Beet Cakes

Beets? In a cake? It's another crazy recipe from Richardo! Remember the Lettuce Soup? Yea... that was him too!

I love beets and I love baked goods. Seemed like a no-brainer to try this recipe out. One online reviewer raved "you would never guess it contains beets!" There is a very faint earthy taste of beets, but it isn't unpleasant. The vibrant pink colour is a nice touch too. Even my mom, who HATES beets, enjoyed her beet cake! These cakes are sweet and buttery with a hint of lemon. Served slightly warm, they are so moist that you don't need any added icing or other topping, although Ricardo's Mascarpone Cream looks delicious! I will be making these again for sure. Next time I may try an un-refined alternative to all the white sugar though.

A side note - my cakes didn't rise too much. Actually they didn't rise at all! I think I need some new baking powder.

Adapted from Ricardo & Friends

Beet Cakes:

1 cup peeled, grated raw beets
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1 tsp aluminum-free baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
2 eggs
1 cup unrefined cane sugar
zest of 1 lemon
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup toasted slivered almonds (optional)

1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees and lightly grease a 12 cup muffin tin.

2. In a saucepan over medium heat, soften grated beets in butter and lemon juice, for about 5 minutes. Let cool so no longer hot to the touch.

3. In a small bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and salt.

4. In another larger bowl, beat the eggs, sugar, lemon zest and vanilla with an electric mixer for about 2 minutes. Add in the dry ingredients and mix together then gently fold in the beet mixture. Do not over mix!

5. Divide the batter among the muffin cups. Sprinkle with the slivered almonds.

6. Bake in pre-heated oven for between 20 minutes or, until a toothpick inserted in the centre of a cake comes out clean.

7. Loosen the cakes by running a knife around the inside of each muffin cup. Gently remove the cakes, without inverting the pan, and place on a cooling rack to cool slightly (I found them better slightly warm). If serving with ice cream or Ricardo's Mascarpone Cream, let cool completely before topping with the cream.