Chocolate Beet Cake!

It's getting close to that annual-super-sugary-gluttonous-candy-binge holiday we all dread - so much so that we disguise ourselves in crazy costumes to eat our candy so that no one can bear witness to our terrible, terrible shame.  Just kidding, it's not that big of a deal to eat candy, really, we're not that upset about it.  And to prove it, we're extending our hand, weapon-free, to give sweets a fair shake.  So this week, in anticipation of Halloween, we're meeting our arch nemesis, Junk Food, head on in a collaborative compromise.  That's right.  Vegetables, meet chocolate - chocolate, meet vegetables.

Ingredients:

5 beets (or enough for 2 cups pureed beets)
1 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cups dark brown sugar
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
Pinch of salt
Confectioner's sugar for dusting

Directions:

Trim stems and roots from beets.  Quarter and place in a large saucepan filled with water.  Bring to a boil and cook for 50 minutes, or until beets are tender.  Drain liquid and remove skin.  Place beets in a blender and process until beets are pureed.  Reserve 2 cups puree.  Preheat over to 350 degrees F.  Grease and flour baking pan(s).  In a large mixing bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until fluffy.  Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.  Beat in vanilla and beet puree.  In a separate bowl, whisk together cocoa powder, flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt.  Stir into the beet batter until well combined.  Pour batter into prepared baking pan(s) and bake for 40-50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.  Cool in pan before removing to cool completely on a cooling rack.  Dust with confectioner's sugar.

It can't be beet!  In fact, chocolate and beets go together like this pumpkin pair . . . Tweedle Pump and Tweedle Kin.