Made by Kendra with Gracie’s Greens Beets

By Martha Stewart

Ingredients

• 4 medium beets, trimmed, peeled, and cut into 2-inch chunks

• 2 cups all-purpose flour

• 1 ½ cups sugar

• ½ cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder

• 1 ½ teaspoons baking soda

• Salt

• 2 large eggs

• ¾ cup warm water

• ¼ cup safflower oil

• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

• Vegetable oil cooking spray

• Chocolate Glaze for Chocolate Beet Cake*

• Candied Beet Chips for Chocolate Beet Cake, for garnish

Directions

Cover beets with 2 inches water in a pot. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer until very tender when pierced with the tip of a sharp paring knife, about 30 minutes. Drain. Puree beets in a food processor until smooth.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Whisk together flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, and 3/4 teaspoon salt in a large bowl. Whisk in eggs, water, oil, vanilla, and 1 1/4 cups beet puree (reserve remaining puree for another use).

Coat a 9-inch round cake pan (3 inches deep) with cooking spray. Line bottom with parchment, and coat with spray. Pour batter into pan. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 45 minutes. Let cool in pan on a wire rack for 20 minutes. Turn out cake from pan, and discard parchment. Let cool completely, right side up.

Trim top of cake using a serrated knife to create a level surface. Transfer cake, cut side down, to a platter. Pour chocolate glaze over the top, and let set, about 30 minutes. Garnish with beet chips.

*Ingredients

4 ounces semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped

½ cup heavy cream

Directions

Place chocolate in a medium bowl. In a saucepan, bring cream to a boil. Pour over chocolate; whisk until smooth. Let cool until thick yet pourable, 2 to 3 minutes.