Vegan Chocolate Beet Loaf
Insanely tender and fluffy chocolate bread with an unconventional flavor twist - beets! A nice change of pace from more standard chocolate pairings, it’s also easy to sneak in extra nutrients by using some whole grain flour. Simple to make, tasty, and with a dreamy tender texture that’ll keep you craving more!
While daydreaming of new chocolate pairings, as one simply does to stay sane in the deep winter month of February, I remembered a beet chocolate cake I’d had a few years ago around this same time. So, with 8 (maybe 12?) inches of snow on the ground, below freezing temperatures in the air, and nowhere else to be during pandemic times, I thought, “why not try to recreate it?”
Although I started with visions of a cake, I decided the beet chocolate combo screams more “loaf/quick bread” than it does “cake” to me. To at least try to introduce a cake-like element, I also tested this bread with a chocolate glaze, but I found the glaze ultimately detracted from the bread more than it enhanced it, so I landed on keeping the bread naked (is that the technical term? 😂). As it turns out, sometimes less is more - this loaf is simple, really tender (I literally crave the texture of this bread - it’s that dreamy!), and the chocolate beet flavor combo is ideal for when you need a chocolate fix but you want something different than the standard, go-to chocolate pairings like banana or zucchini.
Why You’ll Love this Bread
Familiar classic with a flavor twist. Who doesn’t love chocolate?! This quick bread has the familiar flavor of chocolate cake that we all love but with an earthy twist - beets! The natural sweetness of beets actually pairs quite well with chocolate , and I love the combination of them in a quick bread that I’d eat for breakfast or as a snack since I can convincingly tell myself I’m eating more than just a straight up chocolate bread.
Ultra fluffy. This loaf has an ultra fluffy, insanely tender texture that’s completely irresistible! So dreamy that it’ll keep you coming back for more just so you can taste another bite of that tenderness. It’s like the taste bud equivalent of your head hitting a soft pillow at the end of the day!
Moist. Yes, that heinous word, but hear me out - this bread is perfectly moist (as any quick bread/cake should be), while still maintaining that light, fluffy texture.
Can be made with nutritious whole grain flour. Because chocolate is such a bold, dominant flavor, it can conceal some of the gritty flavor of whole grain flours better than other breads, making it possible to sneak in a bit of nutritious whole grains into chocolate-flavored baked goods! If you’d like to incorporate some whole grains into this loaf, you can substitute up to half of the all-purpose flour with whole wheat pastry flour, though I recommend starting with just 25% if you’re not used to the flavor of whole grain flour in sweets to see how you like it.
Ingredient Overview
Beets. Cooked beets are chopped up in a food processor to create a purée that has the consistency of applesauce. While the beet purée obviously contributes flavor, it also gives the bread its tender texture and adds a lot of moisture, helping to keep the amount of added oil down while still creating a perfectly moist loaf!
All-purpose flour. Plain all-purpose flour works great in this loaf because it’s just that - plain - allowing the beet and chocolate flavor combo to really shine through. In combination with the rest of the ingredients, it also yields an incredibly tender loaf!
Whole wheat pastry flour (optional). If you’d like to give this loaf a nutrition boost, you can substitute up to half the flour with whole wheat pastry flour! This amount will still yield a fairly fluffy loaf but you’ll definitely be able to notice the earthier taste of whole grain flour (especially if you’re contrasting it side by side with a loaf that’s made entirely with 100% all-purpose flour). If you’re nervous about the flavor but would still like to get some whole grain benefits, try using a mix of 25% (½ cup/60 grams) whole wheat pastry flour and 75% all-purpose flour!
Cacao (or cocoa) powder. To give the bread its chocolate-y flavor! I’m partial to the bonus antioxidants and the extra bold flavor of raw cacao powder, but you can sub unsweetened cocoa powder and still get a delicious loaf.
Baking soda. For rise.
Aquafaba. When whipped, aquafaba (i.e. the liquid in a can of chickpeas!) provides structure and lift (acting similarly to eggs), which helps give the bread its addictively fluffy texture!
Brown sugar and cane sugar. To sweeten the bread. While cane sugar provides straight up sweetness, brown sugar also adds in more moisture and lightly caramel-y notes thanks to the molasses in it.
Non-dairy milk and apple cider vinegar. Combining non-dairy milk and apple cider vinegar creates a “buttermilk” mixture that reacts with baking soda to make the bread extra tender as it rises! Oat milk is my go-to in baking, but feel free to use your favorite plant milk - almond, cashew, etc.
Oil. For moisture! Any neutral oil works here - avocado, sunflower, etc.
Vanilla extract and salt. To enhance the chocolate flavor.
