Beets in a chocolate cake? You might think this is one of those sneaky recipes showing you how to hide vegetables in kids food. It’s not. The beets lend moisture and texture to this chocolate cake. But other than that, you can’t really taste them.I came up with this chocolate beet cake recipe when I kept getting fresh beets in our CSA Share, and my family wasn’t too crazy about them. Now I can put the beets to good use in a way we all like. Stephanie Gallaghar kidscooking.about.com
Ingredients:
- 3 large beets
- 1 tsp. olive oil
- 1/2 cup applesauce
- 1-1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 1 cup vegetable oil
- 3 large eggs
- 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1-1/2 tsp. baking soda
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 2 cups mini chocolate chips
Preparation:
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Spray a 9 x 13 pan with cooking spray.
- Trim stems off beets, and wash off dirt. Drizzle olive oil over beets. Wrap loosely in foil and place on a sturdy baking sheet. Roast 45-55 minutes, until tender when pierced with a fork.
- Remove from oven and let beets cool 10-15 minutes. Peel and cut into chunks.
- Place beet chunks and applesauce in a food processor, fitted with a metal blade. Pulse until smooth.
- Beat sugar, oil and eggs together in a large mixing bowl. Add cocoa powder and beet mixture. Mix well.
- Sift together flour, baking soda and salt. Gradually mix into batter until no clumps of flour show. Do not overmix.
- Stir in half of the chocolate chips. Pour into prepared pan.
- Bake 40 minutes. Sprinkle with chocolate chips. Bake another 2-10 minutes until cake is done.
