Recipe: Natural Red Velvet Cake

It’s Valentine’s Day tomorrow! Perfect time for a natural red velvet cake – and it’s naturally coloured, not with a whole bottle of chemical food colouring – yuck.

What’s the secret? Beets! Also – my recipe is a bit on the healthier side with using bananas instead of butter.

Ingredients

• • 3 cups of cake flour
  • 2 1/2 tablespoons of cocoa powder
  • 1 teaspoon of kosher salt
  • 2 teaspoons of baking powder
  • 1 cup of mashed bananas (about 3) (or butter)
  • 2 tablespoon vanilla extract
  • 2 1/2 cups of sugar
  • 4 eggs
  • 1 cup milk
  • 2 beets – pureed
  • 1/3 tablespoons of orange juice
  • 3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

  Icing

  • 1 package of cream cheese
  • 3 cups of icing sugar
  • 1/4 cup of butter

  First – you need to roast your beets and get working on the puree. Set your oven to 450 degrees. Wash and peel the beets. Cut into small pieces, this way the cook faster. Bake in the oven for about 40 minutes or until tender.

  

  Icing Time

  Next – work on your icing. Blend the cream cheese and the butter together in the mixer. Then, 1/2 cup at a time add in the sugar. Taste to see if it’s sweet enough – I like mine sweet!

  

  Once it’s all mixed, set aside and clean up your mixer.

  

  Cake Time

  Grab the cake flour and the other top 4 ingredients. Mix together in a bowl and whisk – set aside.

  
  Now, mash up one cup of bananas, or use butter. You will taste the bananas…not super strong, of course, but rather faint. If you’re rather use butter, go for it. I didn’t have enough, and moreover, I’d rather use the bananas…much healthier!
  

  Cream up the mashed banana, sugar and the vanilla.

  
  Time for the beet puree. Put the hot beets in your blender – I used my Vitamix. Pulse on high until they turn into fine pieces. Next, add in the orange juice and the apple cider vinegar. Blend again. Then, add in the milk – blend again. The puree should be bright red and not too thick. Set aside.

  

  In your mixer, add in one egg at a time to the banana/sugar mixture. Once the eggs are well blended, add in a bit of the beet puree and the dry ingredients. Keep mixing until everything is incorporated.

  Bake Time

  Pour out into 2 well greased 9 inch pans. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes. Mine took 36 minutes. Check with a toothpick and if it comes out clean, the cakes are done.
  
  Now – you need to let the cakes cool. I put mine in the fridge for about 5 hours and then iced them. The last thing you want is for the warm cake to melt the icing and have it run all over the place. Not so pretty.

  Put down your first cake and, using a serrated bread knife, even out the top.
  

  Top with lots of icing. You may want to double your icing recipe if you want to fill the cake with a lot of icing!
  
  Now, top with the second cake.
  

  Ice the whole cake and cut a piece to eat!
  

  Eat up! It’s yummy and the perfect red treat for Valentine’s day!
  

  
  Bake up!

  Recipe

  

  Print Recipe

  Natural Red Velvet Cake

  Author: Ali

  Servings: 1 cake

  It’s Valentine’s Day tomorrow! Perfect time for a natural red velvet cake – and it’s naturally coloured, not with a whole bottle of chemical food colouring – yuck.

  What’s the secret? Beets! Also – my recipe is a bit on the healthier side with using bananas instead of butter.

  Prep Time1 hour hour

  Cook Time40 minutes minutes

  Total Time1 hour hour 40 minutes minutes

  CourseBaking

  CuisineAmerican

  Ingredients

  • 3 cups of cake flour
  • 2 1/2 tablespoons of cocoa powder
  • 1 teaspoon of kosher salt
  • 2 teaspoons of baking powder
  • 1 cup of mashed bananas about 3 (or butter)
  • 2 tablespoon vanilla extract
  • 2 1/2 cups of sugar
  • 4 eggs
  • 1 cup milk
  • 2 beets - pureed
  • 1/3 tablespoons of orange juice
  • 3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
  • Icing
  • 1 package of cream cheese
  • 3 cups of icing sugar
  • 1/4 cup of butter

  Instructions

  • Set your oven to 450 degrees. Wash and peel the beets. Cut into small pieces and bake in the oven for 40 minutes or until tender.
  • Next blend the cream cheese and the butter together in the mixer. Then, 1/2 cup at a time add in the sugar. Set aside and clean up your mixer.
  • Mix the cake flour and the other top 4 ingredients - set aside.
  • Now, mash up one cup of bananas, or use butter. Cream up the mashed banana, sugar and the vanilla.
  • Put the hot beets in your blender - I used my Vitamix. Pulse on high until they turn into fine pieces. Next, add in the orange juice and the apple cider vinegar. Blend again. Then, add in the milk - blend again. The puree should be bright red and not too thick. Set aside.
  • In your mixer, add in one egg at a time to the banana/sugar mixture. Once the eggs are well blended, add in a bit of the beet puree and the dry ingredients. Keep mixing until everything is incorporated.
  • Pour out into 2 well greased 9 inch pans. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes.
  • Cool the cakes then ice away.

   

  Related