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STOP! Before you hit ‘Jump to Recipe’ check ‘Skip to the Good Bit‘ below. I may answer a query you have about this recipe.
How did my Beetroot Brownie Cake come about you ask? I really love beetroot, and I don’t feel that I eat enough of it, maybe it’s the preparation that puts me off? But I’ve got two ways you can prevent getting caught red handed with beetroot, read on to find out how.
Skip to the good bit
- How to prepare the beetroot for this cake
- Grating your beetroot
- Can this Beetroot Cake be made egg free?
- But I can eat eggs!
- Does this cake taste of beetroot?
- Ways to make it taste less of beetroot
- Ingredients you will need
- Equipment you will need
- How to make a beetroot cake?
- Other vegetable inspired gluten free recipes
- Gluten Free Beetroot Brownie Cake Recipe
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How to prepare the beetroot for this cake
Can I use fresh raw beetroot?
Yes, you can use fresh raw beetroot for this cake, it’s perfect for homegrown beetroot or beetroot bought from the farmers market.
How to prep fresh beetroot
This is the messy option, you have been warned. You will need to peel the beetroot first. A clever way to to this is peel the round body part whilst pinching the top and tail. Then cut off the top and tail before grating.
Another trick is to use washing up gloves, but these will stain.
Can I use pre-cooked beetroot?
Yes, you can use pre-cooked beetroot for this Gluten Free Beetroot Brownie Cake. You can buy prepared and cooked beetroot from most supermarkets and even some farmers markets too.
How to prep cooked beetroot
Prepping cooked beetroot is much simpler process. You simply need to cut open the packaging and grate the required amount, for this recipe that’s about 3 small to medium beetroots. You can use a manual grater or a handle grater. More about this in the next paragraph.
Grating your beetroot
I have a great toy for my kitchen (pun intended), it’s a rotary grating-thingy (can you tell this isn’t a review, like I’d get away with calling a product a ‘thingy’!!) I first saw it advertised on Instagram, quick tip here, if you ever see anything that takes your fancy on Instagram pop over to Amazon, you’ll get it almost half the price I guarantee it!
Anyway, I saw this rotary grating thingy and it’s been a blessing, my son loves grating all sorts of veggies in it and actually let me put carrots in his spaghetti bolognaise because HE’D grated them!
Can this Beetroot Cake be made egg free?
Once again, Yes is the answer. See how adaptable this cake can be! I wanted to make an egg-less, dairy free, gluten free cake…basically so that I could eat it because I was pretty darn sure the kids would run for the hills if I offered them a slice. I also wanted to add less sugar, beetroots sweet enough as it is.
Normally in my eggless baking I’d make up a flaxseed egg but this cake is already a bit faffy with the grating of the beetroot so I just throw some ground flaxseeds into the cake mixture, on some occasions I used ground chia seed, other times I use ground flax seed (linseed) and I’m currently using a combination of both that blitzed together in the blender for a few seconds and added to a Tupperware tub.
For future reference this is how I make my flaxseed eggs.
How to make a flax egg
to make 1 flax egg you need the following ingredients:
– 1tbsp ground flax seed
– 3tbsp water
– 1tsp psyllium husk (optional but does add elasticity to baking)
Simply add all ingredients to a glass and stir before measuring out the other recipe ingredients, by the time you come to use your ‘egg’ mixture it will have thickened to a frog-spawn consistency (thicker if you added psyllium husk)
Then just add to your baking as you would an egg. For 2 eggs double the ingredients but note that recipes that require more than two eggs may fail due to lack of support in the structure.
But I can eat eggs!
Great news! So in that case you can add an egg to this cake. I’d use a large egg (or two small) and I’d add it to the first stage when you beat the oil, milk and cocoa powder together.
Does this cake taste of beetroot?
Chocolate and beetroot is a classic flavour combination, the richness of the beetroot and dark chocolate really compliment one another so I knew this beetroot brownie cake combination would work well.
The rich colour of the vegetable also turn the cake an awesome chocolatey red colour not unlike red velvet cakes.
In answer to your question, yes the cake does have a wonderfully earthy beetroot flavour. It’s mildly savoury but also naturally sweet too. If you gave a slice to someone and didn’t tell them they might notice the deep earthy tones but possibly not be able to put their finger on the flavour.
If you love beetroot, like I love beetroot then this recipe is 100% for you!
