First and foremost, thank you. Thank you for your comments, your emails, your sweet words, and your love. I’m really glad to be out in the open with both the celiacs and the pregnancy, and it means so much to me that I’ve been able to share this whole journey. I also really appreciate the enthusiasm you guys have shown this past week for what me having celiacs means for this space, so that’s a conversation that we can start having now! And that will probably never end! Because my relationship with food is ever evolving, and as long as you guys are along for the ride, I’m happy to share.

So I should probably preface this all by saying that this is not a gluten free cake. I haven’t tried to make a gluten free cake yet, but I’ve had some success with biscuits, rolls, and even cinnamon rolls (yup, these were gluten free), so I’ll keep you posted on my experiments. This red velvet cake is, however, made with beets! And, even better, it doesn’t taste like beets! It just tastes like super delicious, incredibly moist cake covered in whipped cream. Which is frankly a cake even I can get behind.

Naturally Red Velvet Cake

this recipe is my creation and originally appeared in Our State

cake

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 tablespoon cocoa powder
1 3/4 cups sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups safflower oil
4 small-medium size beets, raw
1 cup buttermilk, room temperature
2 large eggs, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Juice of 1 lemon

frosting

2 cups heavy cream
1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Peel and chop beets. In a food processor or blender, combine beets and oil. Blend until completely smooth.

Sift together dry ingredients.  In a stand mixer or large bowl, mix together wet ingredients, including blended beets and oil. Beat until combined with paddle attachment. Slowly add dry ingredients to wet ingredients.

Preheat oven to 350º.  Oil and lightly flour three 9-1/2-inch round cake pans. Pour cake batter evenly between three cake pans. Bake for 30 minutes or until cooked all the way through, rotating halfway. Transfer to racks and let cool completely.

To make the frosting, combine all ingredients in a stand mixer. Beat until stiff.

Place the first layer on the cake stand or plate, topside down. Spread a good layer of icing on top. Add the second layer of cake, also topside down. Spread more icing. Finish with the third layer, topside up. Ice the top. Serve immediately.