Keep an open mind, and you’ll be delightfully surprised.
Ah, yes, this recipe comes from the small category of feed the kids via slight of hand. See, as a parent, I always believed in letting the kids know what they were being served with the condition that they only had to eat a no-thank-you serving. However, with a dessert there’s no requirement to eat it. If you’re going to give this recipe a try, I might suggest being coy in how you describe it. Your diners will forgive once they taste how delicious it is.
The original post from March 2011
This recipe was one where I really wasn’t sure what the end results would be. We had a great amount of beets that needed to be used. While I love roasting them either as a side dish or a topping for a salad, not everyone else is as keen on the idea of beets as a daily menu item. So, what is one to do with extra beets?
Deciding to try a creative approach, I opted to use them in a cake batter. All of us enjoy carrot cake. Shredded carrots, walnuts, cinnamon, and cream cheese frosting combined, how can you go wrong? So, why couldn’t I replace the shredded carrots with shredded beets? It seemed like a logical replacement. Of course, the name beet cake just doesn’t have the same ring to it that carrot cake does, so some trickery would be required.
Making the cake in much the same fashion as carrot cake, I knew it would be obvious to any partakers that it was not carrot cake, nor could I call it a spice cake. However, I could call it a purple cake; you know, the sort made with food coloring. Of course, once you look at the cake, you can see that the cake is filled with purple specks. Blame that on poor mixing of the food coloring, and sell it as a spice cake with walnuts.
The results? It worked. Both of the kids were suspicious, but they ate and enjoyed the cake. Once they were finished, I confessed that it was beet cake. I also explained that usually I am honest about what they are eating, but for this dish I was certain they would prejudge the dessert if they knew its true ingredients. They agreed.
For a cake with a nice cinnamon flavor and a hint of beet, this cake is worth trying. Though I probably would market it as a purple cake.
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1/3 cup light brown sugar
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1 egg
- 1 cup grated beet
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1-1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup skim milk
- Preheat oven to 350.
- Spray 12-cup muffin pan, 9-inch cake pan, or 9×5 loaf pan with nonstick cooking spray.
- Place sugars and butter in a large bowl or stand mixer, and beat until fluffy.
- Add egg and mix well.
- Add beet and mix until combined.
- Add baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt and mix well.
- Stir in half of the flour, then half of the milk.
- Repeat with remaining flour and milk.
- Pour into prepared pan.
- Bake muffins for approximately 20 minutes and cake pan or loaf pan for approximately 30 minutes.
- Cake is done when a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean.
- Allow to cool for 10 minutes, then remove from pan and allow to cool completely.
- Frost with cream cheese frosting, if desired.
