Red Devil Cake

I'm kind of exhausted. I went to sleep at 3am last night, because I was all wound up from the days activities and I then stayed up late on my compy. The last few days have been filled with many new social situations and that translates into a disquieted constitution, if you will. The fatigue and churning insides combine to make me feel quite ill.

I am going to head out shortly to another "new social situation" and am biding my time by posting the following recipe.

Red Devil Cake Here is an easy-to-make and very pleasant devil's food cake. A surprise ingredient is the secret to this cake's rich flavor and barely discernible rosy hue. You'll never guess what it is without peeking at the ingredient list, but then it's obvious--beets! We promise you'll be able to slip these nutritious beets into the cake and none of your friends or family will be the wiser as they indulge in their dessert.
PREHEAT THE OVEN TO 350*. Generously oil the baking pan. DRAIN THE BEETS, reserving 1/2 cup of the juice. In a blender, purée the beets with the reserved juice to make about 1-1/4 cups of purée. Set aside. IN A LARGE bowl, beet the eggs well. Thoroughly whisk in the sugar, oil, vanilla, salt, and beet purée until very smooth. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa, and baking soda. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients a little at a time, whisking until smooth. POUR THE BATTER into the prepared pan and bake for 45 to 50 minutes, until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in the pan. Serve topped with confectioners' sugar, whipped cream, Chocolate Buttercream Frosting (page 84), or Cream Cheese Frosting (page 89). PREPARATION TIME: 20 minutes BAKING TIME: 45 to 50 minutes EQUIPMENT: 9-ince square or round baking pan, blender	SERVES 9 15-ounce can sliced beets 3 eggs 1-1/2 cups sugar 1/2 cup vegetable oil 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract 1/2 teaspoon salt 1-1/2 cups unbleached white flour 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder 1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda
FROM: Moosewood Restaurant Book of Desserts: More than 250 great new recipes, The Moosewood Collective, 1997; p.135

I had been trying to figure out what to do with massive quantities of beets some time back, if you will remember, and this is the end of one tangent of my search. This is basically a (southern) red velvet cake. It's disputed if the red color is traditionally from beets, as in this recipe, or from an acid reaction with the cocoa. The current practice involves copious amounts of (artificial) food coloring, probably red 40, which carcinogenic and a throat irritant, FYI.

Wish me luck :]


~andrea