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.