The beet puree can be made ahead of time. Basically, cook the beets any way you like… boil, bake, whatever, then peel and cut cooled cooked beets into chunks and puree in a blender or food processor. If your puree is too ‘dry’, you can probably add a tiny bit of water, beet cooking water, or some applesauce, but only enough to make the puree whirl. It should be pretty thick.
1 1/4 C beet puree
3 eggs
1/2 C vegetable oil
1/2 tsp. salt
3/4 C cocoa powder
1 1/2 C sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1 1/2 C flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
Preheat oven to 350°F
Grease and dust with flour a bundt pan or 8-9″ square pan.
In a large bowl, beat eggs. Whisk in sugar, oil, vanilla, salt & beet puree. In a separate bowl, mix flour, cocoa and soda. Add dry ingredients to wet a little at a time, gently mixing until incorporated.
Pour batter into prepared pan and bake 45 – 50 min, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool for at least an hour before slicing and serving. Goes great with vanilla ice cream and strawberries.