This vegan cake totally delivers: Fudgy and moist, but with a good crumb; a deep earthy note that the beets add to the chocolate and makes it just heavenly. No need for ground flaxseed since the beetroot puree binds the batter better than any farm fresh eggs could. But for all its delicious darkness, this cake cries out for a pop of color, delivered in the form of a runny, bubblegum pink icing. No processed food coloring required; the bright pink comes from the beetroots.
Serve this cake to your friends and family without telling them it contains beetroot. If they guess, they’ll be suckered in already and won’t protest. In fact, I bet they’ll go for seconds, and thirds, and then you’ll need to make another cake…
Fudgy Chocolate Cake With Beetroot Frosting [Vegan]
Ingredients You Need for Fudgy Chocolate Cake With Beetroot Frosting [Vegan]
- 1x 300g beet (quite large)
Dry ingredients:
- 160g (1 cup + 1 tbsp) spelt flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- 50g (1/2 cup) cocoa powder
- 120g (3/4 cup) caster (superfine) sugar
Wet ingredients
- 250ml (1 cup) oat milk (or almond, or soy)
- 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
- 60ml (1/4 cup) rapeseed (canola) oil
- 1 tsp vanilla paste (or 2 tsp vanilla extract)
For the icing
- 250g (2 cups) icing (confectioner’s) sugar
- 60 ml (1/4 cup) water
- 1-2 tsp beetroot juice (leftover from the puree or roasting)
How to Prepare Fudgy Chocolate Cake With Beetroot Frosting [Vegan]
- Pre-heat the oven to 200ºC (400ºF). Wash the beetroot but place it unpeeled on a baking try and roast for 1 hour. Cool on a wire rack. Peel the beetroot: I impaled the beet with one fork and used another fork to scrape of the skin. Reserve some of the juices released during roasting to colour the icing.
- Puree the peeled, roasted beet in a food processor or blender, adding a little splash of water (only a little) to help the process along.
- Reduce the oven temperature to 190ºC (375ºF). Grease a 20cm (8 inch) round cake tin (pan).
- Curdle the milk by adding the apple cider vinegar to it. Set aside for a few minutes.
- Combine all the dry ingredients in one bowl and the wet ingredients in another, including the now curdled milk. Fold the dry ingredients and the pureed beetroot into the wet ingredients until no lumps remain.
- Pour the cake batter into the greased tin. Bake for 28-30 minutes. If you want the cake to be quite moist, I suggest baking it for 27-28 minutes.
- Cool on a wire rack. When the cake is completely cooled, release it from its tin. Cover with icing only when you serve.
For the icing
- Whisk it all together until runny but thick. Pour over each slice of cake when serving.
Notes
