~Chocolate Beet Cakes with Candied Beets~

Ingredients for Beet Cakes:

• 11⁄2 cups whole wheat pastry flour • 3⁄4 cup cocoa powder

• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1⁄4 tsp. salt
• 1 tbsp. espresso powder
• Pinch of salt
• 11⁄2 cups beets roasted and grated • 1⁄2 to 3⁄4 cup agave / maple syrup • 1⁄2 cup prune puree
• 1⁄4 cup coconut oil
• 1⁄2 cup yogurt
• 2 eggs
• 1 tbsp. vanilla

Ingredients for Candied Beets:

• 2 beets peeled and trimmed (1 yellow & 1 red) • 3⁄4 cup water
• 3⁄4 cup sugar

Beet Cakes: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease 10 3-4 inch ramekins and dust lightly with cocoa powder. In a large bowl, sift together all the dry ingredients. In a separate large bowl, whisk the eggs until fluffy. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix until combined. Slowly add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients stirring to incorporate. Mix just until combined. Distribute the batter evenly into the ramekins (approx. 1/3 cup of batter in each one). Alternatively you can use this recipe to make a 9-inch cake. Next, bake in the oven for approx. 25 minutes or until done. Cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes, before gently removing from the ramekins to cool fully. Garnish with chocolate curls and candied beets or fresh fruit and enjoy!

Candied Beets: Using a mandolin, slice the beets VERY thin. In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine the sugar and water. When it comes to a boil and the sugar is dissolved, empty the yellow beets into the liquid and simmer for 20 minutes. The beets will be slightly translucent. Remove from the liquid and lay on parchment or a silpat. Repeat process with the purple beets (these go second because the colour will not be affected by the yellow sugar syrup from boiling the first batch). Reuse the sugar syrup as you might need to add a bit more sugar and water to make sure that the liquid covers all the beet slices! Let the beet slices dry for a bit before dredging them lightly in sugar. Let dry completely and enjoy!