Red Devil Cake

(recipe from The Vegan Sourcebook by Joanne Stepaniak)

2 cups whole-wheat pastry flour
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup cocoa powder
2 tsp. double-acting nonaluminum baking powder
2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
2 Tbsp. flaxseeds
1/3 cup water
1 cup diced cooked beets
1 cup water
1/3 cup canola oil (I used coconut oil)
2 tsp. apple-cider vinegar
2 tsp. vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 350F.  Lightly oil the bottom and sides of an 8-inch square baking pan.

Place the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium mixing bowl and stir them with a wire whisk until well combined.

Place the flaxseeds in a dry blender and grind them into a powder.  Add the 1/3 cup water and blend until a gummy mixture is achieved, about 30 seconds.  Add the beets, 1 cup water, canola oil, vinegar, and vanilla, and process until frothy and well blended, about 1 to 2 minutes.  Pour into the flour mixture and mix just until everything is evenly moistened.

Quickly spoon the batter into the prepared pan.  Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 35 to 40 minutes.  Cool on a rack for at least 30 minutes before serving.  Frost when completely cool.  Store the frosted cake tightly covered in the refrigerator.

(This cake is not gluten-free, so is more like a traditional cake than the beet cake I posted a few years back.  I like this cake very much, have been making it for years, and it's always very popular with people.  The cookbook pairs it with a frosting made of tofu, but I prefer the chocolate avocado frosting that I made for the previous beet cake (just search "cake" on this site, and it will pop up).  This can also be made in a round cake pan with no trouble - though if you'd like a layer cake, you'll need to double the cake recipe.)