| Level: | Intermediate |
| Total: | 40 min |
| Prep: | 15 min |
| Cook: | 25 min |
| Yield: | 4 servings |
| Level: | Intermediate |
| Total: | 40 min |
| Prep: | 15 min |
| Cook: | 25 min |
| Yield: | 4 servings |
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, to grease baking pans
- 3 to 4 medium beets, to make 1 1/4 cups finely chopped
- 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- Kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 2 tablespoons pomegranate molasses
- 1 cup applesauce
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 3/4 cup dark brown sugar
- 1/3 cup vegetable oil
- Sweet Greek Yogurt, recipe follows
- Beet Garnish, recipe follows
- 2 cups unsweetened Greek yogurt
- 1/4 cup honey
- 1 small beet
- 1/4 cup powdered sugar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Lightly grease 4 individual baking dishes with butter (oven proof ramekins or cocotte dishes work well). Peel beets and cut into pieces so they can fit comfortably in a food processor. Process with blade attachment until finely chopped.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and spices. In a separate bowl, mix molasses, applesauce, eggs, buttermilk, and sugar together. Now mix wet ingredients with dry ingredients, add a pinch of salt, and then fold in the processed beets.
- Set ramekins out on a sheet tray. Divide batter amongst ramekins and bake in the oven for 20 to25 minutes until they have puffed up and a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Serve with Sweet Greek Yogurt and top with Beet Garnish and powdered sugar.
- Combine yogurt and honey in a mixing bowl. Stir with a wooden spoon so they are just combined. Serve with warm beet cake.
- Yield: 4 servings
- Preheat oven to 150 degrees F.
- Shave the beet into thin slices using a mandoline or sharp knife. Line a roasting dish with parchment and set the beets out in a single layer on the tray. Top with powdered sugar. Cover with another sheet of parchment, carefully pressing out any air bubbles. Top with another tray to add weight and bake on a low temperature to dehydrate the beet slices without over-cooking them. Bake for 2 to 3 hours, until dry and crispy. Use as a garnish on top of the beet cakes.
- Yield: 4 servings
Nutrition Facts
| Serving Size | 1 of 4 servings |
| Calories | 836 |
| Total Fat | 36 g |
| Saturated Fat | 11 g |
| Carbohydrates | 113 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 4 g |
| Sugar | 78 g |
| Protein | 21 g |
| Cholesterol | 130 mg |
| Sodium | 1189 mg |
| Serving Size | 1 of 4 servings |
| Calories | 836 |
| Total Fat | 36 g |
| Saturated Fat | 11 g |
| Carbohydrates | 113 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 4 g |
| Sugar | 78 g |
| Protein | 21 g |
| Cholesterol | 130 mg |
| Sodium | 1189 mg |
Reviews
I have troubles with everything in this recipe. Maybe it’s just the instructions are not clear. The beet chips never turned crispy. The cake batter never cooked all the way through, too wet. Also my pet peeves, the ingredient list calls for 1/3 cup of oil but the instructions do not tell you when to use it. So do you need 1/3 cup of oil or not?
Update: The cake was in fact moist and dense, as other reviewers noted. It was the consistency of a baked pudding (like a sticky toffee pudding or a pudding cake. It did take much longer to bake through. The flavor was similar to an earthy spice cake.
Original review: I may modify my rating based on how the final product comes out of the oven, however, I am not hopeful at this point. After I poured what looks like a melted beet smoothie into the baking pans, I started poking around online and found something that may help for next time. Tyler prepared a similar version of this recipe on The View apparently and added 1/3 cup of oil while reducing the buttermilk to 1/2 cup. For all those whose cakes never set, this is probably the reason. Looks like I may be eating my cake with a spoon 🙁
for all the people who tried this recipe!….on the show (watching it now Tyler doesn’t put oil in recipe…but it is on the recipe…so omit it. even in the directions it doesn’t mention adding it with the wet ingredients.
Food Network needs to change it!!!!
Food Network needs to change it!!!!
Not a very good recipe. The idea is great, but the recipe does not work. The cakes never cook through; no matter how long you bake them.
Not sure how many people are screwing up the recipe, it’s pretty simple! I did not choose to use the oil, I followed the recipe as Tyler made them in this episode – with the applesauce and I highly recommend them! Healthy and delicious!
I’m a private chef for a healthy vegetarian family. This recipe looked perfect for them because they also love beets.
I made some changes after reading the reviews:
– I used mini cupcake trays lined with cupcake papers and sprayed with baking spray instead of ramekins.
– I added 2 tablespoons of cocoa powder to honor the classic red velvet recipe.
– To balance the added cocoa I added 1/4 cup brown sugar making it a full cup.
Make sure to puree your beets really well and it does take much longer to bake even with in mini cupcake size. It took me apx. 50 min.
The result is good. Don’t expect these to taste like normal super sugary cupcakes. They are like dense, moist muffins.
** Most baked good will fall after you take them out IF they are under baked. Make sure to leave them in until they spring back from a firm tap to the middle.
After reading the review of the cakes, I decided just to try making the beet garnish. I know he sandwiched them to keep them flat but what happened is they steamed instead. When I took them out three hours later the house smelled of moist beets and they totally stuck to the parchment paper and were gross. I tried to “chip” them like savory chips I had previously made but they just turned to beet leather. Horrid. ~ suziethefoodie
I thought this sounded yummy since I love beets. I used melted butter instead of oil and also used the applesauce. To fit into 4 dishes I had to use 4 rather big bowls and then it took at least another 25-30 minutes to cook through. It had the look of a really moist carrot cake but I have to say I didn’t really like it.
although the ingredients are easy, goes together easy. the cake rose in the oven and then FELL w/in 10 min after coming out of the oven. didn’t use the oil, which was NOT on the show. don’t think it would’ve mattered. it tasted like a soggy beet mess. i cook everything and am experienced w all types of recipes so i was really looking forward to trying this recipe, but was sadly dissappointed. would love to see a GOOD way to use beets still.
The oil is listed in the ingredients in addition to applesauce, but you are only supposed to use one of them! Pick the applesauce, it’s much better! 🙂