Bless your heart if you are actually reading this post rather than running for cover to another food blog. Yes, I know this combination sounds a tad bit unusual, but I assure you it is Pure Genius.
Lest you think I’m being immodest here, the idea is not mine. The combination was recently featured in Gourmet Traveler, and that’s where I first encountered it.
On page 136 of the June 2010 issue, there’s a recipe for Chocolate and Beetroot Cake–an elegant whipped cream and whipped egg white lightened bittersweet chocolate sponge cake with almond meal subbing for flour. I have yet to actually bake this cake but will definitely give it a go while fresh beets are still in plentiful supply in the Northwest.
You can imagine my surprise and consternation when after a little research on the web, I discovered that a zillion cooks have already expounded on this combination to the world. I give you the most noteworthy of these at the end of this post.
Meanwhile, summer weather has finally hit Seattle and the temperature is rising in the OtherWorldly Kitchen. Plus the garden and a stack of great books are calling. Now is the season for quick and easy.
So I decided to focus my chocolate beet experimentation on a simple, but exceptional tea loaf. And upon perfecting that, I explored several extended flavor partnerships. After several rounds of testing, I arrived at three very distinct chocolate beet tea loaves, each of which is fit for the angels. Check out the above photos for the three flavor pairings.
This tea loaf is just the ticket when you have only a few minutes to throw something wonderful together. The beets are used raw, which saves you the typical roasting or boiling time. You will not taste the beets, but they do add a subtle spiciness that is very appealing, plus they virtually ensure a tender, moist loaf for 2-3 days. Did I mention the deep red-brown color? Gorgeous!
Heavenly Chocolate Beet Tea Loaf with 3 Variations
I like this lovely tea bread so much (as much for its ease as for its excellent flavor, texture, and keeping quality), that I couldn’t resist developing a few variations. At this moment, I am devouring the ginger and white pepper variation with its spicy heat playing against a backdrop of moist, almost fruity (the beets) dark chocolate. What a delicious flavor pairing!
This loaf is modestly sweet, which makes it perfect for midday tea. However, if desired, you can add up to ½ cup additional sugar (which should be split evenly between brown and white sugar) without deleterious effects.
vegetable spray, to coat the pan
flour, to coat the pan
1 cup King Arthur all-purpose flour (4.5 ounces)
½ cup high quality, unsweetened cocoa powder (1.2 ounces) (tested with Scharffenberger cocoa)
1 teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon fine sea salt
½ cup unsalted butter, melted (vegetable oil works too, but the flavor of the bread is not nearly so good as with butter)
½ cup sugar
½ cup firmly packed brown sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
1½ loosely packed cups very finely grated raw, peeled red beet (4.5 ounces shredded; 1 medium-large beet)
- Set an oven rack in the middle of the oven with plenty of room above it and preheat the oven to 350°.
- Coat an 8½- by 4½-inch (5-6 cup capacity) loaf pan with vegetable spray, and then a light layer of flour, tapping out any excess flour that does not cling.
- In a large mixing bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- In another large mixing bowl, using a large whisk, whisk together the butter or oil, sugars, eggs, and vanilla until creamy and smooth, about 2 minutes.
- Stir the grated beet into the butter mixture.
- Add the flour mixture to the butter-beet mixture and with a large spatula, combine gently but well. No flour should remain visible in the batter.
- Spoon the batter immediately into the prepared pan, and set in the center of a preheated 350° oven.
- Bake for about 38-40 minutes. If the loaf is pulling away from the edges of the pan, immediately pull it from the oven. Hopefully you will catch it before this point. Over baking this bread will make it dry.
Makes one 8½- by 4½-inch loaf.
Variations
Heavenly Chocolate, Orange, Chile, & Beet Tea Loaf
Oranges and chocolate are one of my favorite chocolate pairings. Reddish-brown, slightly sweet guajillo chile adds spicy heat to the pairing, without overpowering the loaf. If you have whole chiles, split, seed, and toast one lightly in a hot pan. Remove from the pan, let cool, and then pulverize in a spice grinder or mortar with pestle. That lovely toasted flavor is excellent even in a dessert.
all ingredients from the basic recipe
finely grated zest of 2 large oranges
½ teaspoon ground chile guajillo
- At Step 5 of the basic recipe, stir in the orange zest and chile powder.
Heavily Chocolate, Rosemary, Black Pepper, & Beet Tea Loaf
I told you all about my first encounter with chocolate and fresh rosemary in the post titled, Burnt Sugar & Rosemary Chocolate Tarts. I had wandered into Sahagun Chocolates in Portland, Oregon one cold February afternoon and was immediately drawn to a chocolate and fresh rosemary truffle. That first bite was a revelation! I’ve never looked back.
all ingredients from the basic recipe
2 teaspoons finely minced fresh rosemary
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- At Step 5 of the basic recipe, stir in the rosemary and black pepper.
