Chocolate Beet Cake Revised

1st Chocolate Beet Cake, as mini cupcakes

Last weekend I had made and served little mini cupcakes at an Open House. The cake was an experiment, using beets in a chocolate cake. This was an idea I'd never had before and I made part of the recipe into the mini cupcakes and part into a single layer cake to try here at home. While I am not terribly into chocolate of any kind, occasionally I do not mind making and eating a chocolate cake. As chocolate cakes go, that one was good. Flavors were great, to my palate, though I felt it could have been a bit more moist.

I had questions about this whole beet cake concept: 

• how much of the beets would be too much?
• how much sugar is needed?
• should I try using oil instead of creaming butter and sugar?

On that first attempt, I was cautious, using only 1 cup of beets for what was the equivalent of a two-layer cake. I went the route of what I felt was a normal amount of sugar, and creaming the butter and sugar before adding the eggs and the beets to the mixture. As I looked at the recipe I had created, I decided next time to alter some of these things. 
 

Chocolate Beet Cake, revised, with Hazelnut Creme Filling and Sour Cream Chocolate Ganache

Meanwhile, this past Monday my son called to tell me he and his wife (whom I just adore) were planning to come for a short visit, arriving Thursday around dinner time. They would stay just a couple of days, while on their way to Glacier National Park. As it happens, both of their birthdays fall in September. As it also happens, they both love chocolate cake, and preferably chocolate cake with hazelnuts added in some way. This seemed to be the perfect occasion to make the second Chocolate Beet Cake with the revisions I was planning, as an early birthday celebration.

A slice of Chocolate Beet Cake, revised, with Hazelnut Creme Filling and Sour Cream Chocolate Ganache

For this second cake, the sugar amount was left as it stated. I added an extra half-cup of pureed beets for moistness, and an extra ounce of bittersweet chocolate. As for oil, since I don't keep any cooking oil except olive oil in my house, if I am looking to substitute something for oil in a cake, it is either melted butter or melted coconut oil. For this second cake I increased the "oil" to 2 melted sticks of butter (1 cup), instead of the 1½ sticks in the first cake. Since I was adding more beets and more "oil", I added an extra egg to help set the cake. The first time I used gluten-free flours and added in guar gum and some powdered egg white for stabilizers. This time I used regular all-purpose (wheat) flour. 

This time the cake was perfect and moist, with a wonderful chocolatey flavor and texture. The added beets still did not come through in the flavor, but only added extra moistness to the cake. Perfect!

Chocolate Beet Cake, revised

Makes one 2-layer (8-inch) cake

3 ounces bittersweet or semi-sweet chocolate
2 sticks / 16 tablespoons / 1 cup unsalted butter
4 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1½ cups pureed beets (about 3 medium beets, cooked and pureed)
2 cups all-purpose flour
1½ cups sugar
½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
½ teaspoon salt

In a saucepan over very low heat, melt together the 3 ounces chocolate with the butter, just until the chocolate is melted. Set aside to cool slightly.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees (325 if on Convection Bake). Spray two 8-inch round cake pans with cooking spray. Line the pan bottoms with parchment. Spray the parchment. Set pans aside.

Sift or whisk together in a bowl, the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda and salt. Once the chocolate and butter mixture is no longer hot to the touch, beat in the eggs, one at a time until thoroughly combined. Add the vanilla with the pureed beets and mix well. If using a larger saucepan, the whole cake can be mixed together in this pan. Add in the flour mixture, mixing well until just combined. Do not over beat.

Divide the batter evenly between the two prepared pans. Bake the cakes for 25 to 35 minutes, or until a tester inserted in the center comes out with a few fudgy crumbs. Allow the cakes to cool in pans for about 10 minutes before turning out to cool completely to fill and frost.

DO AHEAD: The cake layers may be left in the pans overnight, covered tightly with cling-film or foil, to be filled and frosted next day.

Cake batter in pans |     baked cake   |   Hazelnut Creme Filling   |   Sour Cream Chocolate Ganache

Since my kids like hazelnut, I created a Hazelnut Creme to spread between the layers. This creme has no chocolate in it. I wanted contrast in flavor and texture. The recipe yielded 2 cups of filling, though I used only about 1½ cups of it for the cake. The rest would taste wonderful on toast, crackers, a bagel, or anything else you would like with a hazelnut flavored cream. I used "white chocolate chips" as part of the filling for flavor. The term "white chocolate" is used loosely when looking at most grocery store-bought brands, as there is no cocoa butter in the ingredients. If true white chocolate is desired, find an alternative with real cocoa butter such as Valrhona Ivoire, Guittard or Lindt for better flavor and actual cocoa butter content. This is what I did:

Hazelnut Creme Filling

Makes about 2 cups

1 cup / 4.4 ounces / 124 grams hazelnuts
½ cup / 4 ounces / 113 grams cream cheese
1 cup / 5.5 ounces / 156 grams white baking chips
2 tablespoons Frangelico (hazelnut liqueur), optional

Set the hazelnuts in a saucepan and just barely cover with water. Bring to a boil and let stand in the boiling water for about 2 minutes, off the heat. Drain and place the hazelnuts into a food processor. Process the hazelnuts until fine. Add the cream cheese and process to combine.

