150g (or ½ cup + 2 tablespoons + 2 teaspoons) salted butter, at room temperature
320g (or 2½ cup + 1 tablespoon) powdered sugar
66g (or ½ cup) cocoa powder
100ml (or ⅓ cup + 4 teaspoons) whipping cream
1¼ teaspoon vanilla paste or extract
Instructions
First, make the cake:
Start by preheating your oven to 175°C or 350°F (standard oven setting). Line a 24-cm (9-inch) round cake pan (I used a springform pan) with baking parchment (use a little butter to stick the parchment to the sides of the pan).
Next up, the beet purée. Using a food processor (or a stick blender or a food mill), blitz the beets to a relatively smooth purée. Don't worry if it's still a bit chunky. As long as it looks smoothish, you're good to go. Set the purée aside.
In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until the mixture is nice and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Add the vanilla and the beet purée and mix to combine. Whisk together the dry ingredients in a smaller bowl and add them to the beet mixture with the milk. Stir with a rubber spatula until the dry ingredients are almost absorbed by the wet ingredients, then mix briefly with the mixer until smooth and shiny.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 60 minutes or until a tester inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Take the cake out off the oven and leave to cool on a wire rack. Once completely cooled, take the cake out of the pan and place on a serving plate.
Make the buttercream:
Once the cake is in the oven, prepare your buttercream. In a medium-sized bowl, mix together all of the buttercream ingredients until smooth and fluffy. I always start mixing with a spoon or spatula,to prevent powdered sugar from flying everywhere once I start mixing. Using a spatula, frost the top and sides of the cake with the buttercream. Serve at room temperature!
Recipe by The Tough Cookie at https://thetoughcookie.com/2013/11/06/chocolate-beet-cake/