In honor of Valentine’s Day, we offer this recipe for a healthier spin on chocolate cake. The secret ingredient in this cake is beets, which add fiber and the B vitamin folate, two nutrients not commonly found in chocolate cake. In addition to the nutritional bonus, the beets contribute a hint of sweetness, a dark chocolate-like color, and moisture.
- 3 ounces (3 squares) unsweetened chocolate
- 1 can (14½ ounces) sliced beets with their liquid
- 2¾ cups flour
- 2/3 cup plus 4 teaspoons unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1½ teaspoons baking powder
- ¾ teaspoon baking soda
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- 2 large eggs
- 2 large egg whites
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 1¾ cups buttermilk
- 1/3 cup extra-light olive oil
- 1 cup confectioners’ sugar
- 2 tablespoons low-fat (1%) or fat-free milk
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spray a bundt pan with nonstick cooking spray. Dust with flour, shaking off the excess.
- In the top of a double boiler, melt the chocolate. Let cool to room temperature. In a food processor, puree the beets and their liquid. Set the beet puree aside.
- In a medium bowl, combine the flour, 2⁄3 cup of the cocoa, the baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- In a large bowl, with an electric mixer, beat the whole eggs, egg whites, and granulated sugar until light and lemon-colored. Beat in the melted chocolate, the beet puree, buttermilk, and oil. Fold in the flour mixture.
- Pour the batter into the bundt pan. Bake for 1 hour and 5 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean and the cake has begun to pull away from the sides of the pan. Cool the cake in the pan for 30 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
- Meanwhile, in a small bowl, stir together the remaining 4 teaspoons of cocoa, the confectioners’ sugar, milk, and vanilla, stirring until smooth. Drizzle the glaze onto the top and down the sides of the cooled cake.
Makes 12 slices; per slice: 285 calories, 12g total fat (4g saturated), 4g dietary fiber, 40g carbohydrate, 8g protein, 395mg sodium.
From The Wellness Kitchen
A bundt pan is a fluted cake pan with a tube in the center, and bears a resemblance to such other cake molds as kugelhopfs or turk’s heads. The bundt pan was introduced (and trademarked) in this country in the 1950s by an American manufacturer of Scandinavian bakeware. The name has since come to mean any similar fluted tube pan for baking. The cakes that are baked in bundt pans have a fine crumb and a dense texture, which is what allows them to unmold properly.
