Naturally dyed Beet Velvet Cake for Two is perfectly sized to share with someone special in your life or just when you feel like a slice of cake for yourself!
Can we all agree that it’s not really Valentine’s Day without a little something sweet?
A box of chocolate, a cupcake, a cookie, a scoop of ice cream, or something red velvet. Whatever you fancy you should go ahead and treat yourself with or without a partner to share it with.
It’s love day and we are going to give ourselves a little extra love with this lovely little naturally colored beet velvet cake for two today.
I see the wheels in your head turning around and thinking beet cake? You want me to eat a cake with vegetables in it and out of all the vegetables it’s BEETS?
I’m not totally off my rocker yet, there are beets in this cake but only the powdered kind and you can’t even taste it. It’s there for color and sadly not in the bright red – replace all that red food dye you need in red velvet cake I wanted it to be way. However pinkish-brown velvet cake doesn’t sound very appetizing does it? If you aren’t familiar with beetroot powder it’s simply made from dried beets and perfect for beet lovers and haters alike. You get the health benefits of beets without actually tasting it in your food and in this case acting like a natural food color.
Unfortunately you can’t really get away with saying you can have your cake and vegetables too in this one.
A few bakers notes before you begin:
- This cake needs to be more acidic than your regular red velvet cake for at least some of the color to take. Make sure you are using natural cocoa powder and don’t skimp on the amount of vinegar or the buttermilk in the recipe.
- The cake calls for 2 4×2 inch cake pans and the baking time is correct at 30-35 minutes. It’s a thick batter and if removed sooner from the oven it will be raw in the the center. You can also bake this into one 8×2 inch layer cake. Please adjust baking time accordingly.
- This cake will dome, trim to a flat surface and use the excess to make cake truffles or decorate the outside of the cake.
- I’ve gone ahead and used a classic cream cheese frosting but mascarpone or goat cheese would also work beautifully with the cake as well.
- Due to the type of frosting this cake should be stored in the refrigerator but is best served at room temperature. Leave on the counter about 30-45 minutes before serving.
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Ingredients
- 1 1/4 cup all purpose flour
- 1/2 tablespoons cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 tablespoon beetroot powder
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 1 large egg, room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup buttermilk
- 1 1/2 teaspoons distilled white vinegar
- 4 ounces cream cheese, softened
- 4 ounces (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, softened
- 2 cups confectioners sugar
- 1-2 tablespoons heavy cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Heat your oven to 350 degrees and grease and flour two 4x2 inch cake pans.
- Sift the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, salt and beetroot powder into a large bowl and then whisk in the sugar.
- Make a well in the center and pour in the vegetable oil, egg, vanilla extract, buttermilk and vinegar. Mix well to combine until there are no dry spots.
- Using a kitchen scale divide the batter evenly between the two cake pans and bake for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center is no longer wet with batter and the sides start to pull away from the pan.
- Let cool on a rack for about 10-15 minutes before removing from the pan to finish cooling.
- Using a serrated knife cut the top to make an even flat layer on each cake.
- In your stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment cream the cream cheese and butter for about 1 minute and then add the confectioners sugar, vanilla and heavy cream and whip on high about 4-5 minutes until the frosting is light and airy.
- Spread a layer of frosting on the first layer, add the top layer and then a crumb coat around the tops and sides. If desired place in the refrigerator for about 10-15 minutes to set. Remove from the refrigerator and finish frosting the sides and tops. Use a bench scrape to smooth out the sides. Place extra frosting in a pipping bag fitted with a tip of your choice and pipe decorations on the top layer.
- Use cake crumbs to decorate the bottom part of the cake.
- Cake should be store in the refrigerator and brought to room temperature before serving.
