Red Velvet Beet Cake with White Bean Maple Frosting
This Red Velvet Cake recipe is adapted slightly from a cookbook I borrowed from my friend, Enna called Making Chocolate: From Bean to Bar to S'more: A Cookbook, by Dandelion Chocolate.
8 medium red beets
5 large eggs
2 ¾ cups sugar
½ tsp salt
2 ¼ cups flour, sifted
½ the bar of Enna 75% Uganda Chocolate Bar, finely grated (with a zester or cheese grater)
Make the Beet Puree: Preheat the oven to 350°F. Wrap each beet in foil, and roast the beets for about 1 hour, until a knife pokes easily through the entire flesh. Allow the beets to cool in the foil, and then carefully peel each beet, discarding the skins. Puree the cooked beets on high speed until very smooth. Measure out 2 cups of the puree, and set it aside.
Make the Cake: Spray or butter two 8-inch round cake pans, line them with parchment, and grease again. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whisk the eggs, sugar & salt on high speed until the mixture becomes pale in color and falls back on itself in ribbons when the whisk is removed, 4 to 6 minutes. Fold in the beet puree until the batter is streaked with color but not completely incorporated. This will prevent the beaten eggs from deflating too much as you mix the batter. Sift together the flour and Enna’s chocolate, then fold them into the batter until just combined. Divide the mixture evenly between the prepared cake pans. Bake the cakes for 25 to 30 minutes, until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool cakes completely on a wire rack.
Maple Vanilla White Bean Buttercream Frosting: Add 1 cup of Ortebo white beans to a pot with water to cover them about an inch over the beans. Bring to boil, reduce to simmer, cover and cook until soft, but still firm. Optional, but recommended, drain & replace the water twice during cooking to reduce the “beany” flavor in the finished product. When cooked, drain & rinse the beans and then puree in a food processor along with ½ cup of water, ½ cup maple syrup, 1 TBSP vanilla extract, and 2 TBSP of heavy cream (optional). Return to a sauce pan, add 2 TBSP butter, and return to medium heat, stirring continuously until the frosting thickens to a consistency that holds its ridges. Set aside to chill.
Assemble and frost your cake. Use a veggie peeler to shave the remaining 1/2 of your chocolate bar and sprinkle on top. Enjoy!
