Beet Red Velvet Cake with Cream Cheese Icing
I love a red velvet cake, and February feels like the perfect time to share a recipe for one, you know, with Valentine’s Day coming up and all. This is my Beet Red Velvet Cake with Cream Cheese Icing, because I will take any and all excuses to consume cream cheese icing (it’s simply the best, ok?). My beet red velvet cake is a bit different than the vibrant red cake you may be used to, but I promise you, it is equally as delicious without all the artificial red food colouring.
Table of Contents
- Ingredients for Beet Red Velvet Cake with Cream Cheese Icing
- Equipment
- A Little Bit of Red Velvet Cake Lore
- Why are there beets in this cake?
- Step One—Grate the Beets
- Step Two—Prepare the Beet Red Velvet cake Batter
- Step Three—Bake & Cool the Cake
- Step Four—Prepare the Cream Cheese Icing
- Step Five—Ice the Beet Red Velvet Cake with Cream Cheese Icing
- Step Six—Slice and Serve the Cake
- More Delicious Cake Recipes
- Beet Red Velvet Cake with Cream Cheese Icing Recipe
Ingredients for Beet Red Velvet Cake with Cream Cheese Icing
To make this cake, you will need the following ingredients:
- 400 grams (3 cups) light spelt flour
- 18 grams (1/4 cup) cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 250 grams (1⅓ cups) grated beets
- 3 large eggs
- 1 cup neutral oil
- 295 grams (1½ cups) sugar
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup buttermilk
- 1 teaspoon white vinegar
Cream Cheese Icing
- 250 grams (1 cup) cream cheese
- 225 grams (1 cup) salted butter
- 700 grams (5 cups) icing sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Equipment
- Kitchen scale
- Mixing bowls
- Box grater
- Measuring cups
- Measuring spoons
- Stand mixer with a paddle attachment or a handheld mixer
- Two 9-inch round cake pans
- Offset spatula
A Little Bit of Red Velvet Cake Lore
I know what you’re probably thinking: if this is a RED velvet cake recipe, why is the cake brown? Honestly, a valid question! To answer it, we can look to the lore, or origin story, if you will, of the Red Velvet Cake. Red Velvet Cake originates from the Victorian Era (1800s to early 1900s), gaining its name from two of its most prominent features: its colour and its texture.
Way back in the Victorian Era, bakers didn’t rely on artificial food colouring to give red velvet cake its signature vibrant red hue; in fact, traditional red velvet cake was a much more subdued reddish-brown colour better described as auburn. Victorian red velvet cakes were redder than a traditional chocolate cake but still a shade of brown. The auburn colour occurs due to a reaction between the cocoa powder and the acidic ingredients in the cake. So that’s how red velvet got the “red” component of its name.
The “velvet” component of red velvet cake is a nod to the texture of the cake’s crumb. Back hundreds of years ago, cakes were closer to glorified sweet breads and were far more dense in texture than the light, fluffy cakes we know today. The addition of cocoa powder to cakes helped to soften the coarse texture of the flour, resulting in a finer and softer crumb, which garnered the name “velvet.”
Why are there beets in this cake?
When I started developing this recipe, I knew I didn’t want to use artificial food colouring. Instead, I wanted this cake to be closer to a traditional Victorian-style red velvet cake relying on the reaction between the cocoa and acids. I added the grated beets into this recipe both to lean into the red colouring more and because I love a beet chocolate cake. It may sound strange, but beets and cocoa pair very nicely in a baked good. I swear if you didn’t know there were beets in this cake, you wouldn’t be able to pick them out—I’ve tested this theory on many friends, and they’re always surprised when I reveal the “secret ingredient.”
Step One—Grate the Beets
Preheat the oven to 350℉. Grease and line two 9-inch round cake pans with parchment.
Rinse and scrub the beets well to remove any dirt or debris. If you clean the skin well, there is no need to peel them. Use the finest side of a box grater to grate the raw beets into a bowl. The number of beets you will need will depend on their size, but 2 medium beets should be enough.
Step Two—Prepare the Beet Red Velvet cake Batter
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the spelt flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt.
Transfer the grated beets to a large mixing bowl along with their juices. Crack the eggs into the bowl and add the oil, sugar, and vanilla extract. Whisk everything together until completely combined. Pour in the buttermilk and whisk again to incorporate.
Pour the dry ingredients into the mixing bowl with the wet ingredients. Using a baking spatula, fold the ingredients together until just combined and no spots of dry flour remain. Fold in the white vinegar.
Step Three—Bake & Cool the Cake
Divide the cake batter evenly between the two lined cake pans. Bake the cakes for 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the centres comes out clean. Remove the cakes from the oven and allow them to cool in their pans for 10 minutes before flipping them out and transferring them to a cooling rack to cool completely.
