Conference turris::cooks

    ICCKKKK!!! No wonder no one responded!  Is there really such a thing?
    
    

    
    Actually, a friend of mine makes a chocolate cake, and the secret
    is the beets! We're talking an incredibly intense MOIST chocolate
    cake here. The secret is the beets. Wish the recipe would appear!
    
    mike

    I don't have a recipe, but somewhere in this file there's a recipe for
    chocolate cake made with zucchini.  I'll bet you oculd substitute
    cooked beets.  My feeling is that it would taste great.  Beets are
    sweeter than zucchini, after all.....
    
    -e

    
    How could anyone do such a thing to a Chocolate Cake.
    
    Fluffs_who_prefers_his_Chocolate_"au natur'" ;-)

re:  .4
    
  > How could anyone do such a thing to a Chocolate Cake.
    

      Beets me.


      ;^)

      Steve

    The October issue of Bon Appetit has a recipe for Devil's Food Cake
    that calls for grated raw beets--hope that helps!
    

    I do not believe the beet and chocolate cake recipe is here.
    
    Heavens, we do allow a lot of pretty weird things in, but chocolate
    cake with beets!  :-D
    
    ed

    chocolate cake and Zukes is note 165.0, page 12.

    Went to the first session of our 'craft' night (to make Christmas
    presents) and by the end of the evening we were exchanging recipes.
    
    One older woman said that there were 4 cakes that - in her lifetime -
    were the best tasting, most popular - and definately the most 
    different.  One was a Chocolate Mayonnaise cake, one a Tomatoe Soup 
    cake, one a "Crazy" cake (from the depression where no eggs were used) 
    and the last is a Red Deviled Cake using beets.  She promised to bring 
    the recipes with her next Wednesday.
    
    I get BonApetit magazine, however I haven't received my October issue 
    yet.  But when I do I will enter it in here - if someone else doesn't
    beat me to it.
    
    Can't wait to try it out!
    
    Marilyn
    

    I have recipes for a chocolate beet torte, as well as a chocolate
    mayonnaise cake, from Pamela Asquith's _Ultimate Chocolate Cake Cookbook_.

    While I haven't tried either of these, the other cakes I've made from
    her book were excellent!  If there's interest I'll enter these tonite.

    - Jim

    Talk about bringing back memories!  As a child, mayonaise cake was my
    "speciality".  I knew the recipe by heart and made it for dessert
    whenever my mom would let me.  I can't remember the recipe at all now,
    but I do remember that it was simple because the I didn't  have to
    measure egg, oil or salt because the mayo supplied all those. :-)
    
    If someone has this recipe, I would really appreciate having it again. 
    I don't think my kids believe me!  :-)  (BTW, a friend once passed on a
    recipe which used a jar of raspberry jam.  That is not the one that I
    was looking for.)  
    
    -jer

    
    I would love the recipe for tomato soup cake!
    
    When I was a kid, we used to make this cake called 3 Hole cake.
    It was a really moist chocolate cake, the secret ingredient
    was VINEGAR!
    
    I'll have to look for that recipe too...
    
    dm

    So, is that what makes a red devils food cake?
    
    This thread is getting stranger and stranger!
    
    Post some of those recipes, they sound great!
    
    mike
    

I think the moderator should change the name of this note to 

	"strange recipes that taste good"

that way, we can file all the weird, but tasty, treats that we find.

    I can vouch for the Chocolate cake w/Zukes, the choco cake w/mayo
    (I hate mayo, with a passion, but the cake is great!) and the choco
    cake w/ vinegar (we called it 3 hole cake, too!), but.... can't vouch 
    for the beets....
    
    Yep, we're definately getting on a strange one here.
    
    Please post the recipes!
    
    beth

    The two most worse cakes I have ever made have been Chocolate zuchini cake,
    and tomatoe soup cake. The chocolate zuchini cake my husband foundly
    refers to the oh yah the choc compost cake. The Tomatoe soup cake was
    edible but not worth making twice. I don't think I would dare make
    choc beet cake for fear my husband would divorce me. 
    
