Chocolate Beet Cake with Chocolate Sour Cream Frosting

Thankfully my fiance is an adventurous eater so when we were discussing what kind of cake he should have for his birthday (well actually he got 2 cakes), one of the ones that came up was a chocolate beet cake. Which I've wanted to make forever! And I really fell in love with this cake. Maybe it's because I adore beets and just knowing that they're in there with the chocolate makes me love it. The cake was really moist but not too chocolatey, as there's only 3 ounces of chocolate on it - next time I'd add more or try adding cocoa powder. And lots of people, including myself, couldn't taste the beets but my fiance slightly could. The only bad thing about this cake was that it didn't keep very well - it seemed to lose its moisture quickly. But if it didn't have icing on it and could be kept at room temperature, I don't think that would've been a problem.

So once the chocolate beet cake was decided - next I had to find a yummy chocolate frosting to match! I ended up going with a chocolate sour cream frosting. I've never had a sour cream frosting before and was really intrigued. I ended up loooooving this frosting, and can't wait to try out more sour cream frostings. The only bad thing about this one is that it hardens when it's in the fridge (though I guess they all would if they have chocolate in it) - so make sure your cake is ready to frost when you start making your frosting. And if you want the icing to be soft, take it out of the fridge maybe an hour beforehand to let it warm up a bit before serving.

If this sounds good, you might also like:
Black-Bottom Cupcakes
Chocolate Mousse Layer Cake
Sour Cream Chocolate Cake with Peanut Butter Frosting and Chocolate Peanut Butter Glaze
German Chocolate Cake

Chocolate Beet Cake with Chocolate Sour Cream Frosting
Adapted from Straight from the Farm and Caprial's Desserts

Chocolate Beet Cake
Adapted from Straight from the Farm

1 cup unsalted butter, softened, divided (into 3/4 cup and 1/4 cup)
1 1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
3 eggs at room temp
3 oz dark chocolate (I'd add more next time)
4-5 medium beets (2 cup pureed)
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt

To make beet puree, trim stems and roots off beets and quarter them. Place in heavy sauce pan filled with water. Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer for 50 mins or until the beets are tender. Drain off remaining liquid and rinse beets in cold water as they’ll be too hot to handle otherwise. Slide skins off and place beets in blender. Process until a smooth puree forms. Let cool slightly before using in cake. You can make the puree ahead of time and store it in the fridge.

In a mixing bowl, cream 3/4 cup butter and brown sugar. Add eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Melt chocolate with remaining butter in the microwave on high in 20 second intervals, stirring each time until smooth. Cool slightly. Blend chocolate mixture, beets and vanilla into the creamed mixture. The batter will appear separated so don’t fret.

Combine flour, baking soda, and salt; add to the creamed mixture and mix well. Divide batter into two greased and floured 8" round cake pans. Bake at 375F for 25-30 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 assembling cake.

Chocolate Sour Cream Frosting
Adapted from Caprial's Desserts

The recipe says this makes enough to fill and frost one 9 inch layer cake, and I did an 8 inch layer cake which isn't hugely different - yet was left with TONS of leftover icing (about 4 cups). So I'd recommend making about 2/3 of this or having an idea of what you want to do with the leftovers!

10 ounces unsweetened chocolate
1 pound cold unsalted butter, diced
3 1/2 cups powdered sugar, sifted (I'd use less next time, maybe 2 1/2-3 cups)
pinch of salt
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 cup sour cream

Place the chocolate in a metal bowl over a pan of simmering water. Once the chocolate has melted about halfway, remove the pan from the heat (leave the bowl in the pan) and let the chocolate finish melting. Meanwhile, place the butter in the bowl of a mixer with the paddle attachment and beat until very light and fluffy, scraping down the sides of the bowl often, about 5 minutes. With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the melted chocolate, and then stop the mixer and scrape down the bowl. Add the powdered sugar, very carefully turn the mixer back on at low speed (so you don't get covered in powdered sugar), and mix, again scraping down the sides of the bowl often, until smooth. Add the sale, vanilla and sour cream and mix until the frosting is very smooth.

