Red Velvet Beet cake w Cream Cheese frosting
Put down that Red # %*$** and color your desserts with the most beautiful veggie around, the beet! Here is a recipe I adapted from Fine Wine and Good Spirits and made it just a bit healthier by swapping out canola oil for coconut oil, granulated sugar for coconut sugar, and “buttery spread” for pure organic butter. My nutrition partner in crime, Abra Pappa of Nutritious America uses coconut ingredients all the time in her baking and they always come out delicious. I left a bit of the all purpose flour in this time, to keep the consistency, but feel free to experiment with all different types of flours. This cake tastes delicious, and uses beets to make it look all pretty!
Ingredients:
6 medium red beets (remove greens and saute w olive oil for dinner!)
melted coconut oil to taste
1 1/4 cup all purpose flour
1 1/4 cup coconut flour
2 1/2 cup coconut palm sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp fine sea salt
2/3 cup coconut oil (melted)
1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 Tbsp pure vanilla extract
3 cups powdered sugar
8 oz package organic cream cheese at room temp
Beets are one of the most detoxifying foods you can eat!
How to bake for your sweetie:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a deep roasting pan, toss beets in a little melted coconut oil to coat, then add 1/2 cup water to pan. Roast until "fork-tender" about 1-2 hours. Let beets cool, then trim and peel (use a towel for easy removal). Puree in food processor.
Lower oven temperature to 350 degrees. Grease two 9 inch round cake pans. Combine all dry ingredients (flour to salt) in a mixing bowl. In another bowl, whisk together beet puree, coconut oil, lemon juice, and half of the vanilla extract. Add wet ingredients to the dry with a rubber spatula. Don't overmix unless you like chewy cake. Divide batter evenly between pans and bake about 40 minutes (or until toothpick comes out clean.) Let cakes cool completely on wire racks.
For Cream cheese frosting:
Combine sugar and cream cheese in stand up mixer or large bowl. I often end up adding less sugar for a less-sweet creamier flavor. Also add the remaining vanilla extract. Ice cakes on top and sides, then stack em up and serve! 12-14 servings
Nam appetite dessert lovers!