This Sugar Beet Cake recipe is a moist, earthy, naturally sweet, colorful cake that is a front-runner to carrot, pumpkin and zucchini!
Sugar Beets
So many strange and unexpected places we obtain sugar from.
Having lived in Brazil for a spell, the sugar cane fields were just as vast there as the corn fields are here in America.
Funny thing is, if most people were handed a sugar cane and told to go make a cake with it, they wouldn’t have a clue how to get that woody ole stick to give them the sugar they are familiar with in the grocery store.
Beets are much the same, only easier.
Baking A Cake With Beets
When the beets are steamed inside their skin, the most amount of sweetness is retained instead of losing the beet juices in boiled water.
Wrap the beets, still in their skin, in parchment paper or foil, place on a baking sheet and bake for about 30 minutes, depending on how large they are, leave them to cool completely in the wrapping, then rub or peel the skin off.
The juices will have been retained inside, which is where all the flavor is; also good to reserve as a natural dye in cooking.
Beet Red
Yes, beets are a beautiful bright red, or magenta in color and can easily stain your hands which means you might want to use gloves.
They also are great for dying eggs or fabric.
If you don’t want to fuss with the red stain on your hands, try golden beets, which are as vibrant a golden yellow as turmeric and a little easier to deal with getting the stain off your hands
However, of course, you won’t get this gorgeous pink cake!
Beets For Your Health
While living in Brazil, nearly every corner in small towns and huge cities had kiosks for healthy smoothies long before America discovered the smoothie craze.
Brazil is so rich in tropical fruits and power food veggies that a smoothie there made our sugary smoothies here in America, look pitiful.
Healthy Cake Recipe
While I really just wanted to share with you my delicious ‘pink’ beet cake recipe, I can’t ignore the incredible health benefits of beets.
Beets are considered a ‘superfood’ because they are power packed with many minerals and plant compounds.
These health properties are believed to lower blood pressure and add energy to our cells. What a fabulous dichotomy to most cake recipes!
Sugar Beet Cake Recipe Is Simply ‘Pretty’
Why on earth did I make a cake with beets?
Do you like carrot cake? Of course you do! Do you like zucchini bread? Absolutely!
How about pumpkin cake, pie or cookies? Yep!
Well, beets are way sweeter than any of those vegetables, particularly pumpkin, which has little to no flavor all by its lonesome.
Let’s Make My Sugar Beet Cake Recipe!
I added beet puree into the cake batter just as I would carrots, except I steamed the beets first to soften them, making them easier to mash into the cake batter.
I also used some of the juice that extracted from the beets when I peeled and sliced them, in the icing, making for a lovely pink icing.
Try to get past thinking of beets in your cake as weird, and look to them as another fabulous ingredient to add to your baking repertoire.
Together, let’s bring a splash of color to our baked goods, and then tell our guests ‘after’ what’s in them!
Ingredients Needed
- Sugar Beets or dark red beetroots, peeled and shredded.
- Unsalted butter, melted and cooled, or a light vegetable oil, such as sunflower oil.
- Sugar – raw sugar or brown sugar.
- Eggs – set out to become room temperature.
- Flour – good quality unbleached flour.
- Baking powder and baking soda
- Salt
- Cardamom
- Rosewater adds a lovely floral flavor however vanilla extract is nice too.
- Confectioners sugar to be used in the icing.
- Vodka for an boozie cake icing otherwise milk.
Equipment Needed
- Individual springform pans or 1 large removable bottom pan. For several guests, I love to serve individual size portions for dessert, so these springform pans are my favorite.
- Stand-up mixer – this beauty has been in my kitchen for years and is absolutely a work horse.
- Food processor
- Measuring cup and measuring spoons
- Vegetable peeler
- Non-stick spray
- Cutting board
- Chopping knife
- Sauce pan – to boil the beets
- Stovetop or burner
- Oven
If You Like A Sugar Beet Cake You’re Sure To Like Beet Ice Cream!
Sugar Beet Cake Recipe
Equipment
- 1 Large springform pan, or 6 individual size springform pan.
Ingredients
- Beet Cake
- 2 cups Beet puree cooked
- 1 cup Butter melted and cooled
- 3/4 cup Sugar
- 4 Eggs
- 2 1/2 cups Flour
- 2 tsp Baking powder
- 1/2 tsp Baking soda
- 1/2 tsp Salt
- 1/2 tsp Cardamom (optional)
- 1/2 tsp Rose water or Orange blossom (optional)
- Beet Icing
- 1/2 cup Butter softened
- 2 cups Powdered sugar
- 1 tbsp Beet juice saved from the cooked beets
- 1-3 tbsp Vodka as needed for icing consistency (or substitute with milk)
Instructions
- Cake
- Preheat oven to 350. Brush (or spray) oil on the baking pan or individual pans.
- In a large bowl, add sugar and whisk in one egg at a time until lighter in color. Whisk in the butter. Fold in the pureed cooked beets and add rose or orange water, if using.
- In a separate bowl, mix the dry ingredients together. Slowly stir the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and mix.
- Place batter in the prepared pan (or pans, if using muffin tins), 2/3 the way up the pan.
- Bake until tester comes out clean, about 30 minutes depending on the size of the pan.
- Allow to cool completely while mixing the beet icing.
- Icing
- Whip the butter, powdered sugar and beet juice until light and fluffy. Spread onto the cooled cake. Garnish as desires: gold sugar or flower petals.
Video
Notes
- While the icing alone is so pretty, added garnish can be done right after spreading the icing, while it is still soft. I used gold decorative sugar, but dried rose petals would be lovely too.
- An added treat is to use a dark chocolate filling between two layers.
I believe the table... that place that draws people to gather, is the most powerful symbol of togetherness. All that happens before the table is set, the planning, the gathering, the preparing, are all an intricate part of the dance that create the mood of celebration to share with friends and loved ones.