Beet Raita

I always love eating raita when I go out for Indian food, and am scared of making it at home because I so badly want it to taste good so I don't want to screw up. But then I came across this beet raita and thought it sounded interesting and different, plus I love beets. (Beets are actually one of my favourite foods. I don't post about them often because I love eating them just roasted and plain.) Thus my first adventure with raita began! It's interesting because it's so full of chunky stuff - beets, potatoes and green onions. I'm used to raita being more like a dip/sauce and quite smooth. Anyway it was yummy and I'd make it again to eat with Indian food - it's always nice to have something cooling. If you have a good plain raita recipe, I'd love for you to share it with me!

My fiancé couldn't find Abby one morning, then finally found her hiding on his dresser behind clothes. So cute!

If this sounds good, you might also like:
Sesame Beets
Beet, Barley and Black Bean Soup
Indian Stir Fried Cabbage
Pink Beans with a Cardamom-Yogurt Sauce

Beet Raita
Adapted from The Essential Vegetarian Cookbook

Makes about 3 cups

2 medium beets
1 medium waxy potato, peeled, such as Yukon Gold (I would omit this next time)
1 1/2 cups plain yogurt (I used 2%)
2 green onions, minced
1/2 clove garlic, grated
2 tsp dried dill
1 tbsp fresh cilantro, minced
1/2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Heat the oven to 425F.

Wrap the unpeeled beets in foil. Bake the beets until tender, about 50 minutes, depending on size. Unwrap and slip off the peel.

Meanwhile, fill a medium saucepan with enough water to cover the potato. Bring to a boil over high heat, add the potato, cover, and lower the heat to medium. Boil the potato until tender, about 10 minutes. Drain.

In a mixing bowl, combine the yogurt, green onions, garlic, dill, cilantro, lemon juice, beets and potato. Season with salt and pepper. Cover and refrigerate until thoroughly chilled through, about 1 hour. Serve cold.

Sesame Beets

I love beets. I could eat a bowl of beets everyday. I prefer them boiled to roasted but I like them either way. It seems as though my love for beets is causing me to rhyme. So, moving on! Beets are delicious. Really nothing not to love about them. I know I don't post recipes with beets that often but we do eat them fairly often. I usually just roast them with other vegetables or simple boil them and slice them up.

Here's Abby with a salad I made with these beets. (The salad had mixed greens, tofu, raw chayote and beets.)

This is a really simple recipe to dress up beets a bit. Nothing too crazy, but it's a nice change, and you can do what I did and add them to a salad. The natural beet juice and light sesame dressing can take the place of your regular dressing. Though I've started to eat my salad without dressing anyway. At first it was hard but you get used to it. Just like eating raw vegetables without dip. One thing I haven't done with beets yet is bake with them. I really want to try these double dark chocolate beet muffins. Oh and I forgot about these beet & carrot latkes, yum! Ooo and this maple-roasted pear salad (with beet dressing!) and this beet pesto. Wow I didn't realize I had all these beet recipes saved - I must get busy with beets!

If this sounds good, you might also like:
Beet, Barley & Black Bean Soup
Asian Beet and Tofu Salad
Caribbean Roasted Vegetables
Maple Mustard Glazed Potatoes and String Beans

Sesame Beets
Adapted from Moosewood Restaurant Low-Fat Favorites

The dressing isn't too strong so next time I might add more lemon or vinegar.

1 pound beets
2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
2 tsp cider vinegar
1 tbsp sesame seeds
1 green onion, minced
1 tsp sugar
salt and ground black pepper to taste

Trim the leaf stems of the beets to about an inch (if your beets come with leaves, save the leaves for cooking), scrub the beets, and place them in a pot with water to cover. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat, cover, and simmer for about 30 to 40 minutes, until tender and easily pierced with a sharp knife. Drain and rinse with cold water until cool enough to handle. Remove and discard the skins, which should slip off easily, and slice the beets into a bowl. Toss with the lemon juice, vinegar, sesame seeds, green onions, and sugar. Add salt and pepper to taste. Chill thoroughly for about 30 minutes and serve.

