Dark Chocolate Beet Bundt Cake - #BundtBakers

Do you have any strange but good-weird flavor combinations that you love to eat?  I love to eat my french fries by dipping them in a chocolate fudge sundae. There, I said it out loud.  Call me weird but there is just something about that sweet and salty taste that has me going back for more. A few months ago I saw a chocolate cake in a magazine that had a secret ingredient - beets. When this month's theme for #BundtBakers, strange but good-weird flavor combinations, was revealed I knew that this would be the perfect cake for me to try.
Growing up we always ate beets with our salad, and if you order a salad sandwich in Australia it will always have beets on it, no matter how soggy it makes the bread.  It's just what we do.  However, they were always canned and it wasn't until I moved to Hawaii that I had my first fresh beet, which left me wondering why the heck I had waited so long. I had every intention of getting to the farmer's market to purchase a bunch of beets, but Saturday mornings are taken up with my daughters outrigger canoe paddling right now, so I had to come up with another idea. Costco proved to be the solution as it sells a package of Love Beets, which are pre-cooked beets, and they are delicious.

After one bite I knew this would be a cake that I make again and again.  In all honesty you cannot taste the beets, but they make for a really moist bundt cake that stays fresh for days, and they somehow make the chocolate taste more intense.  A word of caution - be careful when you are grating the beets as they can easily stain your clothing, and make sure you use a glass or ceramic bowl as they will stain plastic too.  Once you have grated the beets the rest of the cake comes together so quickly, it baked like a dream, and released cleanly straight on to the plate - what more could you ask for? I kind of wished that I had a little whip cream on the side, but I'll try that next time. This theme really has me thinking about other combinations that you would never think could work together but somehow do.

If you would like to know more about #BundtBakers and see what the other bakers made for the strange but good-weird flavor combinations theme please scroll down below the recipe. Thank you to June from How to Philosophize with Cake for hosting this month and choosing the theme.


Dark Chocolate Beet Bundt Cake
(Printer Friendly Recipe)

Ingredients

• 3 medium beets, cooked and cooled (see note)
• 115g butter, melted
• 115ml olive oil
• 175ml pure maple syrup
• 115ml honey
• 3 medium eggs
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 250g all-purpose flour
• 90g cocoa powder
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• ½ teaspoon sea salt

Preparation

1. Preheat the oven to 180℃. 
2. Spray a 10-cup bundt pan with baking spray.
3. Grate the beets on a box grater and measure them; you should have 265g of grated beets. Place them in a medium sieve and gently push down to remove all excess moisture.
4. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the melted butter, olive oil, maple syrup and honey until everything is well blended.
5. Add eggs, one at a time, and beat until smooth. Add the vanilla extract.
6. Sift together the flours, cocoa, baking soda and salt. 
7. Gently fold the flour mixture into the wet ingredients, but do not over mix.
8. Fold the beets into the batter until distributed, then pour the batter into the prepared bundt pan and spread around until it is even.
9. Bake for about 40-45 minutes, until a wooden skewer comes out clean.
10. Remove the bundt from the oven and allow to cool in the pan on a wire rack for at least 30 minutes.
11. Carefully invert the pan onto a plate, tap gently releasing the cake.
12. Cake is delicious served warm or cool, and will keep for up to four days, well wrapped in plastic.

Recipe adapted from Simple Bites

For US measurements please click here

Note:  I used one and a half packets of Love Beets purchased at Costco to make 265g (about 7 small-medium pre-cooked beets).

#BundtBakers is a group of Bundt loving Bakers who get together once a month to bake Bundts with a common ingredient or theme. You can see all of our lovely Bundts by following our Pinterest Board. We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme or ingredient. Many thanks to our host this month, June from How to Philosophize with Cake.

Updated links for all of our past events and more information about BundtBakers can be found on our homepage. And now it is time for you to check out all of the strange but good-weird flavor combinations that the #BundtBakers came up with this month ~

• Banana Bacon Bundt Cake by Liv For Cake
• Beet and Beer Red Velvet Bundt Cake by I Sugar Coat It
• Beet and Blood Orange Bundt Cake by Brooklyn Homemaker
• Black Pepper and Red Wine Bundt Cake by Passion Kneaded
• Caramelized Pineapple Blue Cheese Corncake Bundt by Food Lust People Love
• Chocolate Banana Bacon Bundt Cake by The Freshman Cook
• Chocolate Lemon Bundt Cake by I Bake He Shoots
• Chocolate Liquorice Bundt Cake by Baking in Pyjamas
• Chocolate Potato Bundt Cake with Strawberry Glaze by Magnolia Days
• Chocolate Tomato Soup Bundt Cake by SpiceRoots
• Coconut and Rose Syrup Bundt Cake by I Camp In My Kitchen
• Coconut, Cardamom, and Orange Cake by Baking Yummies
• Dark Chocolate Beet Cake by All That's Left Are The Crumbs
• Dark Chocolate Stout Bundt by Living the Gourmet
• Junk Food Bundt Cake by Faith, Hope, Love, and Luck Survive Despite a Whiskered Accomplice
• Lemon Rosemary Bundt by A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Lovely Fields Bundt Cake by Los Chatos Chefs
• Mini Mayonnaise and Chocolate Bundt Cakes by I Love Bundt Cakes
• Olive Oil Rosemary Bundt Cake by Tartacadabra
• Rosemary Bourbon Orange Bundt Cake by The Spiced Life
• Peanut Butter Sour Cream Bundt Cake by Basic N Delicious
• Six Flavor Bundt by Making Miracles
• Sweet Potato and Marshmallow Bundt by Jane's Adventures in Dinner
• Triple Rum Black Pepper Bundt Cake by How to Philosophize with Cake