Beetroot cake with buttercream frosting

This is one of our experiments. Since our carrot cake was a success my husband's idea depot opened and he suggested we try the carrot cake with different unusual ingredients. His ideas included beetroot, mango, cantaloupe (seriously?) and some fruits which we couldn't have imagined as a base for cake. First I dismissed the idea thinking he was joking but then decided to help his exploration. We discussed and fixed on a safest bet...beetroot. I thought it would turn out like a red velvet cake which it didn't. It actually tasted very good. We made half of the cake with nuts and half without nuts, frosted both with buttercream frosting. We took it to a get together at a friend's place. Surprisingly the kids didn't enjoy it as much as we did (how did they sense there's a vegetable in there hmm?) I added some pink food color to the buttercream frosting which is optional. Adding nuts enhances the taste. You could add finely chopped nuts of your choice.


Things you'll need:
All purpose flour - 1 cup
Baking soda - 3/4 tsp
Baking powder - 1 tsp
Ground cinnamon - 1/2 tsp
Ground nutmeg - a pinch
Salt - 1/4 tsp
Raw beetroots - 1 cup, grated
Eggs - 2
Sugar - 1 cup
Vanilla - 1/2 tsp
Canola or Vegetable oil - 1/2 cup
Applesauce - 4 oz

For buttercream frosting:
Confectioner's Sugar -  3-4 cups
Heavy cream - 2 tbsps
Butter - 1 cup, softened
Vanilla - 1 tbsp

Yield - 15 Servings

Method:











Step 1 :
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and dust a 9 inch cake pan. Combine the flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Take 2 tbsp of flour mixture and coat the beetroots in the flour mixture.

Step 2 :
With an electric mixer or hand mixer, beat the eggs, sugar, vanilla, oil, and applesauce, in medium speed until thoroughly mixed. Add the flour mixture in small batches and mix together. When the dry and wet ingredients are mixed without lumps, combine the beetroots  and nuts with the mixture.

Step 3 :
Pour into the greased cake pan and bake for 45 mins to one hour or till a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Allow the cake to cool down in the pan for 15 mins and then transfer to a wire rack and allow it to completely cool down.

Step 4 :
Prepare frosting by beating the butter to a creamy consistency then add the sugar in small batches mixing the butter and sugar with a spatula before turning the mixer on (to avoid sugar blowing everywhere). Add the  vanilla and heavy cream and beat it well until desired consistency is achieved. If you want a thick frosting add more sugar and if you want it thinner add some heavy cream one tablespoon at a time

Step 5:
Frost the cake according to your imagination and serve in slices.

Tips:
You can double the cake ingredients for a 13x9 pan or two 9 inch pans.
You can also use crushed pineapple instead of applesauce or omit them both. Adding the fruits results in a moist cake.
You can add food colors to the frosting and draw some designs on the cake.

Sending this recipe to Vardhini's bake fest hosted by tangyminds..