discernible words at the top of the page, the recipe had stayed hidden away in my notebook.

So, today it’s time for me to give you an amazing recipe; I mentioned it in the beet & carrot salad post last week, and since then knew I needed to recreate this delicious cake, take some pictures, and share.

Besides being so simple to make, this cake is wonderfully moist and full of chocolatey goodness.   Although it does use regular brown sugar instead of natural sweeteners, I have reduced the amount quite a bit, and have used whole wheat flour, both with excellent results.

I first made this cake back in January, with a surplus of Hollygrove beets.  It turned out great then, but I tweaked my original recipe a little bit yesterday (mainly reducing the sugar) when I made it a second time.  While glancing at other chocolate beet cake recipes online, there were many which called for eggs, and I contemplated adding them to my formula, but decided the cake really didn’t need them; it’s great as is.  So I kept this recipe vegan.

To cook the beets, I peel & chop them, then boil them until tender.  After boiling, don’t get rid of the water!  You’ll want some of it to puree the beets.

I wasn’t completely satisfied with how my glaze turned out; it’s delicious, but the consistency wasn’t exactly what I was looking for, so I’ll wait to post that part of the recipe.  The cake is great as is, without frosting or glaze, but if you have a recipe you like, go ahead and use it.  Any suggestions for a good vegan chocolate frosting/glaze?

Vegan Chocolate Beet Cake
revised here
makes one 10-inch round

2 cups cooked beets
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2/3 cup brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 cup cocoa powder
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup chocolate chips

frosting or glaze, if desired

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease and flour a 10 inch round baking pan.

Puree beets in a food processor with about 1/3 cup of the beet liquid.  Add the oil, sugar and vanilla, and pulse a few more times, until well blended.

Mix together remaining ingredients in a medium bowl (including the chocolate; coating it in the flower mixture helps keep it from sinking to the bottom of the cake!).  Add beet mixture and stir well.

Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for 30-35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.  Let cool, then frost or leave as is.

Enjoy!!! 🙂