Ways to make it taste less of beetroot
Try a different flour
If you’re concerned about the earthy tones of the beetroot then why not add coconut flour to add a sweeter flavour dimension. Be warned, coconut flour can be a interesting flour to work with, a teaspoon of coconut flour could soak up a puddle. It’s really absorbent, with that in mind you need to make sure you add enough liquid to cope with the flour. I would recommend subbing 50g of the gluten free self raising flour for 50g of coconut flour rather than swapping the the entire self raising flour.
Try adding more sugar
This recipe only has 150g (if making 1x recipe) of sugar in the cake mixture. Beetroot is after all quite sweet. However, if you feel that the cake batter isn’t sweet enough or your are concerned the beetroot may be too much then add another 50g of sugar.
I use light brown sugar as this adds a toffee flavour that compliments the beetroot but you could top p this sugar with some caster sugar to increase the sweetness.
Ingredients you will need
For the beetroot cake
- cooked or raw beetroot
- light brown sugar or caster sugar
- sunflower oil
- cocoa powder
- gluten free self raising flour
- ground flaxseed
- dairy free milk (I use soya milk)
- white wine vinegar
for the buttercream topping/filling
- butter or butter alternative (I use Flora plant butter)
- icing/confectioners sugar
- vanilla extract
- seedless raspberry jam (optional)
Equipment you will need
- Kitchen Scales
- 20cm round cake tin
- baking paper
- rotary grater or a normal cheese grater (messy!)
- mixing bowl
- set of measuring spoons
- silicone spatula
- electric whisk
- cooling rack
How to make a beetroot cake?
Other vegetable inspired gluten free recipes
Below is an alternative way to decorate this Beetroot Brownie Cake. Here I didn’t bother to slice the cake in half. Instead I’ve left the cake whole and smothered the vanilla buttercream over the top. I had come cacao nibs handy on this occasion so sprinkled the cake with these for a delicious added crunch.
Gluten Free Beetroot Brownie Cake Recipe
If you make it and like the recipe I would be eternally grateful if you popped back and commented leaving a star rating as this will tell search engines that this recipe is worth checking out and others will get to find it in searches.
Gluten Free Beetroot Brownie Cake
Equipment
- rotary grater or a normal grater (messy!)
Ingredients
For the beetroot cake
- 3 medium cooked or raw beetroot approx. 250g
- 150 g light brown sugar or caster sugar
- 50 ml sunflower oil
- 50 g cocoa powder
- 150 g gluten free self raising flour
- 2 tbsp ground flaxseed
- 100 ml dairy free milk I use soya milk
- 1 tsp white wine vinegar
for the buttercream topping/filling
- 100 g butter or butter alternative (I use Flora plant butter)
- 300 g icing/confectioners sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 3 tbsp seedless raspberry jam optional
Instructions
To make the beetroot cake
- Pre heat the oven to 200°C | 180°F | 400°F | Gas 5
- Peel and grate the beetroot if raw or simply grate if pre-cooked and add to a small bowl for later.
- Add the sugar, oil and cocoa powder, flaxseed and milk or milk alternative to a large mixing bowl and whisk thoroughly to combine.
- Next, add the gluten free self raising flour and whisk again until you've beat out all the lumps.
- Now add the grated beetroot and white wine vinegar, this will loosen the cake batter, you can fold this in rather than whisk it (the beetroot gets stuck in the beaters anyway!).
- Spoon the sloppy cake mixture into a lined and greased 20cm cake tin and pop in the oven 25-30 minutes.
- The cake will not rise much but will have a soft bounce to the touch when gently pressed with your finger. TOP TIP: To check if it's cooked insert a wooden cocktail stick or skewer. don't worry too much if there's a tiny but of mixture on the very end of the stick. Remember, this is a brownie-style cake so will be a bit gooey.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely.
To make the buttercream and decorate
- This is optional, but you can carefully slice this cake in half so you have two thin layers. This is a bit tricky but the end result looks great
- To make the icing simply beat the icing sugar, 'butter' and vanilla extract together until light in colour.
- Add the buttercream to a piping bag with a nozzle of your choice and pipe onto one half of the cake (or the top if not making a sandwich-style cake)
Notes
But I can eat eggs!
