This post was first published way back at the beginning of my blogging career, when I wrote in an entirely different way, and my photos were terrible! Those of you who have joined me in more recent times may find it amusing – if not, and it all seems awfully twee, contrived and sycophantic (as a Mumsnet AIBU thread once told me it was!) then I apologise that we are mismatched in terms of our senses of humour! Anyway, it gets an outing at the top of my home page every year in January, because if you’re hunting around for a healthy treat that actually tastes like the real thing, you won’t go far wrong. Plus, I guarantee your kids will never know that they’ve eaten beetroot, and you can be smug all week!
Red Velvet Chocolate Cake
Mummy gets an organic vegetable box delivered from Abel & Cole every week. Last week she practically keeled over in ‘admonishment‘ at this little interaction:
- The Bug: Mummy, what’s in that box?
- Mummy: That’s our vegetables
- The Bug: I hope there’s beetroot in there
- Mummy: ?
Beetroot: the most vile product ever to grace the vegetable aisle. It would surely be better placed in amongst the dog-food. I mean, who actually eats this stuff? Something that stains your fingers purple for the next three days, and comes out the other side the same colour (don’t think too hard about that) has to be bad for you, right? Still, that is one of the hazards of taking a random selection of ‘seasonal produce’ – there’s every chance you might one day end up with beetroot.
So, if this should be your misfortune, here is how to deal with it:
Red Velvet Chocolate Cake Recipe
Or Beetroot Cupcakes – use pink icing flavoured with rose-water. Healthy enough for breakfast muffins too. Just reduce the baking time to around 20 minutes.
This recipe is based on one from Nigella Lawson, but inevitably, and according to our haphazard style, we have changed it and made it better! See if you agree: 
-
- 300g beetroot, topped and tailed
- 250ml Canola oil (but we used sunflower)
- 4 medium eggs
- 200g caster sugar
- 200g plain flour
- 50g cocoa powder
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- Get your Mum to steam the beetroot for 30-40 mins until tender.
- Cool, peel and chop. Pulse with the oil in a blender until smooth.
- Add the eggs, sugar and vanilla and mix in thoroughly.
- At this point decide that you need a wee, go to the toilet and wash your hands carefully – this is very important.
- Sift the flour, baking powder and cocoa into the mixture. Realise that you only have 30g of cocoa and substitute the rest for chocolate Nesquik.
- Mix, and then pour into an 18cm oiled and floured cake tin.
- Bake in an oven preheated to 180 deg celcius (160 deg for fan ovens) for 40-45 minutes, or until Mummy can stab it with a sewer that comes out clean.
- Cool in the tin for 5 minutes, then on a wire rack.
- When cold, dust with icing sugar or ice with whatever you like – I prefer pink buttercream and silver balls, about 200,000 should do it.
- Eat. (Mummy says this makes a great dessert with some creme fraiche, but I say why wait till pudding?).
Get your Mum to make this, and I guarantee you will eat beetroot! Yes, beetroot. And d’you know how many brownie points that will get you with the grown-ups? They will let you eat Haribo every night!
Print the Red Velvet Chocolate Cake recipe:
Healthy Chocolate Cake
Ingredients
- 300 g beetroot topped and tailed
- 250 ml Canola oil but we used sunflower
- 4 medium eggs
- 250 g caster sugar
- 200 g plain flour
- 50 g cocoa powder
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
- Get your Mum to steam the beetroot for 30-40 mins until tender.
- Cool, peel and chop. Pulse with the oil in a blender until smooth.
- Add the eggs, sugar and vanilla and mix in thoroughly.
- At this point decide that you need a wee, go to the toilet and wash your hands carefully - this is very important.
- Sift the flour, baking powder and cocoa into the mixture. Realise that you only have 30g of cocoa and substitute the rest for chocolate Nesquik.
- Mix, and then pour into an 18cm oiled and floured cake tin.
- Bake in an oven preheated to 180 deg celcius (160 deg for fan ovens) for 40-45 minutes, or until Mummy can stab it with a sewer that comes out clean.
- Cool in the tin for 5 minutes, then on a wire rack.
- When cold, dust with icing sugar or ice with whatever you like - I prefer pink buttercream and silver balls, about 200,000 should do it.
- Eat. (Mummy says this makes a great dessert with some creme fraiche, but I say why wait till pudding?).
Sounds delicious. Could produce some lethal nappies.
Oooh don’t want to think about that!
Unbelievably it does taste good.
Typo I think.. Skewer not sewer?
Click the links Dad
Ok I now realise it’s one of those bug words – he gets wrong, a cartogenic, or whatever it is?
