FO: Chocolate Beet Cake with Chocolate Buttercream Frosting

This weekend was filled with success. I tried a new cake recipe that turned out deliciously, I improvised a frosting recipe that wasn’t too bad, and the icing job was my best ever!

After my success with Black Bean Brownies, I was interested in trying out Chocolate Beet Cake. I hadn’t tasted it before, but I like chocolate, and I like beets, so it had to work, right? I’ve liked every recipe I’ve tried by Joy the Baker, so when I found her Chocolate Beet Cake recipe, I knew it would be a good place to start.

For the most part, I followed the recipe as written. The only change I made was to use 3 egg yolks instead of 2 whole eggs. This was to accommodate the egg whites needed for my frosting, and luckily it turned out well. The recipe said that the batter would look slightly reddish or purple:

But it really did look just like regular chocolate cake batter. After cooking, there was still no discernible difference:

While the cake was cooling, I formulated my plan of attack for frosting. I’m OK with cream cheese frosting, but I’ve just had it so recently after making my Pink Velvet Cupcakes, and I wanted a change. I decided to go all out on the chocolate in this cake, and make a chocolate buttercream. I looked at a few different recipes in my Martha Stewart Cooking School book (a great reference), and used them as a basis for my own chocolate buttercream frosting.

It is light and fluffy, stays soft for days after it’s been made, and doesn’t melt away. I’m very happy with the results, and even happier with how nicely I was able to frost this cake! I can be pretty lazy with making things look nice, so I’m happy that this one worked well to have some pretty pictures for you. The recipe I made was just the right amount for a two layer 9 inch cake. I used all of the frosting to get full coverage on this cake.

Chocolate Swiss Meringue Buttercream Frosting
makes 3 cups

3 large egg whites
3/4 cup white sugar
pinch of salt
1/2 tsp cream of tartar
3 tbsp cocoa powder
1 cup unsalted butter

Put egg whites, sugar, and salt in a heatproof bowl over boiling water. Whisk continuously, heating for about 3 minutes (until sugar is dissolved and mixture is smooth). Remove from heat, add cream of tartar, and mix on medium low in a stand mixer. Once frothy, turn mixer up to medium high, and continue whipping until glossy and room temperature, and eggs form stiff peaks. Turn speed to low and add cocoa powder. Add butter 2 tablespoons at a time, waiting until the previous piece is incorporated. Once all of the butter is added, turn mixer to medium high, and continue mixing until the frosting is smooth and light. Along the way, it might looked curdled. Don’t worry, just keep mixing! Once the frosting looks ready, turn the mixer to low and mix for 1 more minute to remove any air bubbles.

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