Rich Chocolate Cake with Beetroot

Rich Chocolate Cake - delicious chocolate cake with beetroot which gives the cake a perfect bake without the need for butter and sugar. Delicious served with berries and a little light cream. 

I expect we have all heard of beetroot being used in chocolate cake, it sounds a unusual combination but it really does work.

I had some cooked beets in my fridge that really needed to be used up, I love buying the little vacuum packs of cooked beets at Costco as beetroot is a great ingredient for adding into salads, smoothies for the kids (yep you read that correctly) and one of my favourites in a sandwich with turkey slices and coleslaw (it's divine). 

But in a chocolate cake - the beetroot has an amazing effect of giving the cake the perfect texture, especially when using oats instead of plain flour as I have here in this recipe.

Variations and Substitutes

There are plenty of easy ways to adapt this chocolate beetroot cake depending on what you have on hand.

• Almond milk can be replaced with oat milk, soy milk, dairy milk, or coconut milk.
• Use dark chocolate chips, white chocolate chips, or chopped chocolate instead of milk chocolate chips for the drizzle.
• Add chopped walnuts, pecans, or hazelnuts for extra texture and crunch.
• A little espresso powder or instant coffee can be added to deepen the chocolate flavour.
• Add cinnamon or a pinch of chilli powder for extra warmth.
• Honey or maple syrup can be used instead of granulated sweetener if preferred.
• Stir through some shredded coconut.

Best Type of Blender?

This actually really doesn't matter, you are only roughly blending the oats, they don't need to be really really fine, so any blender will work, even a stick immersion blender or food processor. I have a Vitamix, which is amazing, but is pretty expensive and you certainly don't have to have one of those, my little cheap stick blender works perfectly for this recipe. The Vitamix I got for smoothies and soups etc for the kids, as they love to make a homemade smoothie when they come in from school. 

Side Suggestions

This cake is delicious enjoyed just as it is, but because it is quite rich and filling, you may prefer to slice it in half and enjoy it over two sittings or share it with someone else.

For serving, I love pairing it with some light cream and defrosted frozen mixed berries, which gives it a bit of a black forest cake vibe. It also works really well with Greek yoghurt, fresh berries, vanilla yoghurt, or even a scoop of ice cream for more of a dessert-style treat.

If you are dairy free, simply swap the milk chocolate chips for a dairy-free alternative and serve with berries or dairy-free yoghurt or cream.

More Dessert Recipes

Looking for some other dessert or cake recipes? Check out these

• BLUEBERRY OAT CRUMBLE BARS
• HEALTHIER APPLE AND SULTANA CAKE
• HOT CROSS BUNS RECIPE
• LEMON BLUEBERRY OAT PANCAKES
• CINNAMON ROLL BAKED OAT MUFFINS
• RASPBERRY AND WHITE CHOCOLATE BAKED OATS
• HEALTHY BANANA AND CHOCOLATE CHIP LOAF

or if you would like more recipe ideas - head on over to the FULL RECIPE INDEX where you will find over 900 delicious recipes with calories and you can search by meal type, ingredients, course, diet and more.

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