Strawberry and Beet Cake

June 16, 2023

No need for food coloring with this naturally pink and fluffy cake! Fruity and bright, this cake has a tender crumb from the buttermilk base and will delight at any party. The natural sweetness of beets plays beautifully with the floral notes of strawberry. We baked this in a round cake pan and topped it simply with whipped cream and strawberries, but this batter would also make delightful cupcakes and go well with a lemon drizzle glaze.

Ingredients

1 bunch Local Roots red beets
1 basket Local Roots strawberries
¾ cup Local Roots butter, unsalted
1 and ½ cups sugar
4 Local Roots eggs
½ tbsp vanilla extract
1 cup buttermilk
2 and ½ cups Local Roots all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
Local Roots heavy whipping cream

 

Directions 

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease 2 round cake pans or 1 cake pan and 1 muffin tin with butter.
2. Remove the beet tops and peel each beet. Roughly chop into evenly sized pieces, then add to a medium-sized pot. Add water until the beets are covered and then another two inches of water. Bring to a boil and then simmer for at least 30 minutes, or until the beets are fork tender and much of the water is reduced away. 
3. Remove the strawberry tops and slice the strawberries in half. Reserve a few whole strawberries for decoration. Add the halved strawberries to the beets reducing on the stove and cook them down together until the mixture is jammy and the liquid has almost entirely boiled off. Set aside to cool.
4. With an electric hand mixer, stand mixer with a paddle attachment, or wooden spoon, beat together ¾ cup unsalted butter and 1 ½ cups sugar until the butter has lightened in color and the mixture becomes fluffy. 
5. One at a time, crack in the 4 eggs, mixing in between each addition. Pour in the ½ tbsp vanilla and mix again. 
6. Add 1 ½  cup of all purpose flour, 2 tsp baking powder, and ½ tsp baking soda to the wet mixture, mixing until just incorporated.
7. Pour in ½ cup of buttermilk and mix again.
8. Add in the remaining 1 cup of all purpose flour and 1 tsp salt and mix.
9. Pour in the remaining ½ cup buttermilk. 
10. Mix in the reduced strawberry and beet mixture just until the entire cake batter is a light pink. Pour into the prepared cake pans until they are ⅔ of the way full.
11. Bake a round cake for 40-50 minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean. For cupcakes, bake for 20-25 minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean.
12. Allow the cake to cool, then whip the heavy cream with a pinch of salt and ¼ cup powdered sugar (if desired) until it forms soft peaks on the end of the whisk. Use a spoon to smooth the whipped cream over the cooled cake. Decorate with whole strawberries and serve!

 

This recipe was created by Local Roots contributor Irena Huang / @irena__huang

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