HEALTH

There’s no sense in limiting veggies to lunch and dinner. Why not just replace some of the more unhealthy ingredients in our desserts with vegetables? I promise, it’s not nearly as gross as it sounds. This beet cake is totally delish.

Alejandra Ramos, food writer at alwaysorderdessert.com, shared this sweetie with us.

Chocolate Beet Bundt Cake with Truffle Ganache Glaze

Ingredients
For the cake:
2 cups all-purpose flour (or substitute whole wheat pastry flour)
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 tablespoon Kosher salt
3/4 cup + 1/4 cup butter, softened and divided
1 1/2 cups packed dark brown sugar
3 eggs, at room temperature
4 oz semisweet chocolate, chopped
2 cups beet puree (about 6-7 small-medium beets roasted, peeled, and processed until smooth)*
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
1 tablespoon instant espresso powder

For the ganache:
6 oz semisweet chocolate, chopped
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup heavy cream


Directions
Grease a bundt pan and dust with cocoa powder tapping out the excess. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

1. In a large bowl, combine the flour, cocoa powder, cinnamon, baking soda, salt and sift until evenly distributed. Set aside.

2. Beat 3/4 cup butter and the sugar in the base of a standing mixer until light and fluffy. Add the eggs in one at a time and let beat for 3-4 minutes
until doubled in volume.

3. While the egg mixture beats, combine the chocolate with the remaining butter and microwave 20 seconds at a time, stirring each time, until melted.
Stir until smooth and set aside.

4. Add the vanilla extract to the eggs, followed by the espresso, chocolate, and the beet puree and mix until well combined.

5. Add the flour mixture to the beet mixture and mix just until completely and evenly combined. Pour the batter into the prepared bundt pan with the batter angled so that it is an inch higher on the sides than in the center, and bake at 375 degrees  for about 50 minutes or until a tester inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool in the pan for 15 minutes before inverting on a wire rack.

6. While the cake is cooling, make the ganache by combining the chocolate and butter in a medium bowl. Heat the cream through gently just until it starts to bubble and pour over the chocolate. Stir slowly until the chocolate melts and the ganache becomes smooth and glossy.

7. Pour the ganache over the cooled cake and let set 15-20 minutes before serving.

To roast beets, scrub them thoroughly. Then, wrap the entire bunch of foal in foil and bake at 350 degrees until they’re soft (about 30-40 minutes).

by Bridget Runge | 2/1/2016