Step Four—Prepare the Cream Cheese Icing
Cream cheese icing is a quintessential component of any good red velvet cake, and it’s very simple to make! Add the softened cream cheese and salted butter to the bowl of a stand mixer affixed with the paddle attachment. Alternatively, you can use a handheld mixer and a large mixing bowl. Beat the cream cheese and butter on medium speed until light and fluffy.
Add the icing sugar to the butter and cream cheese mixture in increments so it doesn’t go all over your kitchen. Add a bit of the icing sugar, beat it in, then add more. Three additions seem to be a sweet spot. Once all the icing sugar has been added, beat in the vanilla. Beat the icing on medium speed for about a minute, or until it is smooth, light, and fluffy.
Step Five—Ice the Beet Red Velvet Cake with Cream Cheese Icing
Make sure the cakes have completely cooled before you ice them. I usually will bake my cakes a day in advance, wrap them, and store them in the fridge before icing them the next day.
Stack the two cake layers with a layer of cream cheese icing in between, then ice the cake, decorating as you please. I like to do a crumb coat of icing, which is a thin layer of icing spread over the cake to lock in the crumbs. Once the crumb coat has been applied, the cake gets chilled in the fridge for at least 30 minutes before adding the top layer of icing. A crumb coat is not necessary but does give the cake a cleaner look.
Step Six—Slice and Serve the Cake
Store the cake in the fridge until you are ready to serve it, then slice and serve! Leftover cake will keep in the fridge for five days.
More Delicious Cake Recipes
If you loved this Beet Red Velvet Cake with Cream Cheese Icing, be sure to try these delicious cake recipes too:
Lemon Pistachio Loaf with Lemon Glaze
If you make this recipe, please tag me on Pinterest or Instagram so I can see! I love to see what you all are making.
Feel free to leave any questions, comments, or reviews below. I love to hear from you!
Beet Red Velvet Cake with Cream Cheese Icing
Equipment
- Kitchen Scale
- Mixing bowls
- Box Grater
- Measuring cups
- Measuring spoons
- Stand mixer with a paddle attachment, or a handheld mixer
- 2 9-inch round cake pans
- Offset spatula
Ingredients
Beet Red Velvet Cake (Makes two 9-inch cake layers)
- 400 grams light spelt flour (3 cups)
- 18 grams cocoa powder (1/4 cup)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 250 grams grated raw beets (1⅓ cups)
- 3 large eggs
- 1 cup neutral oil
- 295 grams sugar (1½ cups)
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup buttermilk
- 1 teaspoon white vinegar
Cream Cheese Icing
- 250 grams cream cheese, softened (1 cup)
- 225 grams salted butter, softened (1 cup)
- 700 grams icing sugar (5 cups)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350℉. Grease and line two 9-inch round cake pans with parchment.
- Rinse and scrub the beets well to remove any dirt or debris. If you clean the skin well, there is no need to peel them. Use the finest side of a box grater to grate the raw beets into a bowl. The number of beets you will need will depend on their size, but 2 medium beets should be enough.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the spelt flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt.
- Transfer the grated beets to a large mixing bowl along with their juices. Crack the eggs into the bowl and add the oil, sugar, and vanilla extract. Whisk everything together until completely combined. Pour in the buttermilk and whisk again to incorporate.
- Pour the dry ingredients into the mixing bowl with the wet ingredients. Using a baking spatula, fold the ingredients together until just combined and no spots of dry flour remain. Fold in the white vinegar.
- Divide the cake batter evenly between the two lined cake pans. Bake the cakes for 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the centre of the cakes comes out clean. Remove the cakes from the oven and allow them to cool in their pans for 10 minutes before flipping them out and transferring them to a cooling rack to cool completely.
- Prepare the cream cheese icing. Add the softened cream cheese and salted butter to the bowl of a stand mixer affixed with the paddle attachment. Alternatively, you can use a handheld mixer and a large mixing bowl. Beat the cream cheese and butter on medium until light and fluffy.
- Add the icing sugar to the butter and cream cheese mixture in increments so it doesn't go all over your kitchen. Add a bit of the icing sugar, beat it in, then add more. Three additions seem to be a sweet spot.
- Once all the icing sugar has been added, beat in the vanilla. Beat the icing on medium speed for about a minute, or until it is smooth, light, and fluffy.
- Make sure the cakes have completely cooled before you ice them. I usually will bake my cakes a day in advance, wrap them, and store them in the fridge before icing them the next day. Stack the two cake layers with a layer of cream cheese icing in between, then ice the cake, decorating as you please.
- Store the cake in the fridge until you are ready to serve it, then slice and serve! Leftover cake will keep in the fridge for five days.
