Whiteley Creek Homestead

Upon watching this beet cake video created by Matt and Julie, husband and wife duo via their Tiger in a Jar venture where they "document life through film and pictures," the simple act of  measuring flour or cracking an egg will never be the same. Artistic expression. It's a beautiful thing. 

beet cake from tiger in a jar on Vimeo. The song is "Babe" by Evenings.

The cake is deeeeeliciously light and moist with a chocolate flavor and an ever-so-slight hint of beet… only because you know they're in there. The batter rises nicely and doesn't fall in the middle post baking.

The cake's two main ingredients are beets and melted chocolate. Although the batter is red from the beets, after baking it magically turns a deep dark brown. I sprinkled the top with hazelnuts instead of powdered sugar. 

Here's the original version of the tiger in a jar beet cake:

Here's my reduced fat and sugar tweaked version:

2 cups pureed beets (The 4 beets shown in the photo above produced just the right amount.)

4 ounces semisweet chocolate (I used 1 3.5 oz bar Green & Black's Organic Dark Chocolate 70% Cocoa Content.)

2 cups flour (I used whole wheat pastry flour, but experimentation with alternate flours will produce alternately happy results.)

2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1 cup butter (I used 1/2 cup homemade butter + 1/2 cup homemade raw applesauce.)

1 1/2 cups dark brown sugar (I reduced it to 1 cup which I found to be perfect. The beets add their own natural sweetness.)

3 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

powdered sugar for dusting the cake's top (Instead, I used thinly sliced hazelnuts. Beets are earthy. Hazelnuts are earthy. A perfect pair. It also adds a wonderful crunch.)

Steam beets or simmer in a little bit ofwater until fork tender. Cool, then purée in a food processor or blender with the leftover simmering liquid. Melt chocolate in a bowl set into a larger bowl of
hot water. Whisk dry ingredients together. In a separate bowl, cream butter and brown sugar. Mix in applesauce, eggs, and vanilla then add pureed beets and melted chocolate. Pour batter into a 9-inch round springform pan. Bake at 375° for 40 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Sprinkle cooled cake with powdered sugar or hazelnuts.