The Art of Gathering
Celebrating Belle Dawson with Images (and Cake)
In Alaska, cupboards and pantries, root cellars and freezers are a kind of sketchbook of what we gather on summer ventures, collections assem...
Red velvet cake is a tinted version of “velvet cake,” a term given to cakes in the 1800s when home cooks were perfecting cake recipes to create a more tender crumb. Combining a starch (cocoa and/or cornstarch) and using almond flour, softened gluten proteins produce a velvetier cake. The red color of “red velvet” is a marketing gimmick following the commercialization and wide availability of artificial food coloring in the 1940s (and yes, red dye did eventually become a controversial addition as a potential carcinogen).
Our version of Belle Dawson’s birthday cake is entirely gluten free, avoiding the potential toughness of overmixing gluten, and it gets its reddish hue naturally from fresh beets. The spices in this recipe are entirely optional, but do add something a little extra special to the recipe. Red velvet cake usually is accompanied by a buttery cream cheese frosting. Go that way if you will, but this recipe suggests a no-butter, rose-scented tangy frosting for a more aromatic accompaniment.
Eating a huge amount of cake feels like an appropriate way to celebrate (gathering or no), and this recipe makes 4 4-inch, double-layer cakes, so you can have the whole cake and eat it all, too.
Ingredients
Dry
- 2 cups gluten-free flour blend (I use 1 cup oat, ½ cup quinoa, ½ cup garbanzo/chickpea flour)
- 1 cup almond flour
- 2 tablespoons starch (I prefer cassava flour)
- ¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder (not Dutch process)
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
Optional spice blend
- 2 teaspoons cardamon, freshly ground
- 2 teaspoons sumac
- ½ teaspoon mace or nutmeg
Wet
- 1 cup water or lowfat milk
- 2 teaspoons white or apple cider vinegar
- 2 tablespoons neutral oil
- 2 tablespoons aquafaba (the liquid from cooking chickpeas or from a can of chickpeas. You can substitute more oil for a denser cake.)
- 2 medium raw beets, grated finely and puréed (about 1 cup puréed)
- 1 cup granulated sugar
Rose Frosting
- 2 tablespoons aquafaba (optional)
- 8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
- ½ cup powdered sugar, or up to ½ cup more for a sweeter frosting
- 1½ teaspoons rose water
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Preparation
Velvet Beet Birthday Cake
Makes 4 4-inch, double-layer cakes or 1 8-inch, double-layer cake
Preheat oven to 375° F and prepare pans by wiping or spraying with oil and lining with parchment.
Blend fresh beets until a smooth purée (measure here as needed). Add to blender remaining wet ingredients and blend to combine.
In a large bowl, combine all dry ingredients. Whisk to combine. Add wet to dry and mix well—do not be afraid of overmixing.
Portion into pans and bake for about 20–30 minutes (moisture of your beets and your pan size will affect timing), until the cake springs back to the touch or a tester comes out clean.
Cool in pans for 10 minutes before removing. Cool completely before frosting.
Rose Frosting
Makes enough for 1 top and 1 center layer of cake. Double recipe for frosting sides of cake.
Whisk aquafaba together with rose water in a bowl until soft peaks form. Skip this step if not using aquafaba, which just makes the frosting airier.
Beat cream cheese into the mixture, or with rose water if skipping step one. Add in the powdered sugar gradually, to desired sweetness.
Frost middle and top of cake. If frosting is too thin, let cake set in fridge after frosting bottom layer and chill cake after frosting.
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