Anna's Impossibly Good Chocolate Beet Cake

Beets add moisture and an earthy hint to this chocolate cake. This recipe is for intermediate bakers, as it doesn’t involve fancy equipment but there is the extra step of cooking and pureeing the beets, plus baking in a water bath.

18 oz beets, roasted or boiled

4 eggs

1 Tbsp vanilla extract

2 Tbsp brandy (or substitute another Tbsp of vanilla)

2 ½ cup sugar

1 cup unsalted butter, melted & cooled

1 ⅓ cup all purpose flour

¾ cup dark cocoa powder

Pinch salt

4 tsp baking soda

¼ cup boiling water

Preheat oven to 375. Prepare a 10” round or 8” square cake pan by greasing and lining the bottom with parchment paper cut to fit, then set inside a larger baking vessel like a casserole/lasagna pan. Peel, chop and puree beets as smooth as you can in a blender or food processor (don’t worry if it’s not perfectly smooth, it will disappear into the cake soon). In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, vanilla and brandy, then gradually whisk in the sugar, followed by the butter. In a smaller bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa and salt, then gently whisk into the batter in three additions. Whisk in beet puree in two additions. Place baking soda in a small heatproof container and add the boiling water, stir to dissolve, then add to the batter and whisk in well. Pour batter into pan and smooth top. Place both pans into oven and pour up to an inch of hot water into the larger outer pan. Bake for 50-60 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted in the middle of the cake comes out with no streaks of batter on it. Remove both pans from oven and allow water to cool to warm, then remove cake pan to a rack to finish cooling. Once cake is cool, flip onto a plate and gently peel parchment off. Chill before frosting or glazing, or serve as is.