Beetroot Cocoa Cake

Give your chocolate cake a twist by adding beetroot and it is sure to surprise your palate. This incredibly luscious Beetroot Cocoa Cake can win hearts at the very first bite. Topped with mascarpone frosting, and some gingerbread cookies, I turned my table into a winter wonderland.

Beetroot Cocoa Cake

While beetroot can be an acquired taste, it’s not the same case with the cake. The combination of cocoa powder with grated beetroot gives a sweet chocolate taste.

I added vegetable oil instead of butter and the texture turned out spongy with delicate crumbs. We absolutely loved the cake!

You can even use the same batter to prepare cupcakes. 

Ingredients for the Cake batter

• Egg
• White Sugar 
• Vegetable Oil
• Yogurt
• Lemon Juice
• Beetroots
• Flour
• Baking Powder and Baking Soda
• Salt
• Cocoa Powder 
• Hot water 

TIP: Everytime you add cocoa powder to a cake batter, add a little amount of hot water to the batter. It keep the texture of the cake moist and soft. 

Baking the cake without Eggs

If you want to avoid eggs, then replace it with some apple sauce or more yogurt to the batter to get the right consistency. 

EASY One Bowl Beetroot Cake

Several years back, I learnt a basic cake batter ratio from my Mom and I have been following that for most of my cake recipes you see here.

I baked my first beetroot cake about 5 years back. I followed my Mom’s basic cake recipe and added some beetroot plus cocoa to it. After impatiently waiting for 40 minutes, the cake not only turned out moist and so delicious.

KEY NOTE is not to boil or roast the beetroot. Add grated raw beetroots. 

The recipe is super easy and one bowl is all you need to mix everything.

I am more of a no-frosting-cake kind of person. I love tea cakes and this particular beetroot cake calls for no frosting. Tastes amazing just on it’s own.

But my son considers cake without frosting plain boring sweet bread. Oh well! So I made a simple mascarpone vanilla frosting which was not overly sweet.

Because it’s Christmas season, I have to create my winter wonderland. 

MORE CAKE RECIPES 

Beetroot Cocoa Cake

Yield: 8 inch rounds cake

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 40 minutes

Total Time: 50 minutes

Give your chocolate cake a twist by adding beetroot and it is sure to surprise your palate. This incredibly luscious Beetroot Cocoa Cake can win hearts at the very first bite. Topped with mascarpone frosting, and some gingerbread cookies, I turned my table into a winter wonderland.

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Ingredients

For the cake

• 2 eggs
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• ¾ cup olive oil
• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 3 tablespoons 100% unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• pinch of salt
• 2 cups finely grated red beetroots
• ¼ cup greek yogurt
• 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
• ¼ cup hot water

For the frosting

• 8 oz mascarpone cheese
• ½ cup heavy whipping cream
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350F. Grease an 8-inch round baking pan or a rectangular size pan with oil and dust with flour. Keep it aside to be used later.
2. Take a mixing bowl and crack the eggs into it. Add sugar and give it a whisk until it all combines to a smooth consistency. Add oil and give it another whisk to mix everything.
3. Take a separate mixing bowl and whisk all the dry ingredients; the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
4. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients bowl and whisk. Then, add the grated beetroot, yogurt, lemon juice and hot water. Give it another whisk to mix everything together to a smooth batter.
5. Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan. Place the pan on the middle rack of the pre-heated oven. Bake it for 35 to 40 minutes. Poke with a toothpick and if it comes out clean, the cake is done. Else, put it back into the oven for a couple of more minutes. Allow the cake to cool for 15 minutes. Then, release the sides with butter knife, invert the cake on a cooling wire and let it cool completely.
6. When the cake it completely cooled, prepare the frosting for the cake. Add all the ingredients to a clean dry bowl and whisk until it comes together to form a thick spreadable consistency.
7. You could layer the cake and frosting. Or you could just spread it on top.

Notes

The flavor of the cake might be different depending on the cocoa powder you are using.