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.)
Notes
Skip the frosting on the outside for a lower calorie cake.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 12 Serving Size: 1 sliceAmount Per Serving: Calories: 355Total Fat: 5gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 1gCholesterol: 78mgSodium: 346mgCarbohydrates: 23gFiber: 1gSugar: 2gProtein: 6g
Nutrition information is only estimated.
Here’s another chocolatey recipe with bananas hiding inside from my friend Serena:
double chocolate banana bread!
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Hi Christiina,
Before I make this cake, I have issues with the amount of oild … 16 oz. I’ve never seen a cake that called for that much oil. Seems excessive.
Hi Phyllis, maybe you’re new to my site, but I only post recipes that have either been in my family forever, or are tried, tested and true. I would never just post a recipe without having made sure I’d pass it on to a family member or friend. Yes, the amount is correct, but if you don’t trust me, please feel free to use another recipe. CC
Thank you and bless you! I had to check to make sure it wasn’t a misprint as I’ve had a bad experience in the past with a misprint and had to toss some very expensive ingredients down the drain.
Yes, I’m brand new to your site and looking forward to all you have to offer. I have an Italian sister-in-law and beck when we lived only a couple miles away from eachother, we’d often make homemade pasta, ravioli, etc. Now, unfortunately, we’re States apart.
Again, thank you for the clarification. Can’t wait to make this cake.
Phyllis, you won’t be disappointed with the recipes you find on Christinas’ post. You must try her Sicilian Whole Orange Cake recipe! It’s absolutely delicious! I’ve tried variety of her recipes, from Scottish and Italian, so far I’ve been very pleased. If it’s possible for you, weigh the ingredients if the recipe calls for you to do so. I’ve found I get a better and more consistent bake when weighing vs measuring. Cheers!
You are so kind, Mary Louise, thank you! You are exactly right about weighing vs. measuring, too! Thanks for adding that! :)
Ok, so I had an excess amount of beets in my garden and had heard about beets in chocolate cake – give it a try I thought!
So as you do, I googled for a recipe and as luck would have it, the same lovely lady who has provided us with THE BEST DONUT RECIPE IN THE WORLD, had a post for a chocolate and beetroot cake. It only makes logical sense to trust in a recipe by Christina, if the donuts are anything to go by.
Well, every word of the blog for this recipe is TRUE. My kids couldn’t even tell there were beets in it. The texture of this cake is amazing – so light yet moist and so chocolatey without being sickening.
This recipe is by far the best chocolate cake recipe I’ve tried and beli ve me, I’ve tried many. I’d imagine it would also be amazing for the basis of a Black Forest cake with its stunning colour.
Christina, thanks so much for yet anther all time favourite. You really need to have your own Netflix show!!
Well I will sleep soundly tonight after reading this, Anastasia!! What a lovely, lovely review! Neither one of the recipes are actually mine, but I do tweak and test and then share the recipes I love! Thank you so much for letting me know how much you and your family loved this cake. It’s so funny because my 3 year old niece is here for the weekend and I pulled this chocolate cake out of the freezer (it freezes beautifully, btw) and she LOVED it! As you said, no clue about the added nutrition with the beets!
Thanks again, Anastasia, you made my day! 🍰
This cake is magnificent!
I made it gluten free using White Wings Gluten Free flour. The texture of the cake is superb. It is incredibly moist, rises like a dream and would have to be up there with some of the best gluten free cakes I have tried!
Thank you soooo much for sharing this recipe
Tania
Fabulous, Tania! I’ll keep that in mind when I need to bake a GF cake for friends! So happy with your results and thank you SO much for letting me know! :)
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I made this for my husband’s birthday last night, and he absolutely loved it! My kids and in-laws did too. The common comment was that it wasn’t too sweet. It was the perfect mix of the smooth chocolate cake, and a hint of coffee with a little kick of sweetness in the icing. I can’t wait to have it with tea this afternoon!
You brought up something I should highlight on this recipe: correct, it is not a cloyingly sweet chocolate cake, Lorna. So glad everyone enjoyed it. It is lovely to have with a cup to of tea, too! :)