Hey Friends! How’s it goin?
Can you believe it’s already Christmas Eve? I feel like I was just here this time last year – waking up early to get the ham and turkey ready for baking before going last minute gift shopping with my mummy. This year, there’ll be no shopping for me, since I’m going the edible gift route. But, I will be spending most of the day with the turkey in the kitchen while noshing on this Dairy-Free Beet & Walnut Red Velvet Loaf.
The first thing I did when I got back to Trinidad was try to source most of my usual baking ingredients. I’m going to be here for 3 weeks so I need to create at least 3 recipes during that time. For this recipe, I needed beets, which I found pretty easily. They were like half the size of the ones I get in Canada but still usable. Maple syrup on the other hand, was almost impossible to find. And then, when I did find it, it was insanely expensive. Seriously, I’m never going to complain about the cost of maple syrup in Canada again.
Once I’d gotten everything I needed, it was time to get started on baking. I’d originally planned to make red velvet cookies with the beets but I had some issues and ended up making a red velvet loaf instead.
My biggest problem was that the whole wheat flour I bought was way heavier than the one I’m used to using. Not so great in the cookie recipe I attempted, but pretty damn awesome in this red velvet loaf. Ever since I made my first sweet loaf, I’ve been a huge fan of flavoured breads. They’re customizable, easy to make and super forgiving – which I seriously appreciated when I was attempting to determine the correct flour/beet ratio.
So, in the end, I was actually pretty glad that the cookies didn’t turn out the way I wanted them to, because this loaf was the bomb. First off, I loved the deep burgundy colour thanks to the beets. It’s really festive and will be great for breakfast on Christmas morning while waiting for brunch to officially begin. And, according to my sister, the loaf doesn’t ‘taste healthy’, plus, it’s cakey, flavourful and has no added refined sugars. Definitely something the entire family can enjoy.
Anyway, this’ll probably be the last you see of me for a while. Not totally sure if I’ll be able to post something on Friday what with all the holiday festivities going on here but I’ll be popping in on social media every now and then and I’ll be back next week for sure.
So, Merry Christmas friends! Hope you have an amazing holiday and enjoy the time with your friends and family 😀
- 1½ cups whole wheat flour
- 2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1 cup beet puree
- ¾ cups maple syrup
- 2 tsp vanilla
- ⅓ cup coconut oil
- 2 eggs
- ½ cup walnut pieces
- 2 - 3 tsp chopped walnuts
- 1 tbsp quick cooking oats
- ½ tsp cinnamon
- 2 tsp maple syrup
- Preheat oven to 350F
- Grease a loaf pan and set aside
- If you haven't already done so, roast or boil the beets until tender and puree in a food processor or blender until you have 1 cup of beet puree
- In a medium bowl. whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and cinnamon
- In another bowl, whisk together the beets, coconut oil, vanilla, maple syrup and eggs until well blended
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet and mix gently until the batter is smooth
- Fold in the nuts
- In a small bowl, mix together topping ingredients
- Pour batter into greased pan and top with oatmeal mixture
- Bake for 50 minutes or until a knife inserted into the centre comes out clean
- Allow the loaf to cool for 5 minutes then remove from the pan and place on a wire rack
- Cool completely before slicing
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What about you?
What does your Christmas breakfast look like? Red velvet cookies, cupcakes or loaves? Are you a fan of beets or no?
Share in the comments below!
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Linking up with: #StrangebutGood, Foodie Friday
Putting beets in EVERYTHING is like the best thing ever 😉 I seriously eat beets every day…no lie! Nature’s produce is just so beautiful, haha! Who needs food coloring when you can just use things like BEETS!
(Merry Christmas Love! XOXO)
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine recently posted…When You Become More Than Yourself
I always forget that I can put beets into things, even though somewhere in the back of my head, I realize that it’d be an awesome addition to a lot of things and would be a great [healthy] way to color my food for the holidays! This looks super good! <3
Farrah recently posted…Friday Five/Favorites + Fit N’ Fashionable Friday
Totally going to make this!! I’m on a beet bender!
Laura @ Sprint 2 the Table recently posted…#StrangeButGood New Years Party Recipes
I totally know the feeling! Let me know what you think 😀
That looks delicious! What a wonderful combination. I love that you use beets instead of red dye 🙂
Michelle @ Vitamin Sunshine recently posted…Gluten Free Graham Crackers
I have to admit I was a bit skeptical when I saw ‘beets’, but I’m actually quite intrigued. To be honest, I’ll try anything that has the words ‘red velvet’ at least once. Haha! =)
Haha glad I could tempt to try beets with this one Miranda 🙂
This seems very interesting.. I know a lot of people probably think it’s weird to use beets in this. However, I work at Teavana and our rock sugar is actually made from beets! You can actually get sweet stuff from beets! I’ll for sure have to make this!
Olivia schwab recently posted…Chocolate From Around The World
I did not know that about the rock sugar at Teavana! Seriously good to know 😀
Let me know what you think about the loaf if you try it 🙂
This looks fabulous! Beets are such a great addition to a baked dish. They made your bread look so festive and beautiful.
Debbie recently posted…74 Great Blogging Tips that will Pave Your Way to Success plus Blogger’s Pit Stop #2
This looks fantastic! Vegas love red velvet… I don’t think she was prepared for me to make her tons of red velvet stuff using beets though. LOL! I’ll have to try this one out next. 🙂
Laura @ Sprint 2 the Table recently posted…Slow Cooker BBQ Beer Chicken [Recipe]
Your photos are beautiful! I love what a pretty, deep shade of red this loaf is! Looks like beets do a great job as a natural food coloring 🙂
Liv @ Healthy Liv recently posted…The Time I Bought 16 Pints of Ben & Jerry’s During Finals Week
This is stunning! I can’t wait to try it.
I’m so sorry, but I can’t figure out what ingredients to put on top. Would you maybe clarify what you made the topping from? Thank you so much!!
Hi Sara. Thanks for pointing out that the topping ingredients were missing! Not sure how that happened :/
Anyway, for the topping, you’ll need 2 – 3 tsp chopped walnuts, 1 tbsp quick cooking oats, 1/2 tsp cinnamon, 2 tsp maple syrup. Just mix them together and sprinkle it onto the loaf before baking.
Let me know if you have any other questions! And I’d love to hear what you think about the loaf 🙂