Maritimer's Mint Chocolate Beet Cake

origamifreak's Note:

My sister-in-law got this recipe from my brother's postdoc advisor's wife in Edmonton in the 1970's. It is a very moist chocolate cake with a surprise ingredient - beets! I have tried it with orange extract instead of peppermint, and it came out fantastic. You can also leave out the peppermint altogether if you want just plain chocolate.

• Total Time: 55 mins
• Prep Time: 10 mins
• Cook Time: 45 mins

Ingredients:

Yield: 1 cake la ...

• 1 ½ cups sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup oil
• 20 ounces pureed beets , in their juice (approx. 1 1/2 12-oz cans)
• 1 ¾ cups flour
• 6 tablespoons baking cocoa
• 1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ¾ teaspoon peppermint extract

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (~176 degrees C).
2. Blend the sugar, eggs, and oil in a bowl.
3. Mix in the pureed beets. The original recipe called for draining the pureed beets. I think my oven might be hotter than it thinks it is, so I just leave the beet juice in, and it works out OK.
4. Fold in the dry ingredients.
5. Add the vanilla and peppermint flavors last.
6. Pour into a 9x9 inch pan (or 9 inch round plus a couple of cupcakes). (9in =~ 229cm).
7. Bake for 45 minutes or until a bamboo skewer comes out clean.
8. Let cool in the pan until almost room temperature.
9. This is a very moist cake, and it will fall apart if you rush this step.
10. Sprinkle with powdered sugar or ice with real homemade frosting, such as "Silky Vanilla Butter Frosting" (Silky Vanilla Butter Frosting).
11. Didn't know it freezes well; thanks for the tip, BrutalKiss!

Reviews

[Canwi]

Fantastic cake. My orange extract apparently is too old to have any flavour, but co-workers still devoured it like they were starved! ;-)

[tiffany k]

I have not had much success in baking with beets before, so I was quite wary when I first started. However, I had already started prep when I realized we did not have peppermint extract. The beet taste would probably come in too strong, so I randomly added some instant coffee and lemon zest, along with some chocolate chips. VERY nice. Thank you for sharing! :)

[WhiskingWings]

YUM! I subbed banana extract for the peppermint and drained the beets as previously suggested. Also cut the oil in half by using applesauce. Very tasty!