Chocolate Beet Cake

From Farmer’s Inn in Havana, North Dakota.

Recipe Courtesy Joel Rosen

Ingredients

1 ½ lbs beets (washed, greens removed)

¼ teaspoon vanilla

1 ¾ cup all-purpose flour

1 cup vegetable oil

1 ½ teaspoon baking soda

½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder (not Dutch-processed)

¼ teaspoon salt

½ cup water

1 ½ cup sugar

3 large eggs

Preparation

Simmer beets in lightly salted water until tender (35-45 minutes). Drain in colander and rinse until cool. Slip off skins and coarsely shred enough to measure recipe amount.

Preheat oven to 350 F and grease 13x9 baking pan.

Sift flour, baking soda, and salt into bowl and whisk together.

Beat sugar, eggs, vanilla, and oil until smooth.

Add beets and cocoa powder to sugar mixture and beat until combined.

Pour batter into pan and bake on middle oven rack for 35 minutes.