Caribbean Roasted Vegetables

I know it's pretty shocking that I'm not posting a baked good. Sometimes I think about just changing my blog to only baking but there are some really yummy (and sometimes healthy) meals/dips/etc that I find and I want to share those too. Like this one. Practically every weekday for the last year, I took raw vegetables to work or school to eat as a snack. It took me a while but yes I got sick of them. This is what I've replaced them with. Roasted deliciousness. Usually I do sweet potatoes, carrots, rutabaga, beets and butternut squash. I've also used celery root (which I've always wanted to try) and yea maybe I just don't know how to cook it but that did not taste very good. I've tried a couple of different dressings (and done it with just a bit of oil too) but this one is the best so far. I was skeptical of the cinnamon and cloves but the dressing tastes so yummy.

When choosing vegetables for roasting, choose ones that are more sturdy. Broccoli and eggplant are definitely not sturdy (I tried those knowing what would happen but did it anyway). I've been roasting vegetables every week for the last month or so and have determined that I like to cook them at a lower temperature for a really long time (up to 3 hours if the pieces are a bit on the big side). It's really important that you cut the vegetables approximately all the same size (seems obvious but I'm usually not too concerned about this). We cook up a big batch on the weekend then eat it randomly throughout the week, with lunch or dinner.

This recipe comes from my new favourite cookbook, Moosewood Restaurant Low-Fat Favorites. Not every recipe I've tried has been awesome but there have been some good ones. The reason I love it is because they're vegetarian (aside from the chapter on fish - what's with that), healthy and relatively easy and quick to make.

If this sounds good, you might also like:
Balkan Roasted Vegetable Salad
Portabello Fettuccine with Spinach Pesto, Roasted Peppers & Romano Cheese

Caribbean Roasted Vegetables
Adapted from Moosewood Restaurant Low-Fat Favorites

12-15 cups of chopped vegetables (could be a butternut squash, a sweet potato, a few beets, a few carrots, and a rutabaga)

Dressing:
3 tbsp soy sauce
1/2 tbsp canola oil
2 tbsp red wine vinegar
1 tbsp packed brown sugar
1 small onion, coarsely chopped
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
2 tsp grated fresh ginger
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 jalapeno pepper, seeds removed and minced

Puree the dressing ingredients in a food processor.

Prepare the vegetables and two baking sheets. Preheat the oven to 350F. Mix the vegetables with the dressing in a large bowl or pot. Spread them out evenly on the baking sheets. Bake for about 2 hours or longer, depending on how roasted you want them to be. Flip the vegetables a few times (definitely check them at the 1 hour mark to make sure they're doing okay) and if you want move the sheets as well in the oven.

Beet, Barley & Black Bean Soup

I've missed a couple of months for the No Croutons Required event, but I'm back with a delicious soup! The theme this month is soups or salads featuring legumes. When I make soup, I like having a good variety of vegetables, a grain (like barley), and protein (beans usually). I was very anti-bean before but since I started to try and eat healthier and take better care of myself, I've been slowly accepting them and trying to incorporate them into my diet frequently. Soups are a great way to do that! And what bean is more accessible than the black bean (in my mind anyway).

Well since I love beets, and this soup is a meal in itself, you can guess that I loved it. I've never used tarragon in my cooking at home, and have only had it a few times when out. I like it but it's something different to get used to. I think this soup could benefit from a variety of herbs, and it actually calls for 1/2 cup of fresh dill. Which is a lot of dill, even though I love dill - so I put that as optional in the recipe.

I thought I'd have more time to update my blog now that school is finished but it turns out I've found many other things (including work) to fill up all my time! Currently I'm looking for an apartment and obsessing over places. I hope the place we find has a relatively decent size kitchen with some counter space! I can't wait to try out my grandma's convection oven for baking (which is currently in storage but will be taken out when I move).

Other soups I've made:
Choklay's Tibetan Lentil Soup
Baked Bean Soup
Corn Chowder
Sweet Potato and Black Bean Chili

Beet, Barley & Black Bean Soup
Adapted from Vegan with a Vengeance

1 tsp olive oil
1 large onion, finely chopped (about 2 cups)
5 cloves garlic
2 tsp dried tarragon
Black pepper
8 cups water
4 medium-size beets, cut in half & half again, sliced 1/4 inch thick
3/4 cup pot barley
2 tbsp soy sauce
15 oz can black beans, rinsed and drained (about 2 cups)
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
Dill (optional)

In a stockpot over medium heat, saute the onion in the olive oil for 5 minutes. Add the garlic, tarragon, and pepper; saute until fragrant (about a minute). Add 8 cups of water, the beets, barley, and soy sauce, cover, and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer for 30 minutes. Add the beans and simmer for another 10 to 15 minutes, stirring frequently to prevent the barley from sticking together, or unitl the barley is tender. Add the balsamic vinegar. Add dill if desired.

