Posts Tagged ‘cake’
So where’s the red, you ask? Well although the cake isn’t red (I don’t like to use synthetic food colors), the red part comes in with the use of beets. I love to sneak in vegetables and legumes into sweet treats since they are inconspicuous ingredients that pack a nutritional punch. I’ve done it before with chocolate chip cookies, where I add in cannellini beans, and with brownies, where I add in black beans. Here I’ve added beets to the cake, and just as before, no one will ever know! I usually advocate for fresh vegetables whenever possible, but since we’re baking, I think using canned beets here is just fine (unless you’re up for boiling the beets, peeling them, and letting them cool, then more props to you!) But I figured since baking can be laborious, why not get some help from the store. Use this frosting recipe to frost the cake.
Ingredients:
- 2 fifteen ounce cans of sliced beets, washed well and drained
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 2 sticks unsalted organic butter, brought to room temperature
- 1 cup light muscavado sugar
- 4 eggs
- 3 cups 100% whole wheat pastry flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- Blend together beets, vanilla, cocoa, and vinegar until you get a smooth puree. Set aside.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Cream together butter and sugar for 4 to 5 minutes on medium speed on stand mixer. Slowly add in eggs and beat for another 3 to 4 minutes.
- Meanwhile sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Add in beet mixture to butter, eggs, and sugar. Beat for 30 seconds just to combine. Slowly add in flour in thirds on the lowest setting until all flour is just combined. Do not over-beat.
- Pour in cake batter into ~8.5 inch diameter sprayed cake pan (put a cookie sheet under cake pan) and bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean from center of cake. Let cook completely on cooling rack and then frost. Enjoy!
Traditional cake frostings can be loaded with refined sugar (powdered white sugar being very popular) and unnecessary amounts of butter. I’ve replaced some of the cream cheese and butter in this frosting with fat-free greek yogurt. Its rich and creamy texture acts as a perfect substitute for other richer frosting components. Also the tanginess it adds makes the flavor profile of the frosting more complex-more than just heavy richness. You can play around with this frosting as you’d like-for example, if you’d like to make a chocolate frosting add some melted chocolate and add more wheat roux for thickening.
Ingredients:
- 2 tablespoons unsalted organic butter
- 2 tablespoons 100% whole wheat all-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup turbinado raw sugar
- 1 eight ounce package of organic cream cheese
- 5.3 ounce container of fat-free plain greek yogurt
- 1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Directions:
- Heat butter in small pot. Whisk in flour. Whisk constantly for 2 minutes over medium low heat or until rawness of flour is gone.
- Add this roux to the raw sugar, cream cheese, yogurt, and vanilla extract. Whisk all together until smooth. Frost your cake and enjoy!
