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    Home » Cakes

    Published on: February 3, 2012 by Janice; Updated on: October 8, 2021 11 Comments

    Mini chocolate beet cakes with cream cheese frosting

    Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

    Make mini chocolate beet cakes with cream cheese frosting. This recipe can also be used to make a chocolate beet sheet cake with cream cheese frosting if you prefer.
    mini chocolate layer cake with cream cheese frosting on mini porcelain plate
    mini chocolate layer cake with cream cheese frosting on a display with a pink striped napkin
    I made this chocolate beet cake that I had been eyeing ever since Joy the Baker posted the recipe.

    I love assembling layer cakes. That's my favourite part when I'm making cakes because I find the stacking part very satisfying.

    chocolate layer cake with cream cheese frosting.

    The cake is fantastic, moist, not too dense, quite chocolaty, and not too sweet. Plus, there are vegetables hidden in it! I love the fact that it's moist without having to add vegetable oil or shortening to the batter.

    The frosting is a simple cream cheese frosting, need I say more. I think tangy, but sweet cream cheese frosting goes so well with chocolate cake. I love the color contrast of the creamy white frosting on the dark cake. It looks sophisticated, and it tastes great.
    chocolate layer cake with cream cheese frosting on white plate with red and pink striped napkin

    Roasting beets to use in a cake

    For this recipe, I roasted a few beets (about 5 or 6 small ones) in a 375°F oven for about an hour in a foil packet with a little oil. I let the beets cool a little, and then I peeled and grated them. Be sure to grate them as finely as possible for the cake batter.

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    Mini chocolate beet cakes with cream cheese frosting

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    Course Dessert
    Cuisine American
    Keyword chocolate beet cake with cream cheese frosting
    Prep Time 30 minutes
    Cook Time 40 minutes
    Total Time 1 hour 10 minutes
    Servings 8 mini cakes
    Calories 776kcal
    Author Janice

    Equipment

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    Sheet pan
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    OXO whisk
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    5 Qt mixer
    Mini offset

    Ingredients

    Chocolate beet cake

    • 250 grams (2 cups) bleached all-purpose flour
    • 75 grams (⅔ cup) Cacao Barry extra brute cocoa powder
    • 5 mL (1 teaspoon) baking soda
    • 2.5 mL (½ teaspoon) baking powder
    • 2.5 mL (½ teaspoon) Diamond Crystal fine kosher salt
    • 200 grams (1½ cups) grated beets
    • 170 grams (¾ cups) unsalted butter room temperature
    • 200 grams (1 cup) light brown sugar
    • 170 grams (¾ cup) granulated sugar
    • 2 large egg(s) room temperature
    • 5 mL (1 teaspoon) pure vanilla extract
    • 310 mL (1¼ cup) buttermilk (1 % fat)

    Cream cheese frosting

    • ½ cup (½ cup) unsalted butter room temperature
    • ½ cup (½ cup) Philadelphia cream cheese (full fat, regular) room temperature
    • 2 cups (2 cups) icing sugar
    • ½ teaspoon (½ teaspoon) pure vanilla extract
    • 1 teeny-tiny pinch citric acid or ¼ teaspoon lemon juice
    • 15 mL (1 tablespoon) whole milk (3.25 % fat) up to 30 mL (2 tablespoons)

    Instructions

    To make the chocolate beet cake

    • Preheat the oven to 350°F. Prepare a 10×15-inch rimmed sheet pan by greasing it and lining the bottom with parchment paper. Set it aside for later.
    • In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Set it aside.
    • In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and the sugars until they are well combined on medium-low.
    • Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well between each addition, and scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.
    • Add the vanilla and beat again.
    • With the mixer on low, add the flour mixture alternately with the buttermilk and the grated beets. Continue mixing and scraping down the bowl until the batter is well mixed.
    • Spread the batter in the prepared pan and bake it for about 40 minutes or until a cake tester poked through the center of the cake comes out clean. The cake will begin to pull away from the sides of the pan when it is done.
    • Let the cake cool completely before proceeding.