Ps – thought I should post as ActuallyDaddy?
Xx
And the penny drops….
That’s sounds yummy! My mummy hates beetroot, but the chocolate combo might persuade her to try it.
Do it! I challenge anyone to taste the beetroot, and it is so virtuous!
PS – I just wanted to say that this is even better the next day cold from the fridge. We have now eaten it warm with chocolate sauce for pudding, cold with strawberries for breakfast, and drizzled with strawberry jam for afternoon snack. And yes, 3 times in 24 hours is ok with Mummy – IT’S VEGETABLES! (add in the strawberries and the jam and that’s my 5 for the day – tick, now on to the Haribo!),
I use this recipe, works every time, even though I HATE beetroot with a passion, and the smell is atrocious, the brownies they make are amazing, so soft and velvety. I usually buy a big bag full from our market and puree them, measure them into the correct quantities and freeze them to use throughout the year (though they never last long!)
http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2008/nov/08/chocolate-fruit-brownies-recipe
Great Post!
Ooh that sounds yum! Can’t believe you’re stockpiling beetroot just for the cakes! We could start a whole new craze!
Love beetroot hmmmmm. cant wait to get back to the uk and get some pickled
Uggh! Though Mummy did just take the Kitchen Mechanic’s advice and freeze this week’s batch for another time!
I must confess my total ignorance to the existence of beetroot. Now I shall take myself to a local Farmer’s market and scour the booths for them 🙂
Your chocolate creation looks heavenly here.
Hi Mila, beetroot is a Marmite food – love it or hate it. We hate it, but this is delicious!
Just made this cake in double quantities (took much longer to cook) for my aunt who can’t eat dairy (no milk or butter). Absolutely fantastic. Really moist and chocolatey, can’t taste the beetroot at all, and cuts really easily – not crumbly. And so easy to make, for a non-cook.
Isn’t it? So glad it worked for you too. I hadn’t thought about the food allergy aspect of this cake, but it’s a great point – thanks for the comment.
That cakes sounds absolutely delicious! I don’t mind beetroot even just boiled. But I get sick of those vegetable boxes because at a certain point you just get kale every week which is this really stringy cabbage and I can’t stand it. Thanks for rewinding with me.
I don’t really mind beetroot even when it’s boiled and plain. But I get sick of those vegetable boxes because after a while all I get in mine is kale which is this really stringy cabbage that gives me gas. The cake looks yummy though. Thanks for rewinding with me.
Ah but you can make crispy seaweed out of kale, did you know – yummy! Would post the recipe but GG can’t stand it!
Beetroot in chocolate cake? Surely not! Will have to test it to make sure. Thanks linking to science sparks!
You must – it is delicious. Love your site – never get round to trying them but they sit open on my laptop for days in the hope that I one day will!
That sounds amazing – I’m going to try it this week and report back with the results 🙂
Please do – I would love to hear if it is just us who are a bit crazy!
Healthy cake?! Wow gotta try that. Great recipe.
Ohh please do – I bet they love it! Don’t forget to put in the bit about going to the loo and washing hands!
This sounds interesting. I’m on the lookout for some healthier alternatives to the usual sugary desserts on offer, so with this, at least I can say there are some vegetables in there! This would probably also be a good time to try Chocolate Zucchini Cake and Parsnip Cake.
I’ve a Nigella recipe for Courgette cake that sounds really good – might give it a try. My kids had no idea they were eating beetroot the first time I made this!
having made a beetroot cake last weekend i can vouch for how yummy it is used in a chocolate cake yum! yours looks lovely and moist and i adore the sign x
That looks delicious, really will try this with my beetroot, can you get mum to steam mine for me, it’s a scary prospect handling beetroot!
I must try putting beetroot into chocolate cake! This looks like a pretty simple recipe…I think I will give it a try 🙂
Really really easy, you can’t fail, and it is delicious
With you all the way on this one – cannot abide beetroot! Red Velvet Cake however….a whole different story. Great recipe, one for the pinterest board 🙂
I baked this cake the other day and it was yummy! My son found the beetroot a little too strong; if I were to reduce the amount to beetroot a little, to say 200g, would I have to substitute with something else, like an extra egg?? Thanks!
Hi Nicola,
I think probably a little more flour – say 50g – would work, but you could also try ground almonds or grated parsnip. I made a white chocolate cake recently with grated parsnip, and it was amazing. You could also cook the parsnip and blend, if the pieces of veg would be a problem. It really doesn’t taste of much, and makes the cake very moist.
Thanks so much for the tips! I like the sound of the added parsnip.