Farmer John's "Beet And Chocolate Cake"

Last week I had a get together at a friend's place to give a "send off/farewell" lunch party to another friend who is shifting to North Caroline with his family next week.We all decided to make something and have a potluck style party. I decided to bake this cake and it was such a hit amongst the kids and adults.Initially, I was wary of trying a new recipe and that too for a crowd, even though it was from an amazing and very popular book.All the while I was making this cake,my mom's voice ringing in my ears "Don't experiment when entertaining large crowds". I was crossing my fingers and hoping for a great outcome..Thank goodness the cake didn't give me any trouble by caving in or simply collapsing right out of the oven. Believe me, those things happen to my bakes quite frequently. The Beet and Chocolate cake was pure perfection. I couldn't have asked for a better tasting beet-chocolate concoction.

I woke up at a godforsaken hour and started my preparations for making/baking this cake so I could hit the road around 9AM. Right after it came out of the oven, I didn't even give it a proper cooling time. Packed it and hit the road 30 minutes later than the aforesaid time. Somehow the cake reached the destination in one piece. By the time we all had lunch and finally came to the dessert round, the sun was already beginning to sink into the horizon. That is what I hate most about Winter. Other people may grumble about snow and the biting cold. Not me. But I most certainly will complain about shorter days and lack of sunlight for my photo sessions.   Believe it or not, I had to take at-least 50 shots with different backgrounds with eager/impatient kids(and adults) jumping from behind, wanting a slice of this chocolate-y deliciousness. Finally I let them dig in. And they never would have known there was Beet goop in it if I hadn't told them of-course!

Well, if I were you, I wouldn't restrict this cake to get-together parties alone. As you can see, this cake fits the bill for Valentine's Day Treat too. So go ahead and bake it for your loved one(s). Recipe adapted from Farmer John's Cookbook: The real dirt on Vegetables.

So my dear dear readers, I love you all for coming to my little space. And here is my Valentine's treat for you. *XoXo*

Ingredients:

• 2 Cups Beet Puree, about 4 medium Beets  + 3 to 4 Tbsp Beet Water
• 4 oz. Ghirardelli Chocolate 100% Cacoa Unsweetened Baking Bar (1 Bar)
• 8 Tbsp/ 1 Stick Unsalted Butter, room temperature
• 1-1/2 Cups All-Purpose Flour
• 1/2 Cup Whole Wheat Pastry Flour ( I didn't have it, so I used 1/2 Cup minus 1 Tbsp All-Purpose Flour)
• 1/2 + 1/4 Cup Olive Oil or any Vegetable Oil
• 1-3/4 Cups Granulated Sugar
• 3 Eggs, at room temperature
• 1 Tbsp Vanilla Extract
• 2 Tsp Baking Soda
• A pinch of Salt

Procedure:

• Peel and dice the beets. Pressure Cook/Cook the beets with 4-5 tbsp water. When they are fork tender, transfer them to a plate to cool. Don't discard the water. When they are at room temperature, puree the beets along with 3-4 Tbsp Beet Water.

• Sift the flour(s) along with the Baking soda in a wide shallow bowl.Sprinkle in the salt and set aside.

• Finely chop the chocolate. Fill a sauce pan halfway with water. Bring it to a boil. Place the chopped chocolate and 1/4 Cup of Oil on top of the sauce pan. The bottom of this pan shouldn't come into contact with water. 

• Now reduce the flame to low and melt the chocolate. Remove the melted chocolate pan and set it aside to cool down.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Combine the eggs, one at a time with butter in an electric mixer.

• Add the Vanilla Extract, Chocolate to the mixing bowl.

• Pour the pureed beet and mix along with the egg-butter mixture.

• Add the flour in batches and mix only till combined.

• Grease a 10-cup Bundt Pan with butter and dust it with flour. Pour the cake batter into the bundt pan.

• Bake for about 45-50 minutes or until the toothpick inserted in the middle comes clean. )I baked in the top rack for 45 minutes.

• Completely cook the cake prior to cutting. Dust with confectioners sugar prior to serving. ( The kids wanted sprinkles on the cake and that is why you are seeing them. :). )

Other Sweet heart-y num-nums that I posted ages ago::

• Jumbo Heart shaped Banana and Walnut Muffins

• Flaky French Palmiers

• Chocolate and Sweet Bread Pudding

Enjoy!