Heavily Chocolate, Fresh Ginger, White Pepper, & Beet Tea Loaf
When you taste this loaf hot, right out of the oven, the white pepper flavor dominates. Thus, you may feel that the balance of flavors is not pitch perfect. Taste again after the loaf has cooled, however, and the flavors should be in harmonious balance.
This loaf is meant to be spicy-hot, but you can of course cut the white pepper measurement in half, or eliminate it altogether, if you don’t want the heat.
Note Be sure to freshly grind the white pepper. Ground white pepper that has been hanging around for awhile often has a musty, unpleasant taste.
all ingredients from the basic recipe
2 tablespoons peeled, finely grated fresh ginger (1 ounce prepared)
1 teaspoon freshly ground white pepper (or less if you don’t want the heat)
½ teaspoon ground cardamom
- At Step 5 of the basic recipe, stir in the ginger, white pepper, and cardamom.
More Chocolate & Beet Inspiration
Cannelle et Vanille
Gluten Free Chocolate and Roasted Beet Pudding Cakes
Food Mayhem
Beet Chocolate Cupcakes
La Tartine Gourmande
D is for Dark Chocolate and Beet Brownies
Martha Stewart
Chocolate-Beet Cakes with Candied Beets and Rose Petals
Plantea
Chocolate Beet Brownies: They Can’t be Beat
Pinch My Salt
Double Dark Chocolate Beet Muffins
Straight from the Farm
Beet Cake
The Kitchn
Velvety Beet and Cocoa Cake
The Nibble
Chocolate Almond Beet Torte
When Harry Met Salad
Chocolate Beet Cake
About Susan S. Bradley
Delish! Absolutely, positively delicious!!! I tried the white pepper, ginger & cardamom blend with beets from my CSA box. I ended up putting them into a baby bundt cake mold of 4 and made these adorably tasty treats!! My whole house smells fantastic right now and I’m taking one of the mini cakes/loaves to a group of foodie friends right now. I’m sure they’ll fall in love with it like me. Hope to get more beets in my CSA box so I can make rosemary (from my herb garden) & black pepper loaf next! Brilliant, absolutely brilliant! Your blog was a divine discovery and is now in my faves!!
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Susan S. Bradley Reply:
August 19th, 2011 at 9:45 pm
TravelinJewel, thank you!
Great idea to make mini loves for sharing.
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Thanks for sharing the recipe. I just baked the loaf with rosemary variation yesterday and eating it now as my afternoon snack. It’s very moisture and chocolaty. The color is BEAUTIFUL. However, I will omit the black pepper part next time. The spiciness is a bit to much to my taste. I thought the beet taste won’t be too much in the cake, although it’s kind dominant in mine. I love beets so it won’t be a problem to me. But to those not big in beet, this needs to be taken into consideration. Anyway, this is an interesting one.
Ting´s last [type] ..5-11-2011
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Susan S. Bradley Reply:
May 22nd, 2011 at 7:47 pm
Thanks for your thoughtful observations, Ting. I admit I lOVE heat in desserts and this is not to everyone’s taste. My beets must not have been as flavorful as yours. I plan to bake this cake again soo so will see if the beet flavor comes through more loudly this time.
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i’m going to try subbing grains of paradise for the black pepper. i’ll let you know how it goes!
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Susan S. Bradley Reply:
November 23rd, 2010 at 8:59 am
Lorna, do let me know how that turns out. Sounds marvelous.
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Lorna at Knits for Life Reply:
June 13th, 2011 at 6:23 am
Blech. There’s a reason pepper replaced other peppery spices once it became widely available and affordable.
In this case especially, it stood in front of the beet flavor like a narcissistic child waving its arms in your face. Very unsatisfying.
The only way I’ve found to enjoy grains of paradise so far is in my pocket to nibble on.
Lorna at Knits for Life´s last [type] ..Customer request- OySpaceMan! Menswear Beanie sans scarf
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Susan S. Bradley Reply:
June 14th, 2011 at 9:10 am
Lorna, did you make the black pepper or white pepper variation? Both call for 1 teaspoon ground pepper, which I found to nicely balance the other flavors of the cake. However, I admit I adore freshly ground pepper.
It provides a different kind of heat than chile. In any case, it can be left out of the recipes without any deleterious effect if you wish. Thanks for trying the recipe and giving us your candid feedback!
I’m amazed! Never would have thought beets would be part of a recipe like that. Learn something everyday … and it’s a pleasure to do so. Thanks!
