The Surprising Puréed Root Vegetable That Works Wonders In Cake

Root veggies are a tried and true dietary staple, being both delicious and versatile. The biggest tragedy is that certain members of the root vegetable family (looking at you, potatoes) tend to get the most love, when all root veggies are worth their weight in metaphoric gold. Take beets, for example. Did you know you can ditch the spuds and start making fries using sweet beets? You can also grill beets for smoky, sweet flavor notes that totally turn what you expect from beets on its head. And if you like your beets extra sweet, you can even add them into your next cake recipe.

The primary reason to add beets is for moisture. Most root veggies have a high water content, so adding beets to your cake recipe lets you reap the benefits of that, resulting in a delicate and moist crumb without you having to up the oil or butter. It can also work as a binder and be used as an egg substitute. Not only that, but beets also have a subtly sweet flavor that pairs well with desserts. They have a lovely, deep red color as well, which can act as a natural food dye depending on the kind of cake recipe you're using. Basically, if you're looking to up the sweetness and moisture or make your cake pink or red with natural food dyes, beets have your back.

Chocolate cake is the most common type of cake you'll see beets used in. We have some expert tips for bakery-worthy chocolate cake, and tossing in beets for a more luxurious texture is one of them. Chocolate is always a solid option when you're looking to try out more unusual ingredients since the cocoa is such a strong flavor. This is good, since beetroot is often said to have an earthy or even dirt-like flavor to it. Roasting or boiling your beets before pureeing them will get you a mellow, sweeter flavor with less of that earthiness, making it a better pair for baked goods in general. Raw beets do give your cake a more brilliantly red color, though, so that's something to keep in mind if you want to make some dye-free red velvet cake.

You don't have to stay confined to chocolate goods, either. If you buy golden beets, you'll get a lovely orangey-yellow color to your cake. These beets go well with a good vanilla cake recipe, but you'll want to roast the beets, especially since they won't be masked by any stronger flavors. You can also try making an old fashioned beet cake, which is basically carrot cake where the carrots are replaced by beets. The cinnamon, nutmeg, and brown sugar all play well with the earthy beet notes that come through, making for a warm and cozy experience.