This moist chocolate cake recipe is the best when you want a super satisfying chocolate cake. Suprisingly, this chocolate beet cake adds lots of nutrients to your diet, too!
Originally published on February 12, 2016.
I was lucky enough to celebrate my birthday whilst I was in Rye (England) just over a year ago in October.
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I had stayed at The Mermaid Inn with my mother, the night before, which was something I’d wanted to do for many years. We had a gorgeous breakfast at the inn.
Afterwards, we picked up my Aunt Rosa and headed to Bodiam Castle, a National Trust property which we were able to visit for free with our Royal Oak Foundation memberships. I love Bodiam Castle, with its iconic moat!
Afterwards, we met my cousins for a fabulous pub lunch. However, my cousin, Denisa, wouldn’t let me order dessert, which was quite strange. It all made sense when we headed back home as she had made a lovely homemade birthday cake for me! I was surprised, but not disappointed. Believe it or not, I dried my hair completely straight that morning, but this is the result of English weather in October on my hair.
After the obligatory photos and candle-blowing, we all enjoyed a cup of tea with our slice of cake.
I don’t remember who commented first, but someone complimented Denisa on her cake. It was such an incredibly delicious and moist chocolate cake! Then someone else said the same thing, and we all ended up agreeing how fabulous it was. Yes, of course I asked for the recipe. Actually no, I told Denisa I needed the recipe!
She was smiling the entire time, but it wasn’t because of everyone’s compliments. It was because the cake had a secret ingredient: beetroot! We were all shocked. A healthier, moist chocolate cake, that actually tastes better than a normal, vegetable-free chocolate cake? I’m in, chocolate beet cake it is!
What Makes This Chocolate Beet Cake Moist?
Given the fact that beets are 88% water, they contribute to the moisture component of this cake. You won’t taste the flavor of the beetroot if you concerned about this. As you read above, none of us realized there was beets in my birthday cake!
I wanted to post this recipe a while ago as I’ve made it myself a few times, but it just hasn’t happened until now. I’ll convince myself (and maybe you too), that it’s the perfect moist chocolate cake recipe for the new year (the beginning of better choices and resolutions) because it’s so healthy and nutritious with the addition of beets and no added butter (if you choose to skip the frosting)! Ha ha!
Want to make cupcakes instead? I’ve got you covered!
Cake Decorating with Edible Flowers
The cake below is how I decorated this chocolate beet cake for my mother’s birthday this year. I used flowers from my garden (since I don’t use any chemicals or pesticides) so they are safe to ingest. Here are a few tips:
- Only use flowers from a reliable source: your own pesticide free garden, or organically grown edible flowers from a store.
- Before putting any flowers or greenery on a cake or baked good, check to make sure it is non-toxic. For example, oleander flowers and leaves are extremely poisonous. They should NEVER be used to decorate any food. You can check an extensive list HERE.
- I used geraniums, jasmine and garbanzo bean leaves on my mother’s cake below. Roses and rose leaves are very pretty, too.
Moist Chocolate Cake Recipe (Chocolate Beet Cake)
adapted from a recipe by Lenna on Allrecipes-UK/Ireland (printable recipe below)
Preheat oven to 350 F (180 C).
Prepare two, 8″ or 9″ baking pans (or one, 9×13″); butter and flour them well.
Puree the beets in a food processor along with the eggs, vanilla, oil and the sugar.
In a large bowl, place the dry ingredients, then add the pureed mixture.
Beat with an electric or stand mixer on low speed until well combined.
Pour batter into prepared pans and bake in preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes, or until done a a tester (or skewer) comes out clean.
Remove from pans after a few minutes and allow to cool completely on racks. You can tell from the photo that this is definitely a moist chocolate cake recipe that works!
Meanwhile, make the buttercream frosting by beating the butter until soft, then adding the sugar, cocoa, 1/4 cup (2 oz) coffee and salt, and mixing until creamy and smooth. Continue to add more coffee until a soft, spreadable, or pipable consistency is reached.