Mary A´s last [type] ..Blueberry Lemon – Glazed Muffins
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I am so trying this one soon. I had a chocolate and beet cake recently and it was so moist and delicious. Thanks so much for sharing your recipe.
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Oh, I must try this! I got positively hooked on chocolate zucchini bread last year. Maybe this is this years addiction. BUT! I can’t seem to copy it or find a print button. ARRRGGHHH! Any suggestions?
Dana Zia´s last [type] ..Liliko’i bars for my sunny husband’s birthday
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Dana Zia Reply:
July 27th, 2010 at 10:38 am
Susan? I would love to get a copy of this recipe, still can’t find a print button. Am I missing something? Been known to do that.
Dana Zia´s last [type] ..Liliko’i bars for my sunny husband’s birthday
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Susan S. Bradley Reply:
July 27th, 2010 at 2:53 pm
Hey Dana! The Print button gets lost in all the text around it. Can’t figure out how to make it jump out more.
Scroll to the bottom of the full post and look just above “Six Responses to Peanut Butter Caramel.” You’ll see “Print This Post.”
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Dana Zia Reply:
August 4th, 2010 at 3:08 pm
Ah ha!!! Thank you. Knew I was blind.
Dana Zia´s last [type] ..Our famous Mai Tai Recipes Revealed
Susan S. Bradley Reply:
August 4th, 2010 at 11:05 pm
Nah, you’re not blind! it’s too small and sort of hidden. Lazy Admin (MauiJim) hasn’t gotten around to seeing if it can be made more prominent.
My cousin recommended this blog and she was totally right keep up the fantastic work!
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it sounds like a odd combination, but i am SO happy to read this post because I’m growing more beets than i know what to do with this summer and disguising them in chocolate could be the winning answer. thanks for posting!
a tasteful garden´s last [type] ..garden connecting gardens via seed shares
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Susan S. Bradley Reply:
July 20th, 2010 at 1:37 pm
Then we don’t have to feel one bit guilty about eating chocolate cake every day, right?
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These look lovely! I like your variations. Beets are thought to be the original ingredient in Red Velvet cake – a Southern US favorite. Nowadays it’s all food coloring, but beets also make cake such a lovely red – as you showed here!
Alta´s last [type] ..Daring Cooks- Nut Butters Chicken with Curried Almond Sauce
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Susan S. Bradley Reply:
July 18th, 2010 at 1:25 pm
Alta, thank you! Yes, I noticed a few Red Velvet Cake reciopes that included beets. The added benefit, beside the gorgeous color, is the moistness of the cake.
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Sounds like a great recipe. How can I get a copy for my cooking file?
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Susan S. Bradley Reply:
July 18th, 2010 at 1:32 pm
Helen, there is a Print This Post option after each recipe. Enjoy!
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I just knew there had to be something redeeming about beets. (Yes! I’m one of the haters) I think you may have convinced me to give them another try. An introduction by chocolate may be all that I needed! Thanks, Susan.
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Susan S. Bradley Reply:
July 14th, 2010 at 8:09 am
Susan, LOL! Yes, start here. You aren’t going to actually taste the beets though.
On the beet note, at the Seattle restaurant, Anchovies and Olives (Ethan Stowell’s latest) last night, I ordered Halibut with Beets, Orange & Cauliflower. The beets were golden, tender-crisp, cut into small dice and combined with diced orange and roasted cauliflower with a light orange sauce. Very effective! to warm folks up to bets, I suggest serving them in similar ways to this, in small size and quantity, as an adjunct to other elements of the dish.
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Susan Reply:
July 14th, 2010 at 5:24 pm
Thanks, Susan. The beet, cauliflower and orange is probably my next step! I’m shooting for total disguise first..just to get them down and to be able to say I did! I’ll look at the farmers mkt for the golden beets too this week. I’ve not really paid close attention to beets, though I’ve read they come in other colors! Mostly, it’s been a texture thing with me, then flavor. I keep remembering a sort of metalic flavor in red beets along with the slippery, squeeky thing they have going on, that I just haven’t been able to get over. That’s why I though chocolate along with flour would have the strength to assert itself over them.
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I’ve heard good things about baking beets into chocolaty desserts. And though I’ve never tried it. I really must. This looks so tasty! Moist! Delicious!
Joanne´s last [type] ..Vegan Golden Vanilla Cupcakes with Avocado Buttercream Frosting
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Susan S. Bradley Reply:
July 13th, 2010 at 7:36 am
Joanne, thanks so much. Do give it a try, and let us know what you think. Now I’m running over to your site to check out that Avocado Buttercream. What a cool idea.
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