Chocolate Raspberry Beet Cake with buttermilk cream

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Mom always said to eat your vegetables. So call this getting even… Make her vegetables as a Mother’s Day dessert.

Or maybe it’s just the ticket for letting her know how much you listen to what she’s always saying. We took beets and incorporated them into a delicious, moist and surprisingly rich chocolate cake. To up its lovability even more (because hey, your mom loves you) we added sweet-tart raspberries and serve the whole thing with a luscious buttermilk cream.

Not sure about the idea of beets in a cake? Believe it or not, you won’t even know they are there. But you will know this is an incredibly moist and rich chocolate cake, and that’s what matters.

CHOCOLATE-RASPBERRY BEET CAKE WITH BUTTERMILK CREAM

Start to finish: 1 1/2 hours
Servings: 16

For the cake:
2 cups packed (15 ounces) brown sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon table salt
1/2 teaspoon dry ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon grated nutmeg
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 cup vegetable or canola oil
3 eggs
2/3 cup (2 ounces) unsweetened cocoa powder
2 1/3 cups (10 ounces) all-purpose flour
2/3 cup buttermilk
1 cup packed finely grated peeled raw beets
1 cup (6 ounces) finely chopped bittersweet chocolate, plus more for serving
2 cups fresh raspberries, plus more for serving

For the buttermilk cream:
1 vanilla bean
1/2 cup buttermilk
3/4 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons granulated sugar

Heat the oven to 350 F. Coat a Bundt or tube pan with baking spray.

To make the cake, in a large bowl, use an electric mixer on medium-high speed to beat together the brown sugar, butter, baking soda, salt, ginger, nutmeg and vanilla until well combined. Add the oil and beat until light and fluffy, scraping down the bowl once or twice. Add the eggs, one at a time, scraping the bowl between additions.

In a small bowl, sift together the cocoa powder and flour. Add the flour mixture to the moist ingredients in 2 increments, alternating with the buttermilk, mixing briefly between each addition. Stir in the beets and chocolate, then gently fold in the raspberries. Spoon the mixture into the prepared pan and bake for 50 to 60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted at the centre comes out with just a few moist crumbs.

Allow the cake to cool in the pan for 20 minutes before turning out on a rack to finish cooling.

When the cake is cooled and ready to serve, prepare the buttermilk cream. Scrape the seeds from the vanilla bean into a large bowl. Add the buttermilk, cream and sugar, then use an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment to whisk on medium-high until very soft peaks form. Serve slices of the cake topped with the cream and additional raspberries and shaved chocolate.

Nutrition information per serving: 430 calories; 210 calories from fat (49 per cent of total calories); 23 g fat (10 g saturated; 0.5 g trans fats); 70 mg cholesterol; 54 g carbohydrate; 4 g fiber; 34 g sugar; 6 g protein; 270 mg sodium.