Baked Sweet Potato & Beet Risotto With Peas

I love risotto and the creaminess of it that comes from the starch in the Arborio rice (at least I assume that's mostly where it comes from). I love risotto so much that even when my coworkers give me disgusting images of why they don't like risotto (that I won't repeat here in an effort to sustain the risotto love), I still love it. I've only made it once, so I figured it was time again. I used my homemade vegetable stock, Giada De Laurentiis's basic risotto recipe, and some of my favourite veggies (sweet potato - not yams!, beets, and peas). I baked the yams and beets together for about 45 minutes with no oil (yes I'm sure they would've been more tasty with oil but this was a small effort to be healthy). They were a bit dry but once added to the risotto, totally fine. I've never baked beets before and while they still had their delicious beet essence, I much prefer them boiled (where they end up more succulent and tender). Maybe if I had tossed the beets in oil before baking them they would've turned out differently but I doubt they would've been as good as when boiled. I added frozen peas at the end and just stirred the risotto around a bit to heat them up.

I had quite the ordeal with the wine because first, I couldn't find the white wine, second, I couldn't find the bottle opener, and third, once I found the bottle opener I had no idea how to use and wasn't sure if the cork was ever going to come out and when it did if I was going to jab myself in the eye. But it came out and my eye is intact. And the wine smelled so delicious when added to the risotto, so it was all worthwhile.

I think one of the reasons I haven't made risotto more often is because of the $5 it costs for a small bag at Safeway (if they have it in stock). When I went to Eat Vancouver several weeks ago, Bosa Foods had a stall set up (well actually it was more like a mini store) selling a selection of Italian food items. I picked up a box of Arborio rice for about $3, which ends up being about half the price of the rice at Safeway. I haven't been to the actual Bosa Foods store yet, but apparently their new one on Kootenay St is huge.

Bosa Foods
562 Victoria Dr & 1465 Kootenay St
Vancouver, BC
Phone: 604-253-5578

Giada's recipe is for basic/plain risotto, so you can feel free to add whatever vegetables, meat (wait why did a vegetarian just suggest meat...), or cheese (probably only hard cheese like Parmesan and Asiago?) to it that you want. It's best to cook the vegetables separate from the rice so they don't get mushy. As for how much of each to add, it's up to you but for this amount of risotto, I did one sweet potato, one beet, and about half a cup of peas. I should've used some of the leftover risotto to try making risotto cakes (risotto that's been shaped into patties and then pan fried) or maybe deep fried risotto balls with mozzarella on the inside (I think I saw that on Emeril).

Basic Risotto
(Adapted from Everyday Italian)

4 cups vegetable stock
3 tablespoons butter
1/2 medium onion, finely chopped
1 1/2 cups Arborio rice
1/2 cup white wine
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

In a medium saucepan, bring the broth a simmer. Cover the broth and keep hot over low heat. (My note: this is a really important step, because it will take forever for the broth to incorporate into the rice if it's not already hot.)

In a large, heavy saucepan, melt 2 tablespoons of the butter over medium heat. Add the onion and sauté until tender but now brown, about 3 minutes. Add the rice and stir to coat with the butter. Add the wine and simmer until the wine has almost completely evaporated, about 3 minutes. Add 1/2 cup of simmering broth and stir until almost completely absorbed, about 2 minutes. Continue cooking the rice, adding the broth 1/2 cup at a time, stirring constantly and allowing each addition of broth to absorb before adding the next, until the rice is tender but still firm to the bite and the mixture is creamy, about 20 minutes total. Remove from the heat. Stir in the Parmesan cheese, the remaining tablespoon of butter, and the salt and pepper. Serve immediately.

I'm in love with luscious beets.

Alright, my first official food blog post – kind of scary.

