Valentine's Day: "Red velvet" beet cakes

A lot of visitors have been stumbling upon my site while looking for beet recipes. I guess I should have expected that would happen. I'm ok with it, but while I do appreciate beets, it's not like I'm some sort of fanatic who puts them in everything that I make.

A Google + user named Daro seems to think so. He called my phone several times last month to share with me "exciting information about the God-almighty beet!" At that point I thought, a) I should be careful when putting information about myself on the internet and b) some people really don't get what this site is about.

When I came up with the name for my personal chef and nutrition business, I was looking for a logo. A beet with a heart in it seemed cute, and I later decided that it fit my personality rather well, so the name stuck.

Beets are colorful and quirky. They're sweet and spunky. They're really good, but can take some convincing. Most people stear clear of them in supermarkets because they haven't a clue what to do with them. Poor, misunderstood little things!

Of course, beets are also nutritious. They're great for your heart, your blood, your bowels, and contain a potent anti-cancer compound called betanin; though I can't say the same for myself. 

But really, from a culinary perspective, the best thing about beets is that they stain everything magenta. This makes for great fun--and a great mess. If I ever have a choice in the color of my kitchen it will have to be magenta and yellow to match the stains on my dish towels (I also go wild with tumeric). 

Ok, I'm starting to sound like a beetnik (beet + fanatik)...

But really? In a cake? 

The idea dawned on me after pondering the origins of red velvet cake. I've never actually understood the point of that dessert. All of the standard recipes are basically vanilla cake with a ton of red food coloring added. I know my great grandma didn't have the ingredients to bake that cake...Or did she?

I figured that somewhere down the line beets must have been the primary coloring agent. Sure enough, my research revealed that boiled beets were sometimes added to red velvet cakes during World War II.

But I was surprised to learn that the original red velvet cakes didn't contain beets at all: A chemical reaction occurs when cocoa powder is exposed to acid, revealing a natural red compound called anthocyanin. Vinegar or buttermilk, and cocoa powder are all that's needed to give cakes a red tint.

Of course, this color is actually more of a reddish brown than the firetruck red we're used to. Some bakers discovered later that beets intensified the hue, and lent moisture, so they added them with discretion. Then "food scientists" came along, invented red #5, and made a mockery of culinary traditions. Booo!!

I'd like to think of these cupcakes as my own invention, but as you can see, they are actually quite retro. In case you're wondering, you can't really taste the beets in them. But beets being beets, they do leave their mark--Your cupcake liners will be stained a lovely shade of pink. ;-)

I cut back on butter and opted for yogurt instead, so they're not greasy--Just moist and deep with chocolate flavor. Here they're topped with a savory goat cheese frosting, and for the sake of passion, a sprinkling of red volcanic salt. 

"Red Velvet" Beet Cakes

2 cups beet puree (about a pound of beets)

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

1/4 cup butter

6 oz dark chocolate, chopped (I used Trader Joe's Pound Plus 72% dark)

3 eggs, beaten

1 cup yogurt (full fat)

2 tsp vanilla

1 1/2 cups brown sugar

1 tbsp molasses

11/2 cup all-purpose gluten free flour (I used Bob's Red Mill)

1/2 cup cocoa powder

1 1/2 tsp baking soda

1. Boil the beets until tender. Peel them, then puree them in a food processor with the balsamic vinegar until smooth.
2. Melt the butter and chocolate together in a double boiler.
3. Combine the eggs, sugar, molasses, vanilla and yogurt. Then fold in the beets.
4. In a separate bowl, sift together the dry ingredients.
5. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and fold in the egg mixture.
6. Fold in the chocolate, but don't overmix.
7. Divide the batter among cupcake liners and bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes, or until they are firm in the center.

Goat Cheese Frosting:

 8 oz goat cheese

1 tbsp lemon juice

1/4 cup powdered sugar

1. Combine all ingredients until smooth.
2. Frost the cupcakes and sprinkle with something pretty (it doesn't have to be salt, but Trader Joe's pink salt would do nicely)
3. Refrigerate the cakes if you won't be serving them immediately. 