    To make the cream cheese frosting

    • In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and cream cheese until it is light and fluffy.
    • With the mixer on low, add the other ingredients, except the milk. Increase the mixer speed to medium-high and continue beating. Thin the frosting out with 1–2 tablespoon of milk, as needed, to achieve the desired consistency.

    To assemble

    • Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. With a 3-inch cake ring or round cookie butter, cut out 16 rounds of cake. Note one will be made of cake scraps.
    • For each mini cake, place one layer of cake on the baking sheet. Top with a tablespoon or so of frosting, spread evenly, then another round of cake (pressed down gently) and then another tablespoon of frosting. Repeat with the other rounds of cake to make 8 miniature layer cakes.
    Tried this recipe?Mention @bakesomethingawesome or tag #bakesomethingawesome!

    Nutrition

    Calories: 776kcal | Carbohydrates: 108g | Protein: 9g | Fat: 38g | Saturated Fat: 23g | Cholesterol: 137mg | Sodium: 409mg | Potassium: 333mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 78g | Vitamin A: 1199IU | Calcium: 126mg | Iron: 3mg

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    Comments

    1. Torviewtoronto says

      February 04, 2012 at 4:15 am

      looks wonderful I too have tried a beet chocolate cake and it is delicious

      Reply
    2. Maggie says

      February 06, 2012 at 9:51 pm

      What a wonderful idea! I made a red velvet cake recently, at request of a friend, and cringed the whole time I was putting the red food coloring in the batter. I wondered if I could make it using beets instead, and I guess this answers my question! With a lot less cocoa powder I think this would turn out red. Great recipe and gorgeous photos!

      Reply
    3. Kiri W. says

      February 06, 2012 at 11:57 pm

      Now these are adorable! I've heard about beet chocolate cake, but never tired it. Looks delicious!

      Reply
    4. Rachel @ Bakerita says

      February 10, 2012 at 8:37 am

      This looks so yummy!! I've been wanting to try this since Joy posted it as well, and I'm glad it got your seal of approval!

      Reply
    5. Jeannie says

      February 10, 2012 at 5:06 am

      This is so beautiful and looks so delicious! I like the fact there isn't any red colouring in it.

      Reply
    6. Eve says

      February 10, 2012 at 3:22 pm

      Hehe I too got uberly inspired by Joy's lovely beet cake! I just used it as my first ever post in fact - sweeteves.wordpress.com although the pictures aren't nearly as gorgeous as yours. 🙂 And I have to admit, I've never tried cream cheese and chocolate for some reason! I'm planning on making whoopie pies soon and your cakelets look so delicious - I might just have to give the combo a try then!

      - Eve

      Reply
      • Jan says

        February 10, 2012 at 3:43 pm

        Congrats on the new blog! I'll check it out soon 🙂

        Reply
    7. sweetie says

      February 10, 2012 at 12:03 pm

      hello! lovely job on the layer cake. what does "2 cups (250 grams) INGREDIENT" mean in the ingredients list?

      Reply
      • Jan says

        February 10, 2012 at 2:48 pm

        Thanks! Sorry about that mistake. It actually was supposed to say flour, but flour is already on there. I'll delete that!

        Reply
    8. [email protected] says

      February 10, 2012 at 6:49 pm

      What a lovely cake! I adore beets and am addicted to chocolate, so this is perfect for me. I am going to think of it as a nice chocolate salad 🙂

      Reply
    9. Bailey Ana says

      March 31, 2012 at 7:36 pm

      This looks delish! I'm a big fan of Joy the Baker but I haven't tried any of her recipes yet. Maybe this one will be the first.

      Beautiful
      x

      Reply

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    Hi, I'm Janice! I am a baking-obsessed recipe developer with a PhD in Chemistry who writes about baking and the science of baking.

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