Beet Bundt Cake

The beets were so pretty pureed, I had to take a picture

I did it! I made a cake with beets! Since it wasn't very difficult, I think I am more proud of the fact that I actually did it after talking about it for weeks. First the beets had to be harvested from the garden, washed, cooked, peeled and pureed. Baking the cake was the easy part. Yeah for baby and toddler nap time!
We were very impressed with how moist the cake was. You can definitely taste the beets, but we like beets, so that was fine with us.

The finished product. I am not a food photographer, apparently

Here is the recipe I used - I got it from allrecipes.com and then, of course, in true Anna fashion, made some of my own alterations. Maybe some day I'll follow a recipe exactly. I usually have to allow extra time for using fresh produce instead of canned. That definitely extended the 15 minute prep time. When you have a choice, though, fresh is so worth it!

BEET BUNDT CAKE

1 cup butter softened, divided
1 1/2 cups packed dark brown sugar
3 eggs
4 (1 ounce) squares semisweet chocolate
2 cups pureed cooked beets. (I used 5 medium sized beets and had just a little left over)
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
confectioners' sugar
 
In a mixing bowl, cream 3/4 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. Pour into a greased and floured 10" fluted tube pan. Bake at 375 degrees F for 45-55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near center comes out clean. Cool in pan 10 minutes before removing to wire rack. Cool completely. Before serving, dust with confectioners' sugar.

Julia loved the left over beets. Now I know were the original idea for lipstick came from.