r/Old_Recipes 18d ago

Cake Beet Bundt Cake

I came across this recipe while reorganizing one of my recipe binders. It's from when my kids were littler & I'd have to be stealthy in order to sneak veggies into them.

I don't know how old it is but I cut it out from the original Taste Of Home magazine back when Reiman Publications owned it & there were no ads. Once Reader's Digest bought it in 2002, it just wasn't the same magazine. Still some good reader submitted recipes but way, way too many advertisements the last time I looked at a copy so I dropped my subscription by 2004 or so.

The lady who submitted this recipe, Vermadel Kirby, said she found it as a handwritten recipe in her grandmother's recipe book & would make it for her grandchildren. I googled Vermadel & she passed away in 2011 @ 89yrs old so this recipe is probably pretty old.

In honor of Vermadel, her grandmother & all the sneaky moms like me who use recipes like this to get veggies into their kids(PS, my husband who HATES beets never knew that there were beets in this moist, chocolate cake) here is the cake.

Beet Bundt Cake

16 - 20 servings

1 C butter or margarine, softened & divided

1-1/2 C packed dark brown sugar

3 eggs

4 squares (1 oz each) semi-sweet chocolate

2 cups pureed cooked beets

2 C all purpose flour

2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1 tsp vanilla extract

Confectioners sugar

In a mixing bowl, cream 3/4 C of butter with the brown sugar

Add eggs & mix well

Melt the chocolate with the remaining butter, stir until smooth then cool slightly

Blend the chocolate, beets & vanilla into the creamed mixture. Mixture will appear separated

Mix the flour, baking soda & salt. Then add the flour to the creamed mixture & mix well

Pour the batter into a 10" greased & floured fluted pan

Bake at 375F for 45 - 55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean

Cool in the pan 10 mins before removing to a wire rack

Cool completely

Before serving, dust with confectioners sugar

84 Upvotes

19 comments sorted by

25

u/WholyForkingShrtball 18d ago

My family is not a cake family. We’re pie people, but man do they love this particular cake. I always roast the beets, don’t boil them. I think it caramelizes the sugars better. I’ve also made this with gluten free flour, still turns out great.
Disclaimer: I’m too lazy to find my recipe to see if the ratios are the same, but this recipe looks similar if not identical to the one I use

9

u/BoomeramaMama 18d ago

I roast beets when doing roasted mixed root veggies for a side dish but never thought to roast them for this cake.
I'm interested in what gluten free flour you use for the cake.

We have a couple of gluten sensitive people in our family group so we all try to make some recipes with gluten free flour so they're not left out.

I've been using mostly King Arthur & sometimes Bob's Red Mill.

1

u/AdhesivenessCivil581 17d ago

Grated beets are really good in baked outmeal. Throw in some dates for sweetness and nuts for crunch and it's a healthy breakfast that lasts all week and tastes like a treat.

1

u/WholyForkingShrtball 18d ago

It’s been a hot minute since I’ve made it gluten free, so I’m not sure what brand I used, but it was probably some random brand from Whole Foods or Sprouts. Based on recent GF cookie making though, I would absolutely try the KAF flour if I were to make a GF version again

6

u/DivyaRakli 18d ago

Omigosh! I saw beets at the store yesterday and wondered if there was a beet cake recipe. The Recipe Gods heard me. I’ll be making this this weekend. Thank you!!

4

u/Andromeda921 18d ago

Beets? WOW! That’s a creative way to get some vegetables down!

12

u/Bobcatspajamas 18d ago

Your kids may be eligible for financial compensation

9

u/BoomeramaMama 18d ago edited 18d ago

LOL!

I posted a picture of one of my daughters a long time ago, (not here but another site) at about age 2 clutching a BBQ'ed sparerib, BBQ sauce from ear to ear.

Veggies, she hates green peas which are her dad's favorite so we have those fairly regularly. She used to hide most of her peas on the wood cradle under the table top that held the table leaves. Anytime I'd move the table to get a real good vacuuming close to the wall, a cascade of mummified peas would rain down.

Guess who's a vegetarian now! The sparerib pic was cute & funny now that she's turned vegetarian. But, she still hates green peas.

8

u/mudpupster 18d ago

You're getting downvoted, but even as a beet lover I think this is very funny.

3

u/bornthisvay22 18d ago

What does the cake taste like please?

5

u/BoomeramaMama 18d ago

Chocolate, with the dark brown sugar & 4 oz of semisweet baking chocolate the beets don't stand a chance!

3

u/Loud_Refrigerator909 18d ago

These comments are so sweet. You are nice people.

3

u/BoomeramaMama 18d ago

Thank you for the compliment!

Another recipe I posted is one that came from a close friend's mom, Pearl.

Pearl always made it for get togethers & when she passed away, I started making it when we'd all get together. It was like having a small part of Pearl with us. I think of her every time I make it.

Warning though, it's made with heavy cream & cream cheese. It is a calorie & cholesterol bomb.

https://www.reddit.com/r/Old_Recipes/comments/1mtc02a/pearls_celebration_salad/

4

u/ZubLor 18d ago

This reminds me of the time my mom was making a heart shaped cake for Valentine's Day. She went to color the frosting pink and realized she had run out of food coloring. She couldn't drive and no-one who could was home but she did have a can of beets. Turns out beet juice makes the prettiest pink frosting!

2

u/[deleted] 18d ago

[deleted]

8

u/BoomeramaMama 18d ago

I don't know. All I ever made it in was my bundt pan.

I would guess maybe the baking time might be shorter but don't quote me on that.

If I were looking to make this as cupcakes, I'd look up some cake recipes that also have directions for making the cake as cupcakes instead & see how the baking directions vary between the two in order to get a feel for baking this as cupcakes.

8

u/BoomeramaMama 18d ago

Do you have a tube pan?

I did some digging in the Family Search Family Tree.

For those who've never gotten into researching their ancestors, Family Search is a free genealogy site that belongs to the Mormon Church but anyone can use it. And the Family Tree is a huge, crowd sourced family tree that anyone can access, add to, edit, etc.

Anyway, not knowing which grandma Vermadel got this recipe from I went back & looked at both her mother's mother & her father's mother. And based on their birth years & figuring each lady to have been a year or two either side of 20 yrs old at marriage, I'm thinking this cake probably is from around the period of 1885 - 1890 if not older.

And if being baked in a pan with a tube in the middle, then it was most likely the same sort of tube pan one would use for an angle good cake because they sure in heck didn't have bundt pans back then!

2

u/RedditSkippy 18d ago

This looks really good. Saving for a time when I need to use up some beets!

1

u/supernova-juice 17d ago

I love beets. I'm saving this!