Friday, August 28, 2009

Secret Ingredient Chocolate Cake (Very sneaky!)


Lately, I've been in the habit of "lacing" my desserts with a secret, nutritious, ingredient. This way, I know that my husband will actually eat certain foods that he would have previously scoffed at! I've done spinach laced brownies, black bean flourless brownies, and now chocolate cake with (drum roll, please) BEETS! I don't even like beets, so I knew this would be good for me too. When I asked my husband if he could guess the secret ingredient this time, he said, "did you put black beans in this one too?!" When I told him it was beets, he was, once again, totally surprised.

This is a great way to infuse a minimally nutritious dessert with a healthy ingredient. Maybe now we won't feel so guilty about eating an extra slice! The beets aren't noticeable flavor wise, but they are noticeable in terms of texture, because they bring an incredible amount of moisture, without it being too heavy or too rich. I loved it. If I made it again, I would double the recipe, because this cake did look a little on the small side. Now you can have your cake, and eat your beets too.

Enjoy!

Ingredients (makes two, one inch layers):
-1 cup pureed beets
-1 cup all purpose flour
-1/2 cup cocoa
-1/2 tsp salt
-2/3 cup canola oil
-3/4 cup sugar
-1 egg
-1 tsp vanilla extract
-1/2 cup buttermilk
-1 tsp baking soda mixed with 1 tsp white vinegar

1. Preheat oven to 350 and grease 2 8-inch cake pans

2. Mix together the flour, cocoa, and salt; set in a separate bowl.

3. In a larger bowl with an electric mixer, combine oil and sugar until smooth. Add in egg, vanilla, and beet puree. Mix until creamy. (see picture below...lovely color!)


4. Alternately add in buttermilk and dry ingredients, and mix just until incorporated. Mix in soda/vinegar mix.

5. Pour batter into cake pans, and bake for 20-25 minutes, or until inserted toothpick comes out clean.

*I topped the cake with a cream cheese icing (1/2 cup butter, 8 oz cream cheese, 1 tsp vanilla, and 3 cups confectioners sugar), and ooooh baby what a good combination!

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