Earthy, rich, wholesome and utterly delicious cake that is vegan, gluten-free and paleo.
This gorgeous Raw Beetroot Cake tastes as amazing as it looks, it’s earthy, rich, wholesome and utterly delicious. This is a cake for all of you who can eat beetroot in any shape and form and loving it!
The base layer is made with a mix of walnuts, dried figs and raw cacao and the luscious beetroot layer is a mix of raw beetroot with coconut butter. Just a little cake with a difference.
Raw cakes are simple to make, but you do need to use food processor or high speed blender. To make the crust I’ve used some soft dried figs, if your figs are little dry, soak them in some hot water for about 20 minutes. Coarsely blend the walnuts, add the rest of the ingredients and blend until you have a sticky mixture.
To make the beetroot layer I’ve grated my beets fairly fine and then blended them with melted coconut butter, coconut oil and maple syrup. The mix is fairly thick and I’ve added couple of tablespoons of almond milk to make it easier to blend.
Spoon the mix onto the base layer, smooth out the top and pop it into freezer to set. It should take just over an hour. You can decorate your cake with some raw cacao nibs, flaked coconut, edible flowers or drizzle some melted chocolate over. I’ve decorated mine with some dried rose petals.
Raw Beetroot Cake with Walnut and Fig Crust (grain-free & vegan)
Earthy, rich, wholesome and utterly delicious cake that is vegan, gluten-free and paleo.
Ingredients
Crust layer:
- 1 1/2 cups walnuts (150 grams)
- 8 dried figs
- 2 tablespoons raw cacao
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- pinch of sea salt
- zest of 1/2 orange (optional)
Beetroot layer:
- 2 cups raw beetroot, peeled and finely grated (300 grams)
- zest of 1/2 orange (optional)
- 1 cup coconut butter or creamed coconut (200 grams)
- 2 tablespoons coconut oil
- 2 tablespoons almond milk
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
Instructions
- Prepare 8" spring form round cake tin.
- Peel and finely grate beetroot and set aside.
- Place the walnuts into food processor, pulse few times until they broken down. Add figs, cacao, cinnamon, sea salt and orange zest and blend until the mixture comes together. Spoon the mix into the cake tin, spread evenly onto the base and press tightly down. Place into a fridge.
- In a double boiler gently melt coconut butter with coconut oil. Add beetroot, orange zest, almond milk and maple syrup and blend until smooth. It will be a thick mix.
- Spoon onto the crust layer and smooth out the top.
- Place into a freezer for at least 1 hour to set.
- Once set, gently remove from the tin and place onto a serving dish.
- Decorate with your choice of toppings and serve.
- Slice the leftover cake and store in freezer. It's easier to slice the cake when slightly frozen.
- Enjoy!
Notes
If the figs are too dry, soak them in some hot water for about 20 minutes to soften and drain well.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
8Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving:Calories: 434Total Fat: 35gSaturated Fat: 21gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 12gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 87mgCarbohydrates: 30gFiber: 9gSugar: 18gProtein: 6g
Perfectly beautiful! Figs and beets (some of my favorites!) And my birthday is in a little over a month…I think I need this cake!
Thank you Rebecca! Same for me, figs and beets are ones of my favourites too:) Do let me know if you make it. x
Absolutely stunning to look at, and sounds delicious! Thank you for sharing such treasure!✨????????☀️????????
You’re so very welcome Barbara! Thank you for your lovely comment:)
This is crazy beautiful <3
Thank you Aimee! It tastes pretty good too, at least to me:)
Hana – Gorgeous! Is the coconut oil necessary? I try to avoid all processed oils if I can. Thank you!
Hi Jill, thank you! It should be ok to leave it out, the coconut butter would make it solid enough. Check out cold pressed raw coconut oil, that one is not processed. Hope you like it:)
I love how I’m always surprised when I come here. I’m a beet lover but you’re the champion of them all! Gorgeous.
Lynne, thank you so much! What a wonderful compliment! You’ve just made my day:) x
Looks stunning. How long does it take to prepare?
Thank you so much Myrthe! It won’t take long, if you’re organized I’d say about 30-40 minutes max and then at least an hour to set in freezer, longer in fridge.
