The Best Chocolate and Beetroot Cake – Our Go-To, Never-Fail Birthday Cake

This easy chocolate and beetroot cake has really stood the test of time in our family. It is rich and indulgent but has a dose of vegetables in each slice, what’s not to love?

The recipe is super easy too and that’s important as we just don’t have time to be peeling and steaming our beetroot for a cake. The tinned version does really well in this recipe.

chocolate and beetroot cake with football figures on top
And here’s the same cake for his fifth birthday too!

This is a very moist cake, which is one of many reasons that I really adore it. It has never come out at all dry, yet it’s never soggy either. It does rise quite a lot int he middle so, if I remember, I tend to pour the batter into the tin and then smooth it out not quite flat, but rather with a bit of a lower section in the middle.

I do not make this cake in the Thermomix as it’s very simple to make it and I usually make a double batch, which would be far too much to fit in the Thermie.

NB: Find more great Cakes To Make On Rainy Days here.

Simple Chocolate Beetroot Cake
Yield: 12 slices

Simple Chocolate Beetroot Cake

Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 50 minutes

Ingredients

  • 3 eggs
  • 450g can of whole baby beetroot
  • 50g (0.5 cup) cocoa
  • 200g (1.5 cups) self-raising flour
  • 200g (1 cup) caster sugar
  • 125g unsalted butter
  • 100g dark chocolate

Instructions

  1. Heat oven to 180° C.
  2. Drain beetroot and then blend with the eggs until very smooth.
  3. Melt the chocolate and butter together. I use the microwave, starting off with one minute and then zapping for 10 seconds at a time further. You can also gently heat the chocolate and butter in a pan.
  4. Sift flour then mix in with cocoa and sugar.
  5. Mix all the ingredients together until combined.
  6. Use one 23cm diameter baking tin or two 20cm baking tins… or make cupcakes.
  7. Bake for 20 – 30 minutes depending on pan, less for cupcakes.

Notes

For a really big chocolate cake for birthdays, I often double this quantity and make 2 x 23cm diameter round cakes which I then ice together.

I have been using wholewheat flour when I am making this cake for not-so-special occasions eg using it to make cupcakes for the kids’ lunchboxes. You just need to use 10g less flour and let it stand for 10 minutes before baking. But for birthday cakes, I do use white flour.

I ice this cake with a frosting made by melting dark chocolate very gently with sour cream. I usually use equal quantities of each i.e 50g of dark chocolate and 50g of sour cream. But you can use any icing or frosting.

beetroot and chocolate cake making
I prepare the wet ingredients first, they do not take long at all
chocolate beetroot cake baking
All ready to mix up

baking beetroot chocolate cake
The mixture comes together quickly and is very dense

We have used this recipe to make a dozen birthday cakes or more over our many years of family life. And now the children know how to make and bake this cake all by themselves. They will be making chocolate and beetroot cakes for their own kids some day.

birthday cake beetroot and chocolate
Happy 12th birthday! I cannot remember which child had this cake on their 12th birthday.
beetroot chocolate cake
A junior footballers birthday cake – with beetroot!
chocolate beetroot cake 3
The latest birthday cake!
chocolate beetroot cake 4
For my son’s 14th birthday, my girl twin helped make it for her brother
chocolate beetroot cake
You can pin this picture for later!

Have you ever tried making a chocolate beetroot cake?

 Do you have a never-fail birthday cake recipe??

beetroot chocolate cake as birthday cake
Delicious every time

To find more family-friendly recipes that my family love, just click here.

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19 Comments

  1. says: Avneet

    I love to make cupcakes…my favorite is chocolate cupcake with chambord chocolate frosting …thanks for sharing all dis…i luved it..

  2. says: Bronwyn

    I googled “best beetroot chocolate cake” and this is where I ended up! It was wonderful. Thank you for sharing the recipe. I noted when I was half way through mixing that you hadn’t included a time for baking. I baked it in a ring tin and it took 45mins
    .No-one could believe there was beetroot in it!

  3. I’ve always wanted to try a chocolate cake with beetroot, so thanks I’ll try this one when the fancy takes me.

    Two teenagers, what an achievement for both of you.
    Happy Birthday.

    Carolyn

    PS Hope you are rocking your new job

  4. says: Leesa

    Thanks for sharing, we made muffins, and they were lovely. Quantity was enough for 12, baked for 20mins at 180deg. And no one could tell there was beetroot in them.

    1. says: Seana Smith

      Oh thank you, great to hear this. It’s been my go-to cake for years, I must put up my Thermomix version of the recipe one day. Lovely to hear from you.

  5. How did I miss this before? Two of my favourite foods combined – I love beetroot and of course chocolate. I have about 10 chocolate cake recipes for different occasions (quick, healthy, gluten free, divine, brownies etc) and now one more. Thanks! Can’t wait to eat it 🙂

  6. says: 2Greener

    I loved this recipe – made it in to cupcakes. The result was very rich and tasty, but possibly a little dry. I made it using my thermomix. I would love to see your thermomix version – I’m always a little unsure how much to mix cake in the thermo.

    1. says: Seana Smith

      Hello, I’ve never tried, maybe just try the same amount… but I like to use self-raising whole wheat flour which already has it in.

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