Chocolate Beet Cake

Beet cake? Seriously, you ask? Yep. you won't taste the pureed beets, but hey make this cake extra moist and fudgy, even with the addition of the whole-grain spelt flour. The beets also play up the cake's full-bodied, not-too-sweet flavor. But when you add the chocolate ganache, oooh man. Heaven! 
Adapted from Martha Stewart's Beet Cake Recipe

Ingredients: 
 

Chocolate Ganache Frosting

• 3 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
• 1/2 cup heavy cream

Cake

• 4 medium beets (1 1/2 pounds), peeled, and cut into 2-inch chunks
• 1/4 cup safflower oil, plus more for pan
• 1 cup spelt flour
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cups natural cane sugar
• 1/2 cup raw cacao powder
• 1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 3/4 tsp. coarse salt
• 2 large eggs, room temperature
• 3/4 cup warm water
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract

Directions: 

For the chocolate ganache frosting: 

1. Put chocolate in a bowl. In a small saucepan, heat cream until just simmering. Pour cream over chocolate and let stand 10 minutes; then stir until smooth. Let stand, stirring occasionally, until thickened and spreadable, about 1 hour. 

For the cake: 

1. Place beets in a steamer basket set in a saucepan filled with 2 inches of simmering water. Cover and steam until beets are tender when pierced with a sharp knife, about 25 minutes. Let cool slightly, then puree in a food processor until smooth. 
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Oil a 9 inch square or round cake pan. (I have used both pans and either works just great! I have even baked 2 cakes in one night and made one in a springform pan and one in a square 9X9. Both baked equally well, and tasted just as delicious!). Line bottom with parchment. 
3. In a large bowl, whisk together both flours, sugar, cacao powder, baking soda, and salt.
4. Whisk in eggs, water, oil, vanilla, and 1 1/4 cups beet puree (reserve remaining puree for another use). 
5. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake, rotating pan halfway through, until cake is set and a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean, about 35 minutes (depending on your oven). 
6. Transfer pan to a wire rack and let cake cook 20 minutes. Invert cake onto rack and let cool completely. 
7. Place cake on a cake plate and spread evenly with choclate ganache. (Cake can be kept, covered, up to 2 days.)

Coach Note: If you want to save yourself a little time and you don't want to steam the beets yourself, you can pick up some Love Beets at your nearest grocery store. You can also substitute the flours with GF all-purpose flour if you like as well.