Moist Chocolate Beet Cake With Cream Cheese Frosting Recipes

CHOCOLATE BEET CAKE WITH CREAM CHEESE BEET FROSTING

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Coat an 8 or 9 inch baking pan with butter.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and brown sugar until fluffy. Add the eggs and beat well. Beat in the chocolate, beets, buttermilk, and vanilla. Add the flour and soda and beat until smooth. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Bake 35 to 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool in the pan 5 minutes before removing it to a rack to cool completely.
• To make the frosting, beat the cream cheese, confectioners' sugar, beets, and vanilla in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment until smooth. Cut the cooled cake in half horizontally and spread 1/3 of the frosting over the bottom layer. Replace top layer and spread the remaining frosting over the top and sides of the cake. Place the finished cake in the refrigerator for 30 minutes before slicing. The cake will keep, well covered, in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.

DECADENT CHOCOLATE BEET CAKE WITH CANDIED PECANS

Steps:

• (This step can be done one or two days ahead of time). Preheat oven to 400°F (205°C). Clean the beets and wrap them in aluminum foil. Roast them until their knife-tender (about 1 hour), then allow them to cool.
• Using a food processor or the fine side of a box grater, shred enough beet to yield about 1 cup. You want the pieces to be quite small, so don't be afraid to shred the beets quite finely.
• Preheat oven to 350°F (176°C).
• Line two round 8 or 9 inch cake (see note) tins with parchment paper and gently flour the sides.
• Melt chocolate in a bain-marie (double-boiler) or in a bowl over hot water. Keep the chocolate warm, but don't allow it to scorch.
• Use a hand or stand mixer to cream the butter and sugar in a large bowl until very fluffy.
• Beat in one egg at a time, then add vanilla, 3/4 cup (~180 g) shredded beets and melted chocolate.
• Combine the dry ingredients in a separate bowl (flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cocoa powder) and sift to aerate.
• Add the dry ingredients and the buttermilk to the beet mixture, a little bit at a time. Stop as soon as the batter is well-mixed and smooth. Spoon mixture into cake tins. Bake until a toothpick comes out clean (about 30 minutes, but keep an eye on it as ovens can vary quite a bit), then cool
• Spread the sugar evenly in a large, heavy-bottomed pan and heat on the stovetop over medium-high heat. Once the sugar darkens and begins to melt and bubble at the edges, add the vanilla, water, and salt to the pan. The caramel should sizzle dramatically. Once the mixture settles down a little, stir gently, and reduce the heat to a very low setting.
• Stir in the pecan pieces, ensuring that they're completely covered in caramel. Remove the candied pecans from heat and spread them out on a large, flat, heat-proof surface (e.g. a baking tray). Once cooled, break the clumps into small bits with a knife or by hand (but be careful - the sugar can be quite sharp).
• Either squeeze as much juice as you can from the reserved beet puree, or incorporate the puree itself if it's finely grated enough (but be careful if you plan to pipe the icing, as small pieces will stick in some tips).
• Place the beet puree (or juice) in a large bowl along with the other frosting ingredients. Use a stand or hand mixer to whip until the icing is well combined and somewhat airy. Set aside to chill in the refrigerator.
• If your cakes are a little domed, carefully slice off the rounded portion to make a flatter top.
• Mix the candied pecans with about 3/4 cup of the frosting. Spread this over the first layer of cake, then place the second layer on top.
• Frost the cake by spreading the frosting with a flat utensil, or if you prefer, by piping with a pastry bag. Serve immediately, or chill to set the frosting a bit more.

