Chocolate Beet Cake with Maple Cashew Frosting (Vegan)

You know when you have a lot left over from your farm share, you're due to pick up the next one, and you have a chocolate craving?

What?  It happens to me all the time.

This is what came out of that last combination of circumstances night.  I was not intending to turn this into a blog post, and so I apologize for the paltry poor quality photos.  With modifications, the recipe for the cake recipe was drawn from one on  Yummly, the frosting from a recipe on Nouveau Raw.


Cake:

3-5 small beets (enough to make about 1-1/2 cups when cooked down)

water to cover beets for boilingunsweetened applesauce (if necessary, to fill in for the beets)1/2 cup soy milk (or other nondairy milk), unsweetened
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
1/4-1/2 cup agave syrup (or other liquid sugar) to taste (I used only 1/4 in my first try, but I'd add a bit more next time)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1-1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour1/2 cup cocoa powder (I used raw cacao powder)2 tsp baking powder
12 tsp salt

Add apple cider vinegar to soy milk, stir, and set aside.

Wash and dice beets, place them a small saucepan, and add just enough water to cover.  Boil them down, covered if possible, until translucent, adding water as necessary.  There should be a little bit of water left when you remove the beets from heat.  With an immersion blender, small food-processor, or blender, mash the beets until they are the consistency of applesauce.  Put the mashed beets in a measuring cup and allow to cool (or speed up the process with an ice cube or two.)  If you have less than 1-1/2 cup, add unsweetened applesauce to make up the difference.

Add vinegar-soy milk mixture, agave syrup, and vanilla extract and stir well.  Mix the dry ingredients (flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, salt) separately and then mix the wet and dry ingredients until wet.  Avoid overmixing.

Add to your pans of choice.  I used 2 8-inch rounds and baked for 25 minutes at 350 F.

Frosting:

I'l admit here that I did not measure a thing, and so you might want to follow Nouveau Raw's proportions - or better yet, try it as you go.  You never know what your cashews will taste like, or your maple syrup or vanilla, for that matter.  Nature doesn't follow our rules.

1-2 cups raw cashews, soaked for at least 3 hours (I rushed it this time, and the blending was a PAIN)
2 Tbsp-1/4 cup almond milk (I used unsweetened)
2 Tbsp-1/3 cup maple syrup
1-2 tsp vanilla extract

Add all ingredients to blender, and blend until as smooth as possible.  This is a very thick substance for most blenders; if the blades are not moving, stop the blender and move things around a bit with a kitchen tool.  If that doesn't work, add a little liquid (almond milk, maple syrup) until you can get it moving again.  I found that if I left the top off and very gently coaxed the cashew mixture  from the sides, as if I was petting the top of the mixture with a silicone spatula , towards the center (without dipping down or coming anywhere near the blades), it got things going.

Add the milk and syrup gradually, trying to keep the frosting as thick as possible (less almond milk) and only as sweet as necessary (less maple syrup).  Keep tasting it (aw, darn!) - turning off the blender and using a spatula - until it reaches the consistency and taste you want.  Remember that the cake, as per my recipe, is not very sweet, and so if you want a sweeter final product, add more syrup.  Also, pay attention to what kind of almond milk you have.  I used unsweetened, but if you're using sweetened, you'll need less maple syrup.

Short break for a PSA: When using a blender, never stick your hand anywhere near the blade and don't ever ever put your hand in there while it's plugged in.  Please, people, Goonies still haunts my dreams.  Thank you.

Once you let the cakes cook on wire racks, you can frost them like any layer cake with the cashew frosting. It turned out better the next day, after everything soaked into everything else a bit.



Nutrition per slice (assuming 12 slices):  160 calories, 21g carbs, 7g fat, 4g protein, 2g fiber, 13g sugar

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