Beets bobbed like roiling hearts in the pan of boiling water. I measured the flour and baking soda into a big green bowl. Turned up the radio as a Felice Brothers song came on. Added salt. When I grabbed the pepper grinder and then the cayenne, I knew I'd tugged my recipe into uncharted waters.

I've warmed lately to the idea of improvisation with my baking—adding savory ingredients to sweet. Trying to predetermine and create a kind of taste that's new to me–fresh to my palate. I think I'm trying to surprise myself.

I used to do this more frequently, and I also steadily messed up perfectly fine recipes. But these days after logging so many hours in the kitchen, I can sight-read a recipe; taste it just by running my finger down the list of ingredients. I've started dabbling in flourishes.

The smell of the beets boiling helped me reach for the pepper. Adding the pepper to the flour mixture helped me think about adding a little zing. In went the cayenne.

The beets needed to cook for quite some time before their skins slipped off in one swift thumbing. In the meantime, I melted the unsweetened chocolate and olive oil together in my double-boiler. That strange smell—what should have been sweet but instead was olivey-chocolate led me to the bowl of pears on the counter. Beautiful red Bartletts. I cut thin quarter moon slices.

Once the beets were pureed and the sugar creamed with more olive oil. Once the egg and vanilla and chocolate mixture were added and the flour stirred in, I had an intense maroon batter: beautiful.

I layered the pear slices midway in the pan so they would be a sweet surprise once the cake was cut. In fact, they magically melted into the cake–what was left was the idea of pear in each bite.

Just as carrots give moisture to a carrot cake, beets add moisture and depth to this chocolate cake. It doesn't, however, taste beety. It's more of an earthy chocolate once it's in your mouth—not too sweet, but rich and surprising. And nutritious too.

(I worked from the Chocolate Beet Cake recipe on p. 62 of Farmer John's Cookbook.)

4 oz. Unsweetened chocolate

1/4 c. + 3/4 c.  Olive oil

3 Eggs

1 1/4 c. Sugar (I used beet sugar)

2 c. Pureed, cooked beets (3 medium beets)

1 Tbls. Vanilla

1 1/2 c. All-purpose flour

1/2 c. Whole wheat pastry flour

2 tsp. Baking soda

1/4 tsp. Sea salt

1/4 tsp. Black pepper, freshly ground

Pinch Cayenne

1 Pear, cored and thinly sliced

Powdered sugar

Boil or bake beets until fork tender and their skins slip off (20-30 minutes depending upon the size