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Chocolate Beetroot Cake (gluten-free, Vegan)

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Gluten-Free & Vegan Chocolate Beetroot Cake with Coconut Whipped Cream

This Chocolate Beetroot Cake gluten-free recipe with Coconut Whipped Cream is a delicious alternative to having a high-sugar chocolate cake for any occasion. The chocolate and the beets pair beautifully together with their sweet earthy tones. It’s moist, lightly sweetened, packed full of delicious fruits, and the sweet beet after tones will just seal the deal. Perfectly balanced with just enough decadence to be a treat but healthy enough to not feel guilty.

When to make this Chocolate Beetroot Cake gluten-free

If your having guests over that or either vegan, gluten-free or both, its the perfect occasion to have make this cake. It’s versatile enough to use for any occasion; birthday, holiday or Christmas dessert, high tea, or simply in case of drop in guests.

Why Beets?

I got inspired by another vegan blogger called The Simple Green to create this recipe. I was so intrigued by the use of beets in a chocolate cake. Beets are delicious on their own, in salads, and make for a great Borscht soup but I would never think of adding them in a cake let alone a healthy chocolate cake. I was pleasantly surprised at how well they paired up with the chocolate. The beetroot adds a lot of moisture and denseness almost like a brownie and creates multi-layered earthy after tones of flavor throughout the cake which make it so much more decadent.

Tips for Making this Chocolate Beetroot Cake Gluten-free

Finding the right flour to make a Chocolate and Beetroot Cake Gluten-free

There are lots of gluten-free flours out there but not all of them going to make a good Chocolate and Beetroot Cake Gluten-free. My first attempts at this cakes were dense mainly because I was using the wrong flour.

Typically for a cake, you are looking for something that is lighter, I would suggest either the Irresistible brand of gluten-free flours or I have also used the Robin Hood brand which made a much fluffier cake. These flours are widely available in Canada. However, I’m not sure how available they are in the US so if you are located in the States, I would love to hear your thoughts on

Using Coconut Sugar


I wanted to make a low sugar cake, one that would make it so that you’re not struggling to finish it. Coconut sugar is claimed to have half the calories than regular sugar. It is also known to have a moderately lower glycemic index than other sugars and will not spike your blood sugar. 2 So given this information, I figured I would give it a shot. I absolutely loved it! I didn’t want it to be too sweet to finish and I believe I’ve accomplished this. I couldn’t get enough of this stuff. However, I realize that not everyone is the same. If your taste buds crave something a little sweeter, I would suggest adding in an extra ½ cup of brown sugar.

Alternatives for the Chocolate and Beetroot Cake Vegan

Alternatives to coconut sugar

If coconut sugar is unavailable in your area or you simply don’t have any on hand, you can easily just swap the coconut suga for either white or brown sugar.

Alternative for coconut cream

If you are not convinced of the health benefits of coconut cream, if you don’t like coconut or you don’t have the right coconut cream available, you can easily swap it out. I made this vegan cream cheese for a carrot cake that I have yet to make the post for but absolutely delicious. I have added the recipe below the coconut cream.

Is This Beetroot Chocolate Cake Healthy?


One of the more worrisome components is the coconut milk. Coconut milk, cream, and oil have all been subject to controversy. Are the fats going to cause you to gain weight and clog your arteries or is it healthy food to incorporate into our diets?

Whether or not you are on team coconut, it can be quite confusing trying to navigate through all this opposing information. The truth is that it is calorie dense mainly because of the amount of fat that it contains. However, its main source of fats is from medium-chain triglycerides, which studies have shown, can promote weight loss by reducing your appetite and increasing energy.1 Furthermore, it has been known to reduce bad cholesterol and increase the good cholesterol in our bodies.1 So, in my opinion, coconut is good which also makes beetroot chocolate cake healthy!

Making the Vegan chocolate beetroot cake recipe as a non-vegan cake

The answer is yes. This recipe is

Ingredients

  • Beets
  • Ground flax seed
  • Gluten-free All Purpose Flour
  • Cocoa powder
  • Coconut sugar
  • Brown sugar
  • Baking powder
  • Baking soda
  • Sea salt
  • Grapeseed oil
  • Unsweetened almond milk
  • Pure vanilla extract
  • Apple cider vinegar
  • Canned coconut cream
  • Icing sugar

Equipment

  • 2x 8” round cake pans

Other Great Cake Recipes

Making Chocolate Beetroot Cake Gluten-free

To make this beetroot chocolate cake gluten-free and vegan, you’ll need to preheat the oven to 375˚F (190˚F). Make sure you grease your cake pans on both the bottom and the sides.

