May 2011

Someone was turning 32!

Unfortunately, he was on a red eye on his birthday.

Fortunately, we celebrated the following day.

Unfortunately, the weather report called for a rapture.

Fortunately, we were not plucked from our seats at Burgatory and were able to return home to partake in birthday cake with a secret ingredient!

*Hint:  The birthday boy could eat pickles and borscht nearly everyday.  I wasn’t about to put pickles in a cake… not yet anyway.

Cake Ingredients

1 cup butter, softened, divided
1 cup organic evaporated cane juice sugar
½ cup packed dark brown sugar
3 large, free-range eggs, at room temp
4 oz. dark chocolate (Ghirardelli’s 60% cacao)
5 medium beets (2 cups pureed)
1 Tbs vanilla extract
2 cups whole-wheat pastry flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
confectioners’ sugar for dusting

Whipped Topping

3 cups local, heavy whipping cream
½ cup beet puree
1 Tablespoon pure vanilla extract
1 Tablespoon agave syrup

For The Beet Puree

Remove the stems and roots off the beets, peel and chop them into cubes.  Place the beet chunks in a heavy saucepan, and fill with water.

Bring to a boil, and then reduce to medium-high and simmer for about 30-40 minutes, until the beets are tender.

Set aside to cool while enjoying a motivational book and an iced latte in the sunshine.  Let’s say 40 minutes?

Drain off remaining liquid (but keep it because it’s useful for decorating the birthday cake flag).

Use a food processor to puree the beets until smooth.

For the Cake

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.  Oil a 9-inch, springform pan.

In a mixing bowl, cream 3/4 cup butter, cane juice sugar and brown sugar.

Add eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition.

Melt chocolate with remaining butter in a saucepan over medium-high heat.

Blend chocolate mixture, beets and vanilla into the creamed mixture.  The batter will turn a beautiful shade of beet red.

In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg.  Add the dry mixture to the creamed mixture, and combine well.

Pour into oiled pan.

Bake at 375 degrees F for 60-70 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean.

Cool in pan 15 minutes before removing to a wire rack.

Cool completely before forming tiers and icing.

For the Whipped Topping

Use a mixer to beat all the ingredients together until stiff peaks form.  Keep refrigerated until ready to use.