Great news! So in that case you can add an egg to this cake. I’d use a large egg (or two small) and I’d add it to the first stage when you beat the oil, milk and cocoa powder together.Nutrition
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Marianne Wilkins says
Made this, this morning as boosting hubbies health with whatever I can when I can. I make him a few different cakes that are cut smaller so that he can have 2 pieces each day that help his heart, lung and eye health. He loves this cake and I even added just a teaspoon each of black treacle and molasses, just to ensure it has everything he needs. Thank you, another excellent reason for following your recipes ☺️
Glutarama says
Fantastic to hear Marianne, not everyone likes the deep earthy tones of beetroot cake but I love it combined with cocoa to make chocolate cake. Great idea to add the black treacle too 😀
Marianne Wilkins says
Such a yummy healthy treat, love your cakes/cookies ☺️
Glutarama says
Thank you Marianne, so kind of you to take the time to come back and leave a review. Rebecca xx
Marianne says
Easy to make, much easier to eat LOL – one very happy gf/df hubby sitting and enjoying his first slice. I didn’t cut in half, just added the butter icing to the top because I knew I would have messed it up. I did use the food processor and so happy that I did as I am a messy cook at best. However, the bowl was almost cleaned with a spatula as the washer upper/taste tester couldn’t resist. I used egg as we can have them and will make it again ☺️
Glutarama says
Wonderful comment to come back and read, thank you Marianne. Thrilled that hubby enjoyed. Great to know you found the egg version worked well too. This is certianly a firm favourite of mine. Thank you again, Rebecca xx
E- HEALTH ONLINE says
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I love this post honestly.
Thanks. Great job.
Gill says
Delicious! with thanks to the food processor for containing the beetroot carnage, this was a huge success. The beetroot were actually a bit soft and old but who knew! I used hemp milk and needed a little extra as suggested. Love it – thanks. Photo on Facebook post :)
Mandy says
Chocolate and beetroot is just a perfect combination – they really go so well together. YUM!
Glutarama says
I know right…It’s time I made this again actually, best get some beetroot in!
Jac says
I am making this tonight!! So hard to find good eggless gluten free cakes!!! I just have one question, you mention coconut flour in the post, but not the recipe – is there a reason for this please? Coconut flour a lot cheaper and I try to avoid grains as much as possible.
Thank you!
Glutarama says
This is a review Jac, the cupcakes were gifted me to try as they are made by a free from baker. You can order them online if you follow the link to Maggie’s website…Bake It Free From. I am honoured to have the opportunity to giveaway a box of six also, hence the giveaway rules at the end of this post. That gives you two choices to get your hands on some of these DELICIOUS cupcakes, win them or purchase them. Good luck xxx
Ushmana Palmo Rai says
This is such a great innovation! I would have never thought of putting beetroot into my brownie but this looks scrumptious! I want to take a bite of my screen so bad! Going to try this out! Thank you so much for sharing!
Indu says
This looks delicious and healthy! Do you know what is in the gluten free flour mix you used? I wonder if I can just use coconut flour? Many thanks!
Glutarama says
Hi there, I use two gf flour blends Doves Farm and Free From Fairy (link for the second on my landing page) just using coconut would require a lot more liquid. You usually use 1/3 coconut flour in comparison to shop bought gluten free flour blends
Eva says
This looks utterly delicious, I love the combination of beetroot and chocolate.
Carrie veatch says
I’ve never bakes with beetroot that I can recall, so I am adding this delicious looking recipe to the list!!
Glutarama says
Thank you Carrie, I recommend you do! :-)
Hannah says
I’ve tried a similar recipe before and I loved it – to my surprise! Mmm.
Kate - gluten free alchemist says
Beetroot is a messy beast for sure, but so yummy in cakes. We grew HUGE beets this year in the garden and still have a couple in the larder waiting for inspiration….. Looks like it’s time for cake! Again!!! xx
Glutarama says
hehe, I don’t even bother trying to avoid the pink handed look now, it’s a badge of honour for getting round to doing some baking!!
Nikki @ Notes of Life says
Mmm… I might just have to give this a go! Thank you :)
jo says
i love sweetening naturally with beetroot. This looks so moist. yum x
Angela / Only Crumbs Remain says
Wow Rebecca, that looks soooo very tempting! I love how veggies like betrot make such great cakes.
Angela x
Glutarama says
Thank you Angela, with a harvest like we’ve had we need to find ways to use all the goodies up haha
jenny paulin says
mmmmm your cake looks delicious. beetroot adds such a great depth of flavour to a chocolate cake. x
Glutarama says
Thank you Jenny, you’re absolutely right, such a great flavour combination :-)
Chloe Ciliberto says
I love beetroot but never would have thought about putting it into a cake. This sounds AMAZING! I really want to give it a go x
Glutarama says
Thank you Chloe x
Stephanie says
Oh that looks and tastes so yummy! I am off to pin for future
Glutarama says
Thank you Stephanie x
Laura says
I don’t love beetroot but your cake looks delish! I’d love to try it in a recipe like this and maybe eventually teach myself to like it on its own also. #FreeFromHarvest
Glutarama says
Oh bless you, it can be quite a acquired taste as its very strong…even more so in baking in fact…that’s where you pump up the chocolate though to soften the earthy flavour and create a rich deep chocolate flavour instead xxx
Sarah says
Im not really a fan of beetroot if im honest. However this does sounds and look yummy
Glutarama says
See my reply to Laura…it does work :-)
DJT @ Thinking Thrifty says
Oh gosh these look very tasty!!
