This cake was an experiment. I was inspired to make a dessert using beets and the colour turned out beautifully – so did the taste! Just in time for the holiday’s.

Ingredients

CRUST 

  • 2 beets, peeled, chopped + made into pulp
  • 1/2 c virgin coconut oil, gently melted
  • 1/2 c flax seeds, ground
  • 1/2 c pure maple syrup
  • 1 T – or more – organic lemon zest
  • 1 t nutritional yeast
  • a sprinkle of sea salt

FILLING

  • Beet juice – leftover from making pulp
  • 1/3 c virgin coconut oil, gently melted
  • 2 bananas, frozen + chopped
  • 2 c raw cashews, soaked for a few hours
  • 1 c organic raisins, soaked for a few hours
  • 1 t pure vanilla extract
  • a sprinkle of sea salt

Preparation Method

CRUST

  1. Pre-heat oven to 200 degrees.
  2. Peel + roughly chop beets & toss them in a food processor or high powered blender. Blend until a crumbly mixture forms.
  3. Squeeze the juice from the beet pulp using a nut milk bag or fine mesh strainer. Collect all the beautiful juice and set aside. Toss the pulp back in the processor or blender.
  4. Zest about 1 T of lemon peel, or more if you like lots of tang. I would strongly suggest buying an organic lemon, as you’ll be consuming the peel.
  5. Add remaining ingredients and pulse / blend until well combined.
  6. Using a spatula, scrape every last bit of the mixture onto a spring form pan. Note: You can use a glass pie plate as well – just be sure to grease with coconut oil. *The results from a spring form pan just make the cake look more uniform.
  7. Stick the crust in the oven and let it cook very slowly on a low temperature. I baked at 200 degree’s for 2 hours.

FILLING

While you’re waiting for the crust to bake, you can get going on the filling.

  1. First add: frozen chopped bananas, soaked cashews + raisins, sea salt + vanilla.
  2. Blend well, then add melted coconut oil + beet juice. Blend again. The mixture should have a smoothie-like consistency (thick & not too runny).
  3. Once the crust has baked, let it cool for about 15 minutes. Then, pour the creamy filling right on top.
  4. Pop the cake in the freezer to set for a few hours.

Note – The second time making this, I added frozen red grapes to the filling mixture. I liked this version even better! Feel free to throw in your favourite frozen fruit and experiment (I bet blueberries would be amazing). Just keep in mind that adding extra ingredients can change the consistency; you can adjust by adding a touch of liquid.