I tried the recepy but was a little confused over the outcome of the beet root part- maybe its just me, maybe it is really extrem though… anyway other recepies i saw look better ! I like the pictures though…
I felt the same way! I would steemed the beet next time
with additional cardamom powder.
Wondered if it would be ok to use the pre cooked organic version. Thought the taste may be subtler?
Hi Fiona, why not. I think it would work too, as long as it’s a plain cooked beetroot without any added flavours. You could also bake a beetroot, it might come out better than using the pre-cooked version.
What is the difference between coconut butter and coconut oil?
Here in New Zealand I can get coconut cold pressed oil, tinned coconut cream or milk. How is coconut butter packaged: tinned/refridgerated?
love-those-beetroots… Miranda
Hi Miranda, there’s big difference between the two. Coconut oil is the oil that’s been extracted from the coconut meat and coconut butter is made from coconut flesh that’s been ground into a paste. In the UK the coconut butter comes in a glass jar or as a block. Sometimes it’s also called creamed coconut (the one in block) or coconut manna (in a jar). You can easily make your own in food processor if you can’t find any in New Zealand. Hope this helps:)
Hi Hana,
Sounds and looks great and delicious! I’ll make it tomorrow. Can I keep it in the freezer for 2-3 weeks? Thank you!
Dora
Hi Dora, thank you so much for your lovely comment. Yes, you can. I tend to slice up the leftovers and store in freezer for few weeks without problems.
Hello,
I am generally from Lithuania
It’s amazing look cake .
I am new in raw making cakes
But I love it!!!
So I will make it today :)
Biggest regards
Roberta
Hi Roberta, thank you so much for your lovely comment, so happy to have you here. Hope you enjoy making this cake :)
I just tried this cake. The beetroot part came out very watery and wouldn’t set. We ended up making ice cream lollies with the mix in the end as it’s very tasty!
Was I meant perhaps to pour off the juice from the grated beetroot? Could that be why?
What else can I try to make a top liquid mix set when baking vegan and raw?
Thanks!
Miemie
Hi Miemie, that is odd that it didn’t set. I did use all the beetroots including any juice. Did you use coconut butter? This amount is sufficient to set this cake as it doesn’t really have that much liquid. You can also set raw cakes with cacao butter or coconut oil but in here I think coconut butter is the tastiest. Glad that at least the lollies were nice :) I have another Chocolate Beet Cheesecake on the blog you could try if you like beetroot.
Hello Hana!
This recipe is stunning! I will definitely make it!
I was just wandering how many inches was the tin you used it? Not sure it will fit mine
Thanks a lot!
Memilia
Hi Memilia, thank you. I’ve used 8″ round cake tin with a removable base for this cake. You can use one smaller if you don’t have this size. Hope you like it :)
With coconut cream it just doesn’t work! just threw the whole filling, because coconut cream from fresh beets curled and became waterly. maybe it really works only with coconut butter…
Hi Iryna, the recipe doesn’t say to use coconut cream, of course, that wouldn’t work! It says coconut butter or creamed coconut (they’re both the same thing, creamed coconut comes in bar and coconut butter in jar. I’m sorry you’ve misread the ingredients instructions.
I tried this and it worked out beautifully. Taste is very nice! I skipped on the coconut oil and used about 100-150ml of coco butter and it still worked!
Very easy to make and a guilt free treat! Thank you!
Thank you Carmen for your lovely comment! I’m so happy you loved the cake :)
can we use fresh figs? if so, how to modify the instructions? thank you!!!
Hi Hana
I’ve made this cake a few times now as I love to grow beetroots and was looking for a tasty desert dessert recipe to turn a pile of my produce into. I can’t seem to find Coconut butter in the remote Australian town I live in even though I remember it was common when I was younger. I have to say, I just substituted coconut butter with canned thick coconut cream which has turned out fine if slices are stored frozen then thawed in the fridge for a day before serving.
The first time I also misread yr recipe and used dates instead of figs and the base was still great. It’s definitely best with orange rind than without, for my taste. The base and top combo is ingenious I’d have to stay. Overall I love a thin slice with plain yoghurt best as the raw beetroot can be a little intense in larger portions. Some friends absolutely love it and others can’t do the raw beetroot. I’m glad I found it though and thanks heaps for sharing it with us.