Summer Beet Cake with Cream Cheese-Brown Butter Frosting

Throughout the summer and early fall, I visit my local CSA (community-supported agriculture) farm share, where I am a member, to pick up my share of delicious vegetables, herbs, flowers, and berries. From May until November, I am in “foodie farm heaven!!”  I love using all my fresh foods to make salads, soups, pies, and muffins.  One of my favorite veggies is BEETS!  I never ate them as a kid, but that all changed once I started eating farm beets! There is nothing like the taste of a fresh beet salad!  In fact, I just used a bunch of beets to make a Beet Cake–you heard me right.  It might sound a little strange at first, but it was amazing!!!  If you want to sneak something healthy into your kid’s diet, you MUST try this!  And don’t tell them you added beets—until after they have raved about how yummy it tastes!!!  

I shared my famous beet cake recipe with the farm chef/farm store manager (this is a full-service farm—it caters for weddings/events, and has a beautiful rustic farm store with lots of farm-baked goods, local honey, pickled veggies, specialty coffee beans, and other treats). She baked up my recipe and sold big, delicious squares of it in the farm store!! By the time I got to the farm fridge, there were only two pieces left! So exciting! So head to your local farm market, CSA or grocery store for some fresh beets this summer and give beet cake a try–I promise it will not disappoint. (If you are a carrot cake lover, then this recipe is for you—both carrots and beets are sweet root veggies with similar flavor profiles.)

Beet Cake with Cream Cheese-Brown Butter Frosting

Ingredients:

• 1 1/3 c. flour
• 1 c. sugar
• 1 ½ tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
• ½ tsp. ground cloves
• ¼ tsp. ground mace
• ½ tsp. ground ginger
• ½ tsp. salt
• 2/3 c. vegetable oil
• 3 large eggs
• 1 ½ c. shredded raw beets

Frosting:

• 6 tbsp. unsalted butter
• 1 ¼ c. confectioner’s sugar
• 4 ounces of cream cheese
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract

Method:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour a 13 X 9″ pan. Whisk the dry ingredients together in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs and oil. Stir this mix into the dry ingredients with a spatula until just combined. Stir in the raw beets – the mix will be quite thick. Pour the batter into the greased and floured pan. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 25-30 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, melt 6 tbsp. of unsalted butter over medium heat, swirling the pan until the butter becomes fragrant and golden brown. Remove from the heat and cool. Using an electric mixer, whisk in the confectioner’s sugar, cream cheese, and vanilla extract until smooth and spreadable.

When the cake is cool, ice it with the brown butter icing. Refrigerated until ready to serve.