The BBG’s Chocolate Beet Cake

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My kids have been part of a wonderful summer class/camp at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden for the last five years (in my son’s case; this was my daughter’s third year).  Among other things they do there, the kids sometimes cook what they harvest.  My son brought home this recipe for chocolate beet cake a few years back and it’s become a summer staple in our home.  If all goes well, I’ll bring some down tonight to share (made with three beets just harvested from our garden and some more from our CSA share).

People have asked for the recipe, so I’ve copied it as I got it from the BBG below.  I always wind up changing something (I never seem to have dark brown sugar, so I use light brown, I’ve mixed in whole wheat flour, and I generally try to cut down on the butter and sugar), but  I figured I’d pass along the standard.

Update:  The slideshow above shows the chocolate beet cake (in this version, I substituted cocoa power for the semisweet squares, per the directions on the back of the Hershey’s cocoa box) and a little of the fun we have at our weekly summer pizza nights!

Update #2:  Thanks to our own Fred Dexheimer, master sommelier (!), we had a lovely port to pair with the chocolate beet cake.  That certainly makes for a lovely evening.  Thanks, Fred!

Ingredients

• 1 cup butter or margarine, softened, divided
• 1.5 cups packed dark brown sugar
• 3 eggs
• 4 (1-ounce) squares semisweet chocolate
• 2-3 cups cooked beets
• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 2 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt

Directions

In a mixing bowl, cream 3/4 cup butter and brown sugar. Add eggs, mix well. Melt chocolate with remaining butter; stir until smooth.  Cool slightly.

Blend chocolate mixture, beets, and vanilla into the creamed mixture.

Combine flour, baking soda and salt; add to the creamed mixture and mix well. our into a greased and floured pan.

Bake at 375 degrees for 45-55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean.  Cool in a pan 10 minutes before removing to a wire rack.  Cool completely.  Share and enjoy!