Making the Cake Batter

In order to make this a vegan chocolate beetroot cake recipe, you will need to make your flax eggs. In a small bowl, mix your ground flax seed and water together in a small bowl. Meanwhile, mix in all you dry ingredients. mixing in all your dry ingredients first will ensure that they are well combined and that you don’t have any chunks. Once you have combined all your dry ingredients, make a well in the centre and put in your wet ones. Mix till well combined and uniform.

Baking the Cake

Pour the cake batter in the prepared cake pans into two equal portions. Bake for 55 minutes or until a toothpick comes out dry. Let the cake cool for about an hour before putting on the icing.

Making the Coconut Cream Icing Recipe

While the cake is baking, start preparing the coconut cream icing. If you are using Cha’s Organics whipped coconut cream, then you can simply pour it in a bowl the with vanilla and whip it using an egg beater until you reach a whipped consistency and you can shape peaks. If you could not find any of Cha’s and would like to find an alternative, see this link here as to how to make select a good whipped cream.

Gluten-Free & Vegan Chocolate Beetroot Cake with Coconut Whipped Cream
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Chocolate Beetroot Cake (Gluten-free, Vegan)

This Chocolate Beetroot Cake is gluten-free and is deliciously chocolatey, packed with fruits, and the sweet beet after tones will seal the deal.
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Keyword gluten-free cake, gluten-free dessert, gluten-free vegan cake, vegan cake, vegan dessert
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 55 minutes
Servings 12
Calories 338kcal
Author Happy as a Yam Recipes

Equipment

  • 2×8” cake pans

Ingredients

  • 1 cup Beets cooked
  • 2 Tbsp Ground flax seed
  • 4 Tbsp Water
  • 3 cups Gluten-free All Purpose Flour
  • ¾ cup Cocoa powder
  • ¾ cup Coconut sugar
  • ½ cup Brown sugar
  • 1 ½ tsp Baking powder
  • 1 tsp Baking soda
  • ½ tsp Sea salt
  • cup Grapeseed oil alternatively you could use Olive oil
  • 2 cups Unsweetened almond milk
  • 3 tsp Pure vanilla extract
  • 1 tsp Apple cider vinegar

Whipped Cream "Icing"

  • 2 cups Coconut whipped cream or 2 cans of full fat coconut milk (see link in notes for options in making coconut whipped cream) I used Cha's Organics coconut whipping cream
  • ½ cup Icing sugar sifted

Toppings (optional)

  • Fruits of choice
  • Chocolate shavings
  • Icing sugar spinkled

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 375˚F (190˚C), line cake pans with parchment paper and grease the sides.
  • In a small bowl, combine the flax meal and water and let stand for 5-10 minutes or until thickened. Meanwhile in a large bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Make a well in the centre and set aside.
  • In a medium sized bowl, whisk together the almond milk, apple cider vinegar, grapeseed oil, vanilla extract, and beets and mix till well incorporated.
  • Slowly pour your wet ingredients into the well created within your dry ingredients and mix till well combined.
  • Pour batter into cake pans, splitting it in 2 equal parts. Bake for 55 minutes to 1 hour (at 375˚F or 190˚C), or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Coconut Whipped Cream

  • While the cake is baking, if you are using Cha's organics whipped cream, take your coconut cream and pour it into a large mixing bowl. Using an egg beater, whip up your coconut cream until you reach some fluffiness, about 1 minute. If you are using cans of coconut milk see link in notes on how to create the perfect coconut whipped cream. Alternatively, if you are using another store bought coconut whipped cream, you may skip this section completely.
  • Once your cake has been cooling for at least an hour, place your bottom portion of the cake on your serving platter. You won't want to move it once all of your toppings are loaded on. Spread half of the whipped coconut cream onto your bottom portion then layer on the top portion of your cake and spread the rest of the whipped cream.
  • Garnish with toppings of your choice. Serve chilled. Keeps for 3 days.

Notes

*How to make coconut whipped cream, click here
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Vegan cream Cheese Icing Recipe

Author Happy as a Yam Recipes

Equipment

  • Egg Beater

Ingredients

  • 2 Containers of vegan cream cheese (8 oz) Softened to room temperature
  • 1 cup vegan butter softened but not margarine
  • 2 cups icing sugar

Instructions

  • In a medium to large-sized bowl, fold in the softened vegan butter, vegan cream cheese and the icing sugar with fork until the icing sugar melts into the butter and cream cheese.
  • Take the egg beater and whip up the cream cheese icing until it creates peaks.

Sources:

  1. Health Benefits of Coconut Milk and Coconut Cream
  2. Coconut Sugar — A Healthy Sugar Alternative or a Big, Fat Lie?

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6 Comments

  1. OMG this looks so amazing! Im going to try this over the weekend since its my husband’s birthday and he is going to flip! Beautiful images BTW

  2. I tried this yesterday for a small gathering we had and turned out great. I opted for a store bought chocolate icing to save some time and it was so delicious. It reminds me of a brownie texture fudgy and chocolatey.

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