Eggless Beet Cake / Eggless Red Velvet Cake

There are those times when you hanker for something baked and sweet despite your hardened resolution against baking. I am someone who happens to love the process of baking. I love baking for itself. Most times I bake just to create something divine and beautiful and flavorful. I am satiated just by the process, and have no need to eat the creation. I am happy seeing others eat. Others don't like this habit of mine.

Enough of the rambling. I am now a fan of "quick baking" that results in small quantities of desserts. It (sort of) indulges my craving to bake, and it creates a small portion of dessert, perfect for two. Mug cakes are my recent favorite. Along those lines, I came across a healthy, easy recipe for a red-velvet cake. It literally takes 15 minutes to make this little cutie. How could I resist?

Slightly modified and adapted from this recipe

Ingredients (4 servings):

1. 1 small beet, peeled and chopped
2. 1/3 cup + 1/4 cup low-fat milk 
3. 1 tablespoon ground flaxseed
4. 6 teaspoons sugar
5. 1/8 teaspoon salt
6. 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
7. 1 tablespoon butter - melted
8. 6 tablespoons all-purpose flour
9. 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
10. 1 teaspoon baking powder
11. 1.5 teaspoons olive oil/vegetable oil

Preparation:

1. Heat the olive oil/vegetable oil in a small pan. When hot, add the chopped beet and saute on low-medium heat until the beet is slightly tender. It takes about 7-10 minutes. When done, remove from heat and let it cool. When cool, grind the beet with a drizzle of milk (no more than 1/4 cup milk). Reserve the ground beet puree to be added to the batter. 
2. In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the beet puree, milk, flaxseed, sugar and salt. Add in the melted butter and whisk it in. 
3. Add the vanilla extract and mix well.
4. Add the cocoa powder and gently stir it in. 
5. Finally, add the baking powder and all-purpose flour and gently fold everything into the batter.
6. Grease a 4 inch microwavable bowl (glass works well) and transfer the batter into it. 
7. Microwave for 3 minutes (or a little longer) until a tester comes out almost clean with just a few crumbs attached.

Let the cake cool. When cool, loosen the edges of the bowl and invert the cake onto a plate. Enjoy with a cup of coffee or with fresh fruit.

A word of warning: This cake is not as sweet as the regular cakes. It is not super yummy either. What else can one expect from a "light" version? It is a compromise, okay? You get to eat cake that is almost as sweet and almost as good as the sinful ones. But you get to eat cake! And bake!