Frosted Chocolate Beet Birthday Cake

Three words send fear into the heart of many a parent. Toddler Birthday Party.

Okay. Really, it's not that bad, but when you've been going to them almost every week for a couple months, sometimes twice in one day, your kid starts to ask questions. Is it my birthday? Is it your birthday? The cat's birthday? Is there cake? Can we get cake? Make cake? Juice box, please?

Last Saturday we had one birthday party in the afternoon and another birthday at our house in the evening. Do I want to put a two year old to bed after they eat treats all afternoon and evening? Do I want to tell the two year old there's no cake at a birthday party? Do I want to put candles in a loaf of bread? No. No. Yes, but the five year old might notice there's something wrong with his birthday "cake".

How about frosted chocolate birthday cake with less sugar and some nutrition thrown in? Yes. And it even uses up the beets! Kids and adults loved it. I didn't get a chance to take a picture before it was demolished.

The frosting tastes more like peanut butter than chocolate and is better if you let it sit overnight. For a dairy-free option, make sure to use dairy-free chocolate chips.

Chocolate Beet Cake
200 grams all-purpose flour (about 1-1/2 cups)
150 grams brown sugar (about 3/4 cup)
50 grams unsweetened cocoa powder (about 1/2 cup)
1 Tablespoon cornstarch
1 Tablespoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1-3/4 cups pureed cooked beets
1 very ripe banana, pureed
2 Tablespoons vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease a 9-inch square cake pan.

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, cocoa, cornstarch, baking soda and cinnamon. In a separate bowl, combine beets, banana, vinegar and oil. Add wet ingredients to dry and stir well to combine. Stir in chocolate chips. Spread in prepared pan. Bake until a tester comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Cool in pan for 10 minutes then remove to a wire rack to cool completely.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Frosting
1-3/4 cups pumpkin puree (if homemade, drain overnight in a coffee filter to thicken)
1 cup chocolate chips, melted
1/4 cup peanut butter

Combine all ingredients in a blender and puree until smooth. Makes enough to frost a single layer cake and pipe decoration.

Gnocchi with Beans and Tomatoes

It's CSA season again. With a box of veggies to use up and a randomly picky toddler (it's Tuesday, nothing orange for me!) to feed, that means some creative cooking needs to happen. Sometimes creative equals disaster, or at least toddler feeding fail, and sometimes it makes everyone happy.

This is what happens when you have beautiful CSA tomatoes, no defrosted meat in the house, and a toddler asking for everything in the fresh pasta case at the store.

Gnocchi with Beans and Tomatoes
1 pound sweet potato gnocchi
2 Tablespoons olive oil
3 large garlic cloves, sliced thin
3 medium tomatoes, chopped
1/4 teaspoon salt
14 ounces cooked white beans (no salt added)
grated parmesan (optional)

Cook gnocchi in a large pot of boiling water until they float.

While gnocchi cook, heat olive oil in a large pan over medium heat. Add garlic, tomatoes, and salt. Simmer until softened. Add beans and heat through. Drain gnocchi and combine with tomato sauce. Serve with grated parmesan, if desired.