Place the white baking chips into a small microwave-safe bowl and use short 7 - 10 second bursts to melt the chips, stirring after each few-second burst. My microwave took almost 40 seconds to completely melt the chips. Add the melted white chocolate chips to the food processor and process to combine, adding in the Frangelico while processing, to combine and loosen the mixture a bit. If not using Frangelico, thin to spreadable consistency with milk, cream or even water.

DO AHEAD: This filling may be made up to a week in advance and refrigerated, covered tightly. To use, bring to room temperature and stir well before using.

Use this Hazelnut Creme Filling to spread over the first cake layer. Set the second layer over top. Frost with Sour Cream Chocolate Ganache if desired. I wanted a chocolate ganache for the top of the cake, and realized I had no heavy cream in the house. Wondering if there were alternatives for the cream, I found a recipe for this Sour Cream Chocolate Ganache on a website called The Big Bake Theory. I advise you check out the recipe(s) on this website as she gives many options for making ganache. The only thing I did differently was add in Frangelico and some Espresso Liqueur. The ganache was not too sweet, as I used bittersweet chocolate with the sour cream. A sweeter chocolate may be substituted, if a sweeter ganache is desired. The sour cream tang was very apparent. Since the cake was rich and the filling was rich, I felt that a slightly less sweet ganache would be perfect. And it was!

For this recipe the two main ingredients (chocolate and sour cream) must be measured by weight, as it needs equal weights of sour cream to chocolate.

Sour Cream Chocolate Ganache

Makes about 3 - 4 cups (2 pounds) ganache

Sour Cream Chocolate Ganache

16 ounces / 453 grams sour cream
1 pound / 452 grams (milk, semi or bittersweet) chocolate
3 - 4 tablespoons Frangelico, optional
2 - 3 tablespoons Espresso liqueur, optional

In a double boiler, set over (but not touching) simmering water, mix together the sour cream and chocolate. Stirring occasionally, allow the mixture to melt together. Once all the chocolate has melted, remove the pan from heat. If using the liqueurs or other flavorings, add them and mix well.

If desired, the ganache can be used immediately, pouring over the cake as a glaze. If using as a frosting, allow the ganache to cool completely to room temperature. This can take up to 3 hours until it will spread as an icing.
This amount of ganache was not needed if just using it to top the cake as I did. I had about 2 cups leftover. Once refrigerated, this ganache could easily be rolled into balls for truffles. After assembling the cake, I chopped a handful more of hazelnuts and sprinkled them over top of the ganache, just for looks and texture.  

My passion is teaching people how to create a harmony of flavors with their cooking, and passing along my love and joy of food, both simple or exotic, plain or fancy. I continue my journey in ethnic and domestic cuisines, continuing my journey to explore diverse culinary experiences and hopefully to start you on a journey of your own. Join me also at A Harmony of Flavors on Facebook, and Pinterest.

Beets in Chocolate Cake Oh My

Chioggia Beets, ready to go in the oven

What next? Beets used in chocolate cake may not be a new thing for many people, but for me the first I ever heard of it was last week when I was given many bags of beets from someone's garden. I love beets. Mainly, I would pickle them and either eat them that way or make my Grandmother's Horseradish with beets for Easter (or any time there is ham around the house). There is another way I have eaten beets in recent years, since finding a recipe in an ad in Food and Wine Magazine. It was one of F & W's Grace Parisi recipes called Lemon and Garlic Roasted Beets, and was created to pair with Folie a Deux's "Menage a Trois" red wine. The recipe does pair excellently with the wine, but just the beets alone are just addictive for me; I just can't stop eating them. That recipe is no longer available on Food and Wine's website, but with a few little changes, I have been making them myself for years. I made them a couple of years back using Chioggia Beets from the Farmers' Market. They were the prettiest things you've ever seen. Well, if you like beets. 

Chocolate Beet Mini Cupcakes

So, you must get the idea - I love beets. Yet in all my years, I never heard of or thought of using them in cake. I don't know why, really. After all, we make carrot cakes and zucchini bread. Why not use beets? They would provide the same moistness as these other vegetables. I asked the woman for the recipe she used, as she said it was her family's favorite chocolate cake. 

That day I came home with all those beets, I first washed, trimmed and peeled all the largest beets, wrapped them individually in foil and baked them. Smaller ones were done at 55 minutes; larger ones took up to 75 minutes in a 400-degree oven. I pureed the whole batch and got quite a bit of pureed beets, for use in cake or for anything else. I kept a couple of cups, in separate freezer baggies in the fridge, to use for a cake. I looked up "Chocolate Beet Cake" on the internet and found many recipes, with many variations. As usual, I compared those recipes to my idea of a chocolate cake or another similar type cake using a vegetable and created a recipe of my own.

