(Flourless) Chocolate Beet Cake with Chocolate Avocado Frosting

It was recently pointed out to me that this blog lacks cake recipes and the reason, I am sad to say, is that I don’t bake many cakes.
That is not to say that I don’t like baking cakes, I just don’t do it that often.
When a craving for cake strikes, usually mug cakes come to the rescue. Truth is, I surely don't need an entire cake laying around the house, with the risk of polishing the entire thing off.
If y’all know what I mean...

But this last weekend I decided to face my fears, dust off my baking pans, and bake an awesome cake. A chocolate cake. A moist cake. A cake made with beets.

Wait, what?
Yes, this cake is not A chocolate cake, this one right here is made with beets. And you won’t believe how great it is.
Beets add moisture, sweetness to the cake, and — believe it or not — do not make the cake taste like a salad or dirt. [I feel like you should know this. It’s important to me.]
Actually the beets play up the deep chocolate flavor of this cake, it's almost magical!

The cake batter will be a purple-brownish color and will bake into a moist chocolate cake with no trace of beets. I repeat no trace of beets.
As I said before the cake itself is moist and chocolate-y. It’s not too sweet either. Seriously no one would ever know this cake is chocked full of vegetables. As long as you keep that little bit of information between us.

Finally let’s talk a bit about the frosting. Avocado + maple syrup + cocoa. Do I need to say more?
Delightful, delicious, and pretty healthy too. And again, it does not taste like salad or dirt.
To sum up, this (Flourless) Chocolate Beet Cake with Chocolate Avocado Frosting is not only the healthiest cake in the world but probably the most delicious too.

(Flourless) Chocolate Beet Cake with Chocolate Avocado Frosting                            Print this recipe!
Inspired by JamieOliver

Ingredients
Serves 16

Cake

7 oz / 200 gr dark chocolate (I used Green&Black’s +70% dark chocolate)
8 oz / 240 gr raw beets, peeled and finely grated
4 large eggs, separated
⅔ cup brown sugar (I used coconut sugar)
1¼ cups almond flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 tablespoon cocoa powder

Frosting

1 avocado, pitted and peeled
¼ cup maple syrup
¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder

Salt flakes

Directions

Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C) and place a rack in the middle.
Lightly grease the bottom and sides of a 8-inch springform cake pan and line the pan with parchment paper. Set aside.
Place chopped chocolate in a medium size heatproof bowl. Place the bowl over a pot of barely simmering water, making sure that the bottom of the bowl doesn’t touch the boiling water. Stir with a wooden spoon until chocolate is completely melted. Use pot holders to remove the bowl from over the boiling water. Let mixture sit for a few minutes.
Place the grated beets into the bowl of a food processor and pulse until riced/pureed. Alternatively you can chop the grated beets with a knife. You want them really finely chopped so they will disappear during baking.
Transfer beets to a large bowl and add egg yolks, sugar, almond flour, baking powder, cocoa, and melted chocolate. Mix together well.
In another large bowl, beat egg whites and a pinch of salt on medium speed until foamy.
Increase speed to high, beating until stiff peaks form, about 5 minutes.
With a spatula gently fold egg whites into chocolate mixture, but try not to overmix.
Transfer the cake batter to the prepared pan and spread out evenly.
Bake in the oven for 50 minutes, until set.
Remove from the oven and let cool completely on a wire rack.
In the meantime make frosting by combining avocado, maple syrup, and cocoa in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse until smooth and creamy. Refrigerate until ready to use.
When the cake has cooled, frost it, sprinkle with salt flakes, and serve.
Keep the frosted cake in the refrigerator.

Nutrition facts

One slice yields 214 calories, 12 grams of fat, 23 grams of carbs, and 6 grams of protein.