MOIST CHOCOLATE BEET CAKE WITH CREAM CHEESE FROSTING

Steps:

• Roast the beets ahead of time: Place a rack in the center and upper third of the oven. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Wrap beets individually in foil. Place on a baking sheet and roast until beets are tender when pierced with a knife, about 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Open the foil and allow beets to cool completely. Peel when cool. Grate the roasted beets on the finest grating plane. Measure 3/4 cup of grated beets for the cake and 2 tablespoons for the frosting. Set aside.
• Reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees F. Generously butter two 8 or 9-inch round baking pans. Trace parchment paper to fit bottom of the cake pans. Press parchment paper circles into bottom of pan and butter the parchment paper. Flour the bottoms and sides of pans and shake out the excess. Set aside.
• In the bowl of an electric stand mixer, fitted with a paddle attachment, cream together butter and sugars. Beat on medium speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 to 5 minutes. Beat in coffee granules and vanilla and mix until combined. Add eggs, one at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary. Once eggs are incorporated, beat in beets until combined.
• In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
• Add half of the dry ingredients to the butter and egg mixture. Beating on Low, slowly add the buttermilk. Once just incorporated, add the other half of the dry ingredients. Beat on Low until ingredients are almost incorporated. Do not overmix the batter. Remove bowl from stand and use rubber spatula to gently fold ingredients to finish incorporating. Cake batter will be thick.
• Divide the batter between the two prepared cake pans. Bake for 23 to 25 minutes (for a 9-inch pan) or 30-32 minutes (for an 8-inch pan). Cake is done when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a few tender crumbs attached (not completely clean.) Set cakes on wire rack and cool completely in pans. Invert cakes onto serving platter before frosting and assembling the cake.

CHOCOLATE BEET CAKE WITH CINNAMON-CREAM CHEESE FROSTING

Steps:

• For the cake: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Set each beet on a square of foil and drizzle lightly with vegetable oil. Seal the edges to wrap each beet and roast until tender when pierced with a knife, 40 to 45 minutes. Carefully unwrap and let rest until cool enough to handle.
• Peel the beets while they are still warm and cut into chunks. Add to a food processor and puree until smooth. Let cool completely. You should have 1 cup beet puree. (Save any extra puree for another use.)
• Lower the oven temperature to 350 degrees F. Butter and flour two 8-inch cake pans and line the bottoms with parchment.
• Sift together the flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large bowl.
• Whisk together the beet puree, 3/4 cup vegetable oil, sour cream, water and eggs in a large bowl until combined. Whisk in the granulated sugar and brown sugar until smooth. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and fold to combine. Do not overmix.
• Divide the batter evenly between the two prepared pans. Bake until the cake tops spring back when pressed gently and a tester inserted in the center comes out with just a few moist crumbs, 28 to 30 minutes. Transfer the pans to a rack to cool for 15 minutes. Turn the cakes out onto the racks and let cool completely. Remove the parchment.
• For the frosting: Beat the cream cheese and butter together with an electric mixer on medium speed until smooth and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the confectioners' sugar, cinnamon, vanilla and salt and and beat on low until combined. Increase the speed to medium high and beat until very smooth and light, about 2 minutes.
• Transfer one cake layer to a serving plate. Spread about 1 1/2 cups of the frosting over the top of the cake. Top with the remaining cake layer. Spread a thin layer of frosting (about 1 1/2 cups) over the entire cake to create a crumb coat. Refrigerate until the frosting is cold and firm, about 20 minutes.
• Transfer about 1 cup frosting to a pastry bag fitted with a star tip. Frost the entire cake with the remaining frosting in the bowl. Pipe rosettes on the top of the cake and garnish with baked beet chips. Chill 30 minutes to set the frosting before serving. Transfer the cake to a serving platter and pipe smaller rosettes of the remaining frosting around the base.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat. Trim one end of the beet so it can sit flat on your mandoline (it is not necessary to peel it). Thinly slice the beet about 1/16 inch thick.
• Separate the slices and put in a medium bowl. Drizzle with the oil and toss well to lightly coat each slice. Sprinkle with the sugar and toss to distribute.
• Arrange the slices in a single layer without touching on the prepared baking sheet. Bake, rotating the tray halfway through, until the chips are browned on the edges and crisp almost to the center, 25 to 30 minutes. (It's ok if the very center is still a bit pliable, they will continue to crisp as they cool.)
• Let the beet chips cool slightly on the baking sheet, then remove to a cooling rack to completely crisp up.