Dark chocolate rum tart with ginger-pecan crust

My dad was born on February 2, also known as Groundhog's Day. He is obviously a grown man now, but I imagine that when he was a kid it must have been annoying to have his birthday overshadowed by a rodent (pun intended). I'm not sure that animal is deserving of all the attention he gets.

To let my dad know that he's far more important than a burrowing animal, I made him this rich, decadent dessert. I also managed to use a few ingredients in my pantry that I need to get rid of before I leave next month.

My dad has simple tastes when it comes to food, but it's hard to go wrong with desserts. He likes chocolate, and he likes nuts, and that's what this tart is all about. The rum is an added bonus. The end result came out looking fancier than intended, but the flavors are straight-forward. One bite clearly says "Hello, chocolate! Hello, nuts!" and "Hellooooooo, rum!" 

I used this recipe by David Lebovitz as a guide, though he uses espresso instead of rum, and a traditional French tart dough. My dad doesn't like coffee, and I had all that dark rum stowed away in my cupboard. If I'd had amaretto on hand, I'd have gone with that--Next time.

Pantry Ingredients to use up: 3-lb bag of pecans (Costco got me), 1L bottle of dark rum, 8 oz. package of gluten-free ginger cookies (stocking stuffer from Christmas--don't worry, they were still good).

I could have made my own crust with alternative flours or more nuts instead of cookies; It would have been equally as simple. But these added a nice touch. I just threw them in the food processor with some toasted pecans, half a teaspoon of sea salt and a couple tablespoons of butter. You could use any cookie imaginable--Amaretti work nicely if you don't mind their overt sweetness. The ginger cookies were also very sweet, so I made the filling intentionally on the bitter side.

Here you can see how I just pressed the crust into 10.5-inch tart pan with my fingers. No need to pre-bake.

The first step in making the filling is caramelizing some sugar in a saucepan. Next you add the liquid (rum, espresso, vanilla, amaretto, etc.) and it bubbles up with excitement. Finally, the butter and dark chocolate are melted, and eggs are added to the mixture.

The tart only needs 20-25 minutes to bake at 350 degrees. I added the raw pecans on top halfway through the baking so they wouldn't burn.

Dark Chocolate Rum Tart with Ginger-Pecan Crust

Crust:

8 oz. package of gluten-free ginger cookies 

1 cup toasted pecans (or nut of choice; hazelnuts, anyone?)

1/2 tsp sea salt

2 tablespoons cold butter

1. Toast the pecans either in the oven or on the stove top.
2. Crumble the cookies and give them a whirl in the food processor.
3. Add the salt and toasted pecans, pulsing until the pecans are finely chopped.
4. Pulse in the butter.
5. Press the mixture into a tart pan.

Filling:

3/4 cup sugar (any kind)

6 tablespoons of dark rum

2 tablespoons of vanilla extract

3 oz. butter

a pinch of salt

8 oz. 72% dark chocolate (Trader Joe's Pound Plus) or better quality, chopped

3 eggs, beaten

3/4 cup good cocoa powder

1 more tablespoon of vanilla extract

About 20 whole, raw pecans

1. Heat the sugar in a medium saucepan over medium heat until it turns golden.
2. Turn off the heat and add the rum and vanilla, stirring.
3. Add in the butter immediately afterward, then the chocolate.
4. Once the chocolate is melted, fold in the eggs.
5. After the eggs are well-incorporated, fold in the cocoa powder and the additional vanilla. 
6. Pour the mixture into the pre-prepared tart crust.
7. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes, then remove it and add whole raw pecans as decoration.
8. Bake another 5 to 10 minutes. The center should still be a bit wobbly--It will firm up as at cools.
9. Leave the tart at room temperature, otherwise it will get too firm and ruin the silky texture.

All-Natural Peppermint Patties

Just in time for the holidays: A healthier take on cool winter classic. They're vegan and gluten-free, too. Even if you don't like York peppermint patties, if you like chocolate and mint you'll appreciate these.

There are only five ingredients in the entire recipe (Compare with the York label below). Yes, there's a fair amount of sugar in them, but no corn syrup or hard-to-pronounce ingredients.