Cut the tops off the cake to make them level, you can see photos on this post. Place one layer of the moist chocolate cake on a serving plate and spread some buttercream on top. Alternatively, pipe some frosting around the perimeter first, if you’d like to leave the sides “naked.”
Then spread more frosting over the middle of the moist chocolate cake.
Place the second layer on top and add more frosting.
Decorate as desired. Sometimes I put some almond crunch pieces on the sides and make frosting rosettes, with a pattern on top.
And here is my Mum’s birthday cake again. I smoothed the top with a hot spatula and then made a pattern with a knife: easy peasy, but also impressive.
Flowers are always good for hiding any imperfections, too!
All that’s left to do is to slice away and enjoy! I hope you like this moist chocolate cake recipe and sign up for more of my free recipes below.
The Very Best, Most Delicious and Moist Chocolate Cake You'll Ever Taste (with a Surprise Ingredient: Beets)!
A super moist chocolate cake made with beetroot.
Ingredients
- about 4 small or 2 large (375 g) cooked, cooled beets (I like baking them in foil to keep them dry)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups (350 g) sugar
- 16 oz (500 g) oil (I used olive oil and avocado oil)
- 5 eggs
- 2 1/2 cups (340 g) all purpose flour
- 2 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 3/8 tsp salt
- 50 grams (9 tbsp) good quality dark unsweetened cocoa powder (I used Barry)
Mocha Buttercream Ingredients
- 1/3 cup (75g) butter, at room temperature
- 4 cups (500 g) confectioner’s sugar
- 1/4 cup (35 g) good quality unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1/4 to 1/3 cup (60 to 80 ml) cold strong coffee
- 1 tsp vanilla
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 F (180 C).
- Prepare two, 8″ or 9″ baking pans (or one, 9×13″); butter and flour them well.
- Puree the beets in a food processor along with the eggs, vanilla, oil and the sugar.
- In a large bowl, place the dry ingredients, then add the pureed mixture.
- Beat with an electric or stand mixer on low speed until well combined.
- Pour batter into prepared pans and bake in preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes, or until done a a tester (or skewer) comes out clean.
- Remove from pans after a few minutes and allow to cool completely on racks.
- Meanwhile, make the buttercream frosting by beating the butter until soft, then adding the sugar, cocoa, 1/4 cup (2 oz) coffee and salt, and mixing until creamy and smooth. Continue to add more coffee until a soft, spreadable, or pipable consistency is reached.
- Cut the tops off the cake to make them level, you can see photos on this post. Place one layer of the moist chocolate cake on a serving plate and spread some buttercream on top.
- Place the second layer on top and decorate as desired with the frosting and other decorations, if desired (I put some almond crunch pieces on the sides.)
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 12 Serving Size: 1 sliceAmount Per Serving:Calories: 895Total Fat: 52gSaturated Fat: 8gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 40gCholesterol: 98mgSodium: 406mgCarbohydrates: 103gFiber: 4gSugar: 75gProtein: 8g
Here’s another chocolatey recipe with bananas hiding inside from my friend Serena:
double chocolate banana bread!
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I have some beets already puréed. Wondering if I can use that instead? Would it be 375 grams of purée?
Hi Kathleen, I just looked it up and cooked beets weight about 25% less after cooking so I’d guess that that would be too much. Try using about 280g of beets according to the info I found. I haven’t done this before, so just know I can’t guarantee results, but can’t see why it wouldn’t work. Let me know! CC
Going to make this tomorrow. We only have regular cocoa powder and not dark. Do you think that will ruin the flavor or should I run out an get dark?
Hi Alison, not sure what you mean by regular cocoa powder. I would personally recommend a good, dark, quality cocoa powder for the best results. Good luck!
Have used this method a couple of times, and it really is fool proof. This is my go to recipe for grilling chicken for one.
Awesome Post,
My husband asks for beet cake every year for his birthday. It really is good and so moist. We use canola oil, to not take away from the wonderful chocolate flavor. In my opinion, this is a much better alternative to red velvet cakes, with its rich, dark color.
Thanks!