Thrive Market Chocolate Beet Cake Recipe

It’s our birthday! We’re celebrating three incredible years of delivering healthy groceries to doors across America. Because we can’t send each and every one of our amazing members a thick slice of birthday cake, we’re doing the next best thing and sharing the recipe. Obviously, this is no ordinary cake. Our chocolatey confection is gluten-free, dairy-free…and has a vegetable inside! Puréed beets make it super moist and give this decadent treat a little dose of wholesome goodness. We also slathered it with two kinds of frosting for a two-tone effect—one gets its creaminess from avocado rather than butter, and the other uses thick coconut cream for a perfect consistency. Here are two quick tips: The day before, roast and purée the beets in advance so they’re ready to whip into the batter, and stick your coconut cream in the fridge so it can chill for 12 hours.

Thrive Market Chocolate Beet Cake

Yield: 10-12 servings
Active Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour and 5 minutes

Ingredients

For the cake
3 red beets
1 cup Thrive Market Organic Coconut Flour
⅓ cup almond flour
¾ cup Thrive Market Regeneratively Grown Organic Cacao Powder
2 tablespoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
12 eggs, room temperature
1 ½ cups unsweetened almond milk
1 cup Thrive Market Organic, Raw, Unstrained Honey
¼ cup Organic Virgin Coconut Oil
2 tablespoons vanilla extract
1 tablespoon Thrive Market Organic Apple Cider Vinegar

For the chocolate buttercream frosting
2 ripe avocados
3 cups powdered sugar
½ cup Thrive Market Regeneratively Grown Organic Cacao Powder
2 to 3 tablespoons almond flour
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the chocolate coconut cream
1 (13.5-ounce) can Thrive Market Organic Coconut Cream
½ cup powdered sugar
2 tablespoons Thrive Market Regeneratively Grown Organic Cacao Powder
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Instructions

Make the cake
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease 2 9-inch cake pans with cooking spray and line the bottoms with parchment paper.

Start by cooking the beets. Wrap whole, unpeeled beets individually in foil and roast for 45 minutes, or until a knife can be inserted easily. Allow to cool, then remove the skin. (Rinsing the beets under cold water helps the skin peel off easily.) Place in food processor and purée until smooth.

In a medium bowl, whisk together coconut flour, almond flour, cacao, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In a stand mixer, whisk eggs until light and fluffy, about 3 to 5 minutes. Add beet purée (1 ½ cups) and almond milk; continue whisking until blended and mixture has doubled in volume, scraping down the sides as needed. Add honey, coconut oil, vanilla extract, and apple cider vinegar; mix until combined. On low speed, gently pour the dry ingredients into the mixer and beat until incorporated. Increase speed and beat for 1 more minute.

Divide batter into cake pans and bake for 35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes, then invert onto a rack to cool completely.

Make the chocolate buttercream
Purée avocado in a food processor until creamy. Add remaining ingredients and process until fully mixed, scraping down the sides as needed. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Make the chocolate coconut frosting
Refrigerate can of coconut milk for 12 hours. Remove can and spoon out the thick cream from the top; reserve liquid for another use. Add cream to a large bowl and whisk until smooth. Add powdered sugar, cacao and vanilla. With a hand mixer, whip until thick, about 5 minutes. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Frost the cake
Place 1 cooled cake round on a plate. Frost the top with chocolate buttercream, then invert the other cake round over the frosting (so the flat bottom is on top). Fill a piping bag with remaining buttercream and pipe the top of the cake in a circular motion, using an offset spatula to spread evenly.

To create an ombre effect, switch to the coconut frosting and pipe 2 layers around the center of the cake. Use an offset spatula and spread until smooth. For a layered look, leave about 1-inch of chocolate buttercream on either side of the coconut frosting. Refrigerate cake until ready to eat, and store for 3 to 5 days, chilled.

Recipe credit: Angela Gaines