Actually, the primary ingredient in them is coconut (a superfood)--but you won't taste it since the peppermint oil overpowers it. If you don't have access to coconut oil you can use real butter, and substitute heavy cream for the coconut milk.

Peppermint Patties

Equipment and supplies: double boiler, parchment paper

2 tablespoons confectioner’s sugar, sifted

2 tablespoons coconut oil

2 teaspoons peppermint oil

2 tablespoons coconut milk

8oz dark chocolate, coarsely chopped

1 tablespoon coconut oil

• Warm the coconut oil the double boiler. Remove from heat and stir in the pepperment extract.


• Cream the oil with the powdered sugar, either by hand or with a stand mixer.


• Add in the coconut milk and cream until the mixture is a consistent paste. It should be smooth but moldable, like play dough.


• Lay a sheet of parchment paper-lined baking sheet on a counter top. Mold balls with your fingers into whatever size you like. Flatten them into discs and place them on the parchment sheet.


• Put the parchment sheet in the refrigerator to chill for 20 minutes.


• Once the patties are cold, warm an additional tablespoon of coconut oil in the double boiler, and turn the heat off. Add in the chocolate, stirring until it’s smooth.


• Allow the chocolate to cool, to about body temperature (tempering range is 88 – 90 degrees Fahrenheit.)


• Dunk the patties individually in the chocolate with a fork, then drain the excess chocolate and place them back on the parchment sheet.


• Return the parchment sheet to the refrigerator and chill.

Chocolate-dipped orangettes

Chocolate and orange were never one of my favorite combinations. I just didn't think they went well together. Now I realize that it was probably because my only exposure to the orange-chocolate combination as a kid was one of those nasty artificially-flavored Terry's Chocolate Oranges made by Kraft--Nothing to get excited about.

So why did I attempt to make these orangettes, then? Just look at the photo--They're gorgeous! I'm such a sucker for pretty desserts. Even if I have no desire to eat them, I just like to display them. And somebody must like chocolate and orange together.

After tasting these, I realized that that somebody was me. The texture and flavor of these little sticklets is truly divine. They take some time to prepare, but the process is really simple: Slice and blanch the orange peels, candy them, dry them, then dip them in chocolate.

If you like the idea of candied fruit, you must visit Sicily. They candy just about everything there. I love admiring the hundreds of different preserved creations in the windows of pasticcerie. They're so perfect-looking that I have trouble believing they are genuine. (Yes, those are olives in the upper-right hand corner of the photo--They are fruit, too!  And the the yellow spotted things are cactus pears.)

 

Chocolate-Dipped Orangettes

Equipment: double boiler, wire cooling rack

6 large organic oranges

4 ½ cups sugar

1 ½ cups water

8 oz good quality dark chocolate

• Cut tops and bottoms off of the orange and score the orange into quarters, cutting down only into the peel and not into the fruit. Peel the skin and pith of the orange in large pieces, use the orange for another recipe. Cut the peel into strips about 1/4-inch wide.


• Put the orange peel in a large saucepan with cold water to cover, bring to a boil over high heat. Then pour off the water. Repeat 1 or 2 more times depending up how assertive you want the orange peels to be. (The point it to remove the bitterness—This depends greatly on the variety of orange, and on personal preference, so be sure to taste.) Remove the orange peels from the pan.


• Whisk the sugar with 1 1/2 cups water. Bring to a simmer and cook for 8 to 9 minutes (If you took the sugar's temperature with a candy thermometer it would be at the soft thread stage, 230 to 234 degrees F.)


• Add the peels and simmer gently, reducing heat to retain a simmer. Cook until the peels get translucent, about 45 minutes. Resist the urge to stir the peels or you may introduce sugar crystals into the syrup. If necessary, swirl the pan to move the peels around.


• Drain the peels, (save the syrup for another recipe or for flavoring tea.) Leave the peels to dry on a rack overnight.


• Using a double boiler, melt the chocolate to 88 to 90 degrees Fahrenheit. Dip the peels into the chocolate and lay them to dry again on the wire rack, or on a sheet of parchment paper.