                                                       Alice
    
    

    From a normally read-only:
    
    Cream together	1 Cup Sugar
    			3 Tblsp. Shortening
    			1 Egg
    Add			1 Can Tomato Soup
    Add			1-3/4 Cup Flour
    			2 tsp. Cinnamon
    			1 tsp. Nutmeg
    			1/2 tsp. Allspice
    			1 tsp. Baking Soda
    			1 Cup Raisins
    
    Bake for 45-50 minutes at 375 degrees in greased pan (Bundt or Angel
    Food works best for me).
    
    Sounds strange, but tastes very good.  Serve warm with Vanilla Ice
    Cream or Whipped Cream.
    
    

    This is easy, fun but can be very rich!
    
    In a 13"x9"x2" baking dish:
    
    	Combine		4 Cups Fruit Cocktail (undrained)
    			2 Cups Flour
    			2 Cups Sugar
    			2 tsp. Baking Soda
    			2 tsp. Salt
    			2 Beaten Eggs
    
    	Top with	1/2 to 1 Cup Brown Sugar
    			1/2 to 1 Cup Chopped Nuts
    
    	Bake at 350 degrees for 45-50 minutes.
    
    	Will be golden to dark crusty brown on top; sticky in the middle.
    
    	Totally decadent served warm with French Vanilla Ice Cream or
    	Cinnamon-spiced Whipped Cream.
    

    re: .21
    
    I grew up on something very similar to this.  We called it Fruit
    pudding and it is DELISHOUS!!!!
    
    I even used to make this from time to time because it was so easy.  I
    absolutely hate to cook.
    
    (I collect recipes from this file for my husband to cook.  Isn't that
    nice of me?)
    
    Barbara

   DEVIL'S FOOD CAKE (OCTOBER '91 BON APPETIT)
   
   Cake:
   
   Butter
       2 cups all purpose flour
   1 3/4 cups sugar
     3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
   1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
       1 teaspoon salt
     1/2 teaspoon baking soda
   1 1/2 cups buttermilk
       3 large eggs
       1 teaspoon vanilla extract
     3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted, cooled
     1/2 cup sour cream
     1/2 cup grated raw beets
   
   Frosting:
   
    1 cup whipping cream
   14 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped
    2 tablespoons light corn syrup
   
   FOR CAKE: preheat oven to 350.  Butter 10 inch diameter cake pan with 
   2-inch-high sides.  Line bottom with parchment; butter parchment.  
   Sift flour, sugar, unsweetened cocoa powder, baking powder, salt and 
   baking soda into large bowl of electric mixer.  Add buttermilk, eggs 
   and vanilla extract and beat until blended.  Mix in melted butter and 
   sour cream.  Stir in grated beets.  Pour batter into prepared pan.  
   Bake until toothpick inserted into center of cake comes out clean, 
   about 65 minutes.  Cool on rack 10 minutes.  Turn cake out onto rack 
   and cool completely.
   
   FOR FROSTING:  Scald whipping cream in heavy medium saucepan over 
   medium heat.  Remove from heat.  Add chopped chocolate and stir until 
   melted and smooth.  Mix in light corn syrup.  Transfer to medium 
   bowl.  Refrigerate frosting until just spreadable, about 15 minutes.
   
   Cut cooled cake into 2 even layers.  Spread top of 1 cake layer with 
   1/2 cup frosting.  Top with second cake layer.  Spread top and sides 
   with remaining frosting.  (Can be prepared 1 day ahead.  Cover with 
   cake dome and store at room temperature).
   

    I also have a Devil's Food Cake, but in order to get it red,
    I have to use a *LOT* of red food coloring.
    
    I will try this one next time...don't know how the beets will
    change the taste, but at least the color will have come naturally.
    
    thanks!
    Noranne

>    I will try this one next time...don't know how the beets will
>    change the taste, but at least the color will have come naturally.

   The reddish tint of devils food cake is supposed to come from a
   reaction between the baking powder and cocoa.

   - Jim