Tips for Baking a Successful Quick Bread
Use a scale to weigh the flours. For the perfect loaf, make sure you weigh out the exact quantities of flour (too little flour = mushy bread; too much flour = dense and dry bread).
Don’t have a food scale? Use the “spoon and level” method to avoid using too much flour. To do this, “fluff” the flour to aerate it. Then, spoon the flour into a measuring cup until it overflows slightly, and use the back of a knife to “level” the excess flour off the top. (PS - I highly recommend investing in a food scale - they’re cheap and invaluably useful for both baking and cooking!)
Don’t overmix! The most important tip for a successful quick bread is to RESIST the urge to overmix the wet and dry ingredients! Mix them together just until the dry ingredients have been incorporated in with the wet ingredients to form a batter to avoid overworking the gluten and creating tunneling inside the loaf.
Bake the batter ASAP after mixing. Once the dry ingredients touch the wet ingredients, baking soda begins reacting immediately to release carbon dioxide, which creates little pockets that help the loaf rise. This means you’ll want to work quickly to mix everything together and get that loaf into the oven to bake ASAP so you don’t lose any rising power!
Let the bread cool completely before slicing. After it’s done baking, you’ll want to let the loaf cool for a few hours (about 3-4 full hours) before digging in. While this is true of any quick bread, this loaf in particular benefits from sitting longer as the chocolate and beet flavors tend to deepen with time (plus the flavor is oddly unpleasant when the bread is warm!). I recommend baking it in the evening so that it has plenty of time to cool overnight - and this way, you’ll wake up to a tasty breakfast treat awaiting you! 😋
Vegan Chocolate Beet Loaf
Ingredients
3-4 medium sized-beets (to yield 1 cup cooked beet puree)
240 grams all-purpose flour (2 cups, spooned & leveled)*
½ cup cacao powder (or unsweetened cocoa powder)
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon fine sea salt
½ cup non-dairy milk (I used oat)
1 ½ teaspoons apple cider vinegar
6 tablespoons aquafaba (liquid from a can of chickpeas)
½ cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
½ cup cane sugar
⅓ cup neutral oil like avocado, sunflower, etc.
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Directions
Cook and prep the beets: Add the beets to a medium pot and cover with two inches of water. Bring to a boil and cook the beets until fully tender (you should be able to pierce through them with a fork), about 45-60 minutes (depending on the size of your beets). Once done, drain the beets and let them cool until they’re safe enough to handle. Cut off the stem ends and peel them, then cut them into quarters and transfer to the bowl of a food processor and process until smooth - they should have the texture of applesauce. Measure out 1 cup of purée for this loaf and save any leftovers for another use.
Note: this step can be done ahead of time.
Pre-heat the oven to 350°F. Line a standard 9x5 loaf pan with parchment paper, letting the excess paper hang over the long sides.
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cacao powder, baking soda, and salt.
In a small bowl or liquid measuring cup, stir together the non-dairy milk and apple cider vinegar to make a “buttermilk” mixture. Set aside to curdle for about 5 minutes.
In a medium bowl, use an electric hand mixer on medium speed to beat the aquafaba until foamy, about 60-75 seconds. Transfer the whipped aquafaba to the bowl with the dry ingredients but do not combine yet (let it rest on top). Use a rubber spatula to scrape as much of the aquafaba as possible from the bowl.
To the same medium bowl you used for the aquafaba, add the oil and sugar and use the hand mixer to mix together. Then add in the “buttermilk” mixture and vanilla extract and mix again. Finally, add 1 cup of the beet purée and continue mixing until thoroughly combined.
Add the mixed wet ingredients to the bowl with the dry ingredients and aquafaba and use the lowest setting on your hand mixer to gently fold all the ingredients together until just combined, being careful not to overmix. (Alternatively, you can also use a rubber spatula instead of an electric mixer to mix everything together.)
Transfer the batter to your prepared loaf pan and use a rubber spatula to smooth out the top.
Bake for about 50-55 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean.
Let the baked bread cool for 10-15 minutes inside the loaf pan, then transfer to a wire rack to cool fully (about 3-4 hours or, better yet, overnight) before slicing.
Notes:
*You can substitute up to 50% (120 grams/1 cup) of the all-purpose flour with whole wheat pastry flour for a more nutritious loaf. If you’re unsure about the whole grain flavor but would still like a nutrient boost, use a mix of 25% whole wheat pastry flour/75% all-purpose flour.
Enjoying this perfectly fluffy chocolate beet bread? Don’t forget to leave a comment/review below and tag me when you share it on Instagram (@teostinykitchen) - I always love seeing your remakes!