Nordic Rye & Beet Chocolate Snack Cake
A moist winter snack cake with roasted beets, wholegrain rye and dark chocolate—reduced sugar and deeply satisfying.
Best for Winter snack with vegetables + wholegrain fiber
This Nordic cafe–style snack cake uses roasted beets for natural sweetness and velvet crumb, plus wholegrain rye and ground oats for a rustic, fiber-rich texture. Dark chocolate lends warm bitterness while yogurt and oil keep the cake moist without excess sugar. Serve slightly warm with a smear of yogurt or a cup of black coffee for a cozy winter treat.
Ingredients
- 350 g raw red beets , roast, peel and cool (see step)
- 120 g Wholegrain rye flour
- 60 g rolled oats , blitz to a fine oat flour in a blender or food processor
- 25 g unsweetened cocoa powder
- 7 g Baking powder
- 3 g fine sea salt
- 2 large eggs , large
- 150 g Plain Greek yogurt , full-fat or 2%
- 60 ml neutral-flavored oil
- 50 g Light brown sugar
- 80 g dark chocolate , use about 60 g melted into the batter and reserve ~20 g chopped for folding/finish
- 5 ml Vanilla extract
- 1 g fine sea salt (optional – can be omitted)
Instructions
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1
Roast the beets: preheat oven to 200°C. Wrap whole trimmed beets loosely in foil (drizzle with 1 tsp oil if you like), place on a baking sheet and roast until tender when pierced, about 40–50 minutes depending on size. Remove from oven, let cool slightly, then rub off skins with a towel and roughly chop.
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2
Lower oven to 175°C and line an 20×20 cm (8×8 in) square pan with parchment or grease lightly; set aside.
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3
Make oat flour: place the rolled oats in a blender or food processor and blitz until a fine flour forms, about 30–60 seconds. Transfer to a bowl and whisk together with rye flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt.
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4
Melt 60 g of the dark chocolate with the oil: place chocolate and oil in a heatproof bowl over a pan of barely simmering water (double boiler) and stir until smooth, 3–4 minutes; alternatively microwave in 20-second bursts, stirring between bursts. Remove from heat and cool 2 minutes.
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5
Purée the roasted beets: in a food processor or blender, combine the chopped roasted beets, Greek yogurt, eggs, brown sugar and vanilla; blend until very smooth (about 1–2 minutes). Scrape into a large bowl and stir in the melted chocolate-oil mixture until homogeneous.
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6
Combine wet and dry: add the dry rye/oat/cocoa mixture to the beet-chocolate wet mixture and fold gently until just combined — do not overmix. Fold in the remaining ~20 g chopped dark chocolate for pockets of texture.
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7
Bake: transfer batter to the prepared pan, smooth the top and bake at 175°C until the top is set and a toothpick inserted near the center comes out with moist crumbs (not wet batter), 30–35 minutes. If you prefer a fudgier center, check at 28 minutes.
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8
Cool and finish: let the cake cool in the pan on a rack for 20 minutes, then lift out and cool further for 15 minutes. If desired, melt a spoonful of reserved chocolate and drizzle or spread over the warm top, finish with a light sprinkle of flaky sea salt. Slice into 9 squares and serve slightly warm or at room temperature.