I went for a long 4 months without a kitchen due to renovations. Yes the kitchen looks nice now but the thing I really care about is that I can eat real food again, and bake way too many yummy things! I was eating microwave meals mostly, and it actually drove me crazy a few times. There’s only so much frozen fettuccine alfredo, lasagna alfredo, and macaroni and cheese a person can eat. Anyway, I’ve been trying to bake and cook a lot recently.

Asian Beet and Tofu Salad (Moosewood Restaurant Daily Special)

My favourite thing I’ve made so far (not including the sugar cookies and the pumpkin loaf) was an Asian Beet and Tofu Salad (Moosewood Restaurant Daily Special). It was the second recipe I’ve tried out of the book and definitely one I’ll make again. I’ve always loved beets, and I mean really loved beets, but my experiences with them were only at the random family holiday dinner. Because of this, I thought that for beets to taste the way I knew them to taste, they had to be pickled (a stupid conclusion that kept me from beets for many years...) In the past few months, I’ve had beets in a couple of different restaurants and finally realized that they don’t have to be pickled to taste so incredibly delicious. And now that I’ve cooked beets once, I know that I’ll be eating a ton of them – at least for a while. I seriously can’t believe a vegetable could taste so perfect without adding anything to it. I do enjoy my veggies, but beets really rise above them all. In short, beets are awesome.

I was curious what the health benefit to eating beets was, and found out that they help protect against heart disease, some types of cancer, and birth defects (because they have tons of folic acid). They also have lots of manganese and potassium. (Source: 1, 2) Okay I’ll stop talking about beets (sadly), and now mention the tofu.

When I was in Tofino a month ago, I ate at Raincoast Café. I was a bit disappointed to find out that the only thing they had on the menu as a vegetarian entrée was a Thai marinated tofu steak that came with eggplant (a vegetable I have yet to love, or even like). How wrong I was to be disappointed with my choice. It was the most amazing tofu I’ve ever had – such good tofu that my boyfriend (steak lover and not a big fan of tofu), said that the tofu was better than his steak. The point here is that the tofu in the Moosewood recipe was very similar to the Raincoast Café tofu – so exciting! It’s not exactly the same, but similar enough that I’m sure I could tweak it, marinate the tofu for longer, and have delicious tofu as often as I want.

The tofu turns bright pink when mixed with the beets! Ah, beets.

Asian Beet and Tofu Salad
(Adapted from Moosewood Restaurant Daily Special)

4 fresh beets, roots and stems removed (about 3-inch diameter)
1 cake of tofu (about 16 ounces)
10 ounces of spinach, rinsed and stemmed

Marinade
1/3 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
4 garlic cloves, minced or pressed
1 tablespoon grated ginger
1/4 cup chopped green onions

1 green onion, sliced on the extreme diagonal

1. In a covered saucepan, simmer the beets in boiling water to cover for 25 to 35 minutes, until tender and easily pierced with a knife. Meanwhile, place the tofu between two plates, weight the top plate with a heavy object, and press for 20 minutes.

2. In a saucepan, bring about 1/2 inch of water to a boil. Add the spinach, cover, and steam for 3 to 4 minutes, until just wilted but still bright green. Place the spinach in a colander and set aside to drain and cool. Press to remove some liquid and coarsely chop.

3. While the spinach cools, whisk together the marinade ingredients and pour into a large shallow bowl. Cut the pressed tofu into 3/4-inch cubes and add it to the bowl. Stir to coat evenly and set aside for about 10 minutes.

4. When the beets are tender, drain and rinse with cold water until they can be handled comfortably. Remove the skins by gently squeezing the beets under cold running water. Quarter each beet and cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices.

5. Set aside the tofu, leaving the marinade in the bowl. Add the beet slices to the marinade, stir well, and set aside for 10 minutes. Transfer the beets from the marinade to the serving dish. Add the chopped spinach to the marinade and toss lightly, then arrange it around the beets. Mound the tofu in the center and top with the sliced green onions. (my note: No reason really to add the beets to the marinade, or even the spinach if you don't feel like it. You can just mix everything up all together (after marinating the tofu for a while, overnight if you can) if you don't care about presentation.)