Recipe: Chocolate Beet Cake (w/ Chocolate Avocado Frosting)

It's my son's birthday today. So I finally made Robyn Openshaw's chocolate beet cake last night. I'll admit, I was so nervous! It'd be so sad if I made a cake for my little guy's birthday that he didn't like. I wanted a cake he'd like just as much as those boxed kinds.

I began by steaming two large beets. Their smell, not that it's all that bad, was the first thing that made me nervous. How was a cake going to taste decent with such a taste/smell added to it?

I kept moving forward though. The next thing that made me nervous was the color of the batter - it was purplish to say the least. "Well," I thought "I guess it'll be alright if it has a purpley-reddish color to it. We'll just think of it as Devil's food cake."

I worried about it rising well too. The batter seemed slightly heavy and I wondered if it would end up being light and fluffy in texture.

After baking it for 30 minutes I was MORE than thrilled when suddenly, like magic, the cake was the most perfect brown color, the texture was incredible! and the smell was divine! I'll admit, I love the smell of the boxed cakes and I was completely amazed when it came out smelling exactly like those! How is that possible?!?! What genius came up with this recipe anyway?

The next thing I meddled with was the frosting. It didn't turn out that great. I didn't use coconut sugar in it though - I used rapadura instead and it was too earthy of a flavor for chocolate frosting.

After we sang happy birthday and had some cake I realized the frosting wasn't too big of a hit so I made up my own frosting which has an extra healthy twist in it because not only does it contain coconut cream but also contains the wonderful avocado!

You can't taste either of them in there. And although, with the first mixing of ingredients, it will be green, the frosting turns out just the right color. This frosting turned out much better than my first attempt.

My family loves this cake even more than the boxed kinds - it's just way more real but still contains that heavenly taste of boxed cakes. I couldn't be more pleased.

Anyway, here's the recipe:

Chocolate Beet Cake

3 eggs, hormone and cage free

1 1/2 cups powdered coconut sugar, rapadura or sucanat

(place sugar in blender to create powdered sugar)

3/4 cup coconut oil

1 tsp vanilla

1 3/4 cup pureed, steamed beets (about 3-4 medium size)

1/4 cup baking cocoa (non-alkalized) or raw cocoa

2 cups finely ground whole wheat flour

(soft white wheat is best or simply sift hard white wheat)

1 1/2 tsp baking soda, aluminum free

1/2 tsp sea salt

(Pre-heat oven to 350°.)

1. Steam sliced beets until soft. (15+minutes)

2. Puree beets in blender until you have 1 3/4 cups.

3. Add sugar, coconut oil, vanilla and blend until smooth.

4. Add eggs. Blend again.

5. Add cocoa, flour, baking soda and sea salt.

6. Bake in greased 9"x13" pan at 350° for 25-30 minutes.

Chocolate Avocado Frosting (my recipe)

1 ripe avocado

Cream from one can of Thai coconut milk

(If the coconut milk isn't separated - use 1/2 to 3/4 of the coconut milk.)

1/4 - 1/2 tsp vanilla (optional)

1/2 cup raw cocoa

1 1/4 cup powdered turbinado (sugar in the raw) or coconut sugar

1. Place avocado, coconut cream and vanilla in blender. Blend until smooth.

2. Add dry ingredients.

3. Spread onto cooled cake!

Isn't it wonderful to think of feeding our families a delicious cake that carries the nutrients contained within an avocado, coconuts and beets? I sure think so.

Robyn's Fudge Frosting

1 cup cocoa

2 cups coconut cream (take the cream from two cans)

2 cups coconut sugar, powdered

1/4 cup hot water

Cream together by hand until smooth.

My notes: The frosting was almost too runny and the water was never needed. This makes enough frosting for two cakes or more! If you're making this recipe, definitely cut it down by half!

***Disclaimer: I used regular old wheat in this recipe. I didn't use sprouted wheat or use the soaking process in this recipe - although, I will be attempting it in the future.