Glutarama says
Thank you :-)
Eb Gargano says
Yum this looks fab and I love the fact that something so decadent looking has all that healthy beetroot hiding in it!! My faveourite way to have beetroot is to roast it – I just literally plonk it on a roasting tray, toss with a little oil plus salt and pepper and roast – easy peasy (and no pink hands!!) – it’s lovely in a warm salad of other roast veggies and salad leaves, plus a drizzle of homemade dressing…. Eb x
Glutarama says
Haha, always looking for ways to eat beets without the red hand scenario!
Anosa says
My oven broke just few days ago and sadly I can bake yet. So for now I am compiling good recipes to try on. Glad I find this one too. Hopefully, my landlord will replace it immediately so I can try this.
Glutarama says
Bless you, I think I’d be rocking in a corner somewhere if I didn’t have an oven, fingers crossed it’s sorted for you soon xx
Leta says
Vegetables in cake are so popular these days. This one looks delicious!
Glutarama says
I’ll do anything to get more veggies in the kids! Plus, veg in gluten free baking add moisture so win-win!
Baby Isabella and dawn says
This is a great free from recipe and its great that it still maintains its flavour and texture. I know a lot of people that would like to try this!
Glutarama says
Thank you, it’s one of my fav cakes at the moment!
Vicki Montague says
This looks fab! But do you know what? I hate the peeling and boiling thing so I think I’ll buy mine from the supermarket already done! Eek…you didn’t read that. This is the cake for me!
Glutarama says
Haha, my grinder thing is quite a success with the kids…they do it for me now…I have house elves at last!!!
Benjamin Richardson says
I am also not a huge fan of the peeling and boiling and . . . . have found there is a *huge* difference in the flavour and colour between the steamed and cooked beetroot available. If you can find the steamed it has waaay more colour and flavour out of the bag. Wholefoods sell a brand of prepared steamed beetroot as do some supermarkets
Kara says
I love beetroot but never thought about baking with it. Looks and sounds delicious
Glutarama says
Thank you Kara, it’s a yummy way to have chocolate…minus the guilt haha
Holly - Little Pickle's Mom says
Oh cool! I’ve never used beetroot before (it’s not something we had in our house when I was growing up as my Dad hates it!) but I’ve eaten it a few time in cakes and love the moisture it gives! Maybe I’ll give this a go!
Glutarama says
Exactly, it’s the moistness that’s perfect in gluten free baking, plus it adds a lovely deep flavour.
Jon says
I am ALL OVER these! I love any recipe that involved brownies, going to give it a go!
Glutarama says
The word brownies does seem to get peoples attention Jon ;-)
five little doves says
I’ve been GF for two years now and love when I discover gluten free recipes that I actually want to make! These look amazing and I love that they have some nutritional value to justify them to myself!
Glutarama says
Oh bless you I didn’t realise you were GF! oh yes…there’s lost of goodness in here, one of your five-a-day I’m sure ;-)
Honest Mum says
Oh wow, that looks incredible. Love the marriage of beetroot and chocolate in cake, I first tried it at restaurant in Waterloo on the Southbank. Adore your pics x
Glutarama says
Oh thank you for that Vicki that means a lot to me, I’m getting better, Mel Knibbs gave me some awesome top tips last time she came over mine so it’s all thanks to her. I too love the beet/choc combo, you can’t beat it, so rich!
Midge @ Peachicks' Bakery says
You know you could just use yellow or stripey beets instead!! No pink fingers or bloodbath chopping boards!! Love that this is vegan & glutenfree… Send me a slice! Xxx
Glutarama says
hmmmm, that’s an idea! I wonder if they alter the taste at all??? xxx
Midge @ Peachicks' Bakery says
Nope! shouldn’t do – actually the yellow ones are a lot sweeter!
Renee @ mummytries says
Looks fab Rebecca, well done!
Glutarama says
Thank you Renee its good to be back in the kitchen xxx