By Laura Coffee, Marketing & Owner Services Manager, Co-op Owner
Beets are an extremely nutritious vegetable, high in fiber, vitamin C, folate, iron, and more. Typically often thought of as just that, a vegetable, people increasingly seek out beet powder as a supplement, natural colorant, or seasoning, too. If you enjoy the flavor of beets, you can liberally toss the powder into any dish you’d like to see turn bright red, like soups, sauces, casseroles, or smoothies. Of course, the flavor is strong and not everyone loves it. As a person who isn’t the biggest fan, I’d love to find a way to get the nutritional benefits without the taste. Lucky for me, each teaspoon of the powder is equal to about one medium sized beet. So this mug cake contains the equivalent of 11/2 beets, without the distinctive earthy tang! If you’d like to participate in future installments of this series, you can sign up through the CRDL.
Red Velvet Mug Cake
- 1 large egg
- 2 Tbsp Greek or Icelandic yogurt*
- 2 Tbsp flour**
- 2 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 Tbsp butter
- 1 Tbsp sugar
- 1/2 Tbsp beet powder
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 tsp baking powder
- pinch of salt (optional)
Find a small microwave safe bowl and a large microwave safe mug. Melt the butter in the bowl and combine with the cocoa powder, vanilla, and sugar, mixing until smooth. Beat in the egg and yogurt until well combined. Finally, add the flour, beet powder, and baking powder, mixing quickly until smooth. Spoon the thick batter into the mug, making sure it is no more than half full, otherwise, it may overflow. Microwave on high for 1 minute 15 seconds. If the center is still wet, microwave in 15 second bursts until it looks set. Allow the cake to cool for 5 minutes before consuming. If you’re feeling fancy, you can even top the warm cake with whipped cream or ice cream.
*I used a natural cherry flavored Icelandic yogurt, but vanilla, or even plain would work just as well.
**I made this multiple times using both regular all-purpose flour and coconut flour. The wheat version is slightly more chewy in texture. Both worked just fine in terms of creating a tasty cake.
No responses yet