DORÉ

What’s better than Chocolate cake? The obvious answer would be: typically, nothing. But a chocolate cake that packs a serving of vegetables and is baked, garnished and plated by someone as vibrant as Britt? Well, I think they call that having your cake and eating the whole damn thing in probably one sitting.

We couldn’t pass up the opportunity to capture Britt Maren in her kitchen doing one of the many things she does best – baking (and also knowing how to look pretty impeccable in front of a camera). Today she’s sharing the recipe for a Chocolate Beet Cake. And don’t be deterred by the use of a root vegetable, this thing is as good as it looks.

In a large bowl set over a sauce pan of simmering water, melt the chocolate. Once it’s almost all melted, turn off the heat, but leave the bowl over the warm water. Pour in the espresso and vanilla extract, stirring once, then add the butter and coconut oil. Leave bowl over hot water, and allow mixture to soften without stirring.

Sift together the flours, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt in a separate bowl. Remove the bowl of chocolate from the heat and stir until everything is incorporated. Let sit a few minutes to cool, then whisk egg yolks into the melted chocolate mixture. Stir in the beet purée.

Add coconut sugar to a clean food processor, and pulse a few times until sugar is very fine. In a stand mixer with whisk attachment, whip the egg whites until stiff. Gradually fold the sugar into the whipped egg whites with a spatula, then fold this into the melted chocolate mixture. Last, fold in the dry ingredients. Careful not to overmix!

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and reduce the heat of the oven to 325ºF. Bake the cake for 40 minutes, or until the sides are just set but the center looks a bit underdone. Do not overbake! Let cake cool completely, then remove it from the pan.

While the cake bakes, make the pistachio brittle. In a saucepan over medium heat, combine the sugar and honey. Let cook until sugar is dissolved. Add pistachios and stir to combine. Turn the heat up to medium high, and cook for another couple of minutes until the syrup evenly coats the pistachios and has thickened. Pour pistachios onto a parchment-lined sheet tray, spreading into an even layer. Top with flaky sea salt. Let cool completely until it hardens (about 1 hour), then break into pieces. You may make the brittle ahead of time, and store in an airtight container once fully cooled and hardened.

To serve, dust confectioners’ sugar and ground pistachios over the entire cake and top with big pieces of pistachio brittle. Slice and serve each piece with a dollop of whipped cream. Enjoy!

*Adapted from “Extremely Moist Chocolate Beet Cake” from Tender: A Cook and His Vegetable Patch by Nigel Slater.

**Substitutions: To make this cake dairy-free, substitute the butter for more coconut oil. This cake is gluten-free as written, and you may choose to use all hazelnut meal or all coconut flour if desired, however the texture may be slightly different. You may also substitute all-purpose flour for both flours listed if preferred. You can use granulated sugar in place of coconut sugar as well. My choices are based on personal taste and flavor preference.