Long in the Sweet Tooth

As the years trudge on, we've had to make more effort to stay youthfully svelte, and post holidays some extra effort is usually in order. This is hard to do when celebrating the old guy's birthday.  It's especially hard when his favorite cake flavor is chocolate. I pieced together a recipe from a few different books yesterday and came up with this deep dark chocolate cake. I'm not afraid of sticking some unexpected ingredients in a mix to bolster flavor, and meet dietary needs, so you'll just have to trust me, it was decadent.  I garnished ours with dark chocolate covered cherries for the kids, but espresso beans would be a perfect addition for this grown-up cake.

Chocolate Cake with Dark Chocolate Frosting

1 1/2 cups Self-Rising Flour

1/4 cup almond meal (or finely ground almonds)

6 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp sea salt

1/2 cup grated beets

1/2 cup buttermilk (see my dairy-free version below)

2 tbsp prepared espresso (or very strong coffee)

3 eggs

3/4 cup sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Grease an 8" round pan (I use spring form) with non-stick spray

Combine the dry ingredients in a mixing bowl. 

Using an electric mixer, beat eggs with sugar until fluffy (about 4-5 minutes).  Add the beets, then the dry ingredients until fully combined. Fold in buttermilk and espresso. 

Pour batter into the cake pan and bake for 25 minutes, check with a toothpick.  Allow to cool.

Dark Chocolate Frosting

3/4 cup dark chocolate (at least 70%)

3 tbsp prepared espresso 

2 tbsp honey

Melt dark chocolate (I used a double boiler, but you could microwave), combine with espresso and honey until smooth.  Spread on cake and allow to set for 20 minutes.

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To make dairy-free buttermilk, combine 1 tbsp of lemon juice to plain full-fat rice milk.  Allow to sit for a few minutes.  The lemon juice will react with the rice milk, giving it the bulk and taste of butter milk.  You can heat it on medium-low in a sauce pan to reduce, to thicken.