When you write about vegetables, some times it takes an extra cup of creativity to participate in the dessert-loving food event Sugar High Friday, this month hosted by Lovescool and featuring chocolate.

But chocolate turned out to be easy. Choices included:

• ... chocolate & zucchini, a 1960s cake combination made famous long before the popular Parisian blog adopted the moniker
  
• ... chocolate & carrot, usually in otherwise-traditional carrot cakes
  
• ... chocolate & sweet potato, in Southern-style sweet potato pies
  

But this chocolate and vegetable pair is new to me, chocolate and ... chocolate and ... think ... think ... think ... hint: think root vegetable ... hint: think RED root vegetable ... think .... think .... think beets.

BEETS? Yes, beets!

And the cake tasted quite good though it was not especially 'interesting' taste-wise since the beets seem to add structure and sweetness and a hint of color but little taste. Still, it's an easy and inexpensive way to add nutrients and fiber to dessert without risk of notice!

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SECRET-INGREDIENT CHOCOLATE CAKE
Hands-on time: 20 minutes
Baking time: 55 minutes
Time to table: 2 hours
Serves 16

2 15-ounce cans cooked beets, drained (or about 3 1/2 cups cooked beet)

1/2 cup vegetable oil (reduced from 1 cup, see ALANNA's TIPS)
1 cup sugar (reduced from 1 1/2 cups)
3 eggs
2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (I'm partial to the Trader Joe's vanilla paste)

1 3/4 cups flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon cinnamon (recommended)

1 teaspoon powdered sugar

Preheat the oven to 350F.

Puree the beets in a food processor until very smooth. (This took several minutes, longer than expected.)

Combine the oil, sugar and eggs in a large bowl and mix well with an electric mixer for about 2 minutes. Mix in the beet puree and the vanilla. Collect the dry ingredients on top of the batter and stir together lightly without incorporating into the batter. (This is a dish-saving technique that works quite well for me. The alternative is to whisk the dry ingredients together separately and then add to the batter.)

Transfer to a well-greased Bundt pan and bake for about 55 minutes or until a knife inserted in the middle comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes, then turn onto a rack to cool the rest of the way. Sprinkle with powdered sugar through a small strainer.

Serving Suggestion: We had this topped with sour cherries and a splash of half 'n' half. But I'd also recommend whipping cream with a bit of chocolate and cinnamon for a topping. THAT would be yummy.

NUTRITION ESTIMATE
Per Serving: 211 Cal (40% from Fat, 6% from Protein, 54% from Carb); 3 g Protein; 10 g Tot Fat; 2 g Sat Fat; 29 g Carb; 2 g Fiber; 21 mg Calcium; 2 mg Iron; 310 mg Sodium; 46 mg Cholesterol, Weight Watchers 5 points

ALANNA's TIPS

• It's generally NOT a good idea to fiddle with ingredient proportions in cakes because each ingredient has its purpose and the stated quantities are likely important to the cake's outcome. I didn't hesitate in this instance, however, to reduce the oil because experience says that 1/2 cup of oil is a frequent amount for 1 3/4 cup flour and to reduce the sugar because my own experience is that American recipes are nearly always very sweet and that halving the sugar is a reliable technique.