A Slice of Chocolate Beet Cake

I was going to be making appetizers for the Open House this past Sunday, and thought to add in a few mini cupcakes to the agreed-upon foods. It is often the case that someone requires a special diet. Around here it seems gluten intolerance is one of the biggest difficulties. Since the fillings I created for the cherry tomatoes and endive leaves were both gluten free, I thought to give this cake recipe a try using gluten free flours.  I have found that gluten free cakes and dessert loaves seem to be more moist in general, so I proceeded with this in mind.

The recipe is large enough to make a 2-layer (8-inch) cake or a 9 x 13-inch pan. I used slightly less than half the batter and made 24 mini cupcakes. The rest of the batter I baked in a 9-inch round cake pan. I am sure the batter could be divided into two 9-inch pans, but the cakes would be far thinner; less lofty. The cake and the cupcakes turned out absolutely delicious. Again, as with the Maraschino Cherry Cake I made for my husband's birthday, it seemed the cake was done before I noticed, and it was a little more dry than I wanted. Not as dry as the cherry cake, mind you. This one is really nice. It could, however, have taken a few minutes less in the oven. 

I want to make this cake again, using a few different ideas. I do not keep cooking oil in the house, except for olive oil. I would like to try using melted butter or melted coconut oil instead of creaming the room temperature butter. I would also like to try using more of the beets than I did. I went conservatively for this first cake, using only 1 cup of beets. More would make a moister cake, and as there was absolutely no "beet" flavor in this cake, I have more confidence going with a larger amount. Here is my recipe as it stands today:

Chocolate Beet Cake (Gluten Free optional)

Makes two 8-inch round cakes, or one 9 x 13-inch cake

1 cup cooked, pureed beets (about 2 medium)
2 ounces bittersweet or semi-sweet chocolate
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
2 cups "6-2-1 gluten-free all-purpose flour blend" (or use regular all-purpose flour)

Unbaked batter left                 |                Baked cake on right

½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 teaspoons baking soda

• (If using a GF flour blend:add 1½ teaspoons guar gum, and 2 tablespoons of powdered egg whites)
  

½ teaspoon salt
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1½ cup sugar
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla

In a small saucepan over low heat melt together the 4 tablespoons of butter and the 2 ounces of chocolate. Once just melted, remove from heat and set aside to cool to room temperature.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees (325 on Convection). Grease two 8-inch pans and line them with parchment. Grease the parchment. Set aside. IF using a 9 x 13 inch pan where the cake will remain in the pan, it is not necessary to line the pan.

Whisk together the flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt. If making the cake gluten free, ass the guar gum and powdered egg whites to the bowl and whisk well to combine.

In a mixer bowl, cream together the 8 tablespoons butter with the sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating after each addition. Beat in the vanilla. Add in the pureed beets and mix to combine. Add in the dry ingredients and mix just until incorporated. Divide the mixture equally between the two 8-inch pans, or pour all the mixture into the 9 x 13 inch pan.

If making regular cupcakes, I estimate about 1 dozen. If making mini cupcakes, the minimum yield will be 48.

Bake the 8-inch cakes for approximately 20 to 25 minutes, or until a tester inserted in the center comes out with a few fudgy crumbs. The 9 x 13 will take a few minutes more. The mini cupcakes took about 12 minutes.

Allow the 8-inch cakes to rest in the pan for 10 minutes before turning out to cool completely before frosting.
For this cake I made a frosting using 1 part cream cheese to two parts butter and flavored it with green tea powder and a little pistachio flavoring. For this frosting the butter and cream cheese MUST be very soft, at room temperature, or it will not whip properly. The flavors were a wonderful match:

Pistachio Green Tea Icing

Enough to frost top and sides of a two layer 8-inch cake

Pistachio Green Tea Icing

2 sticks or 8 ounces unsalted butter, room temperature
4 ounces cream cheese
4 cups confectioners' sugar
½ teaspoon salt
1 - 2 teaspoons Matcha Green Tea Powder, optional
a few drops of pistachio flavoring, optional
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 - 2 tablespoons heavy cream, as needed

In a stand mixer, beat the first two ingredients on medium or medium high for 8 minutes, until nearly white and very soft. Sift together in a separate bowl the confectioners' sugar, salt and green tea powder if using. Stop the mixer and add these dry ingredients all at once. Turn mixer on to very low speed for about one minute, until the dry ingredients are moistened. Add the flavorings. Increase mixer speed to medium or medium high and beat for 6 minutes more, adding the cream if necessary to make it spreading consistency.

This makes a very pale green colored icing. If more color is desired, add in a few drops of green food coloring. I grated a little more of the bittersweet chocolate to sprinkle over the icing.

My passion is teaching people how to create a harmony of flavors with their cooking, and passing along my love and joy of food, both simple or exotic, plain or fancy. I continue my journey in ethnic and domestic cuisines, continuing my journey to explore diverse culinary experiences and hopefully to start you on a journey of your own. Join me also at A Harmony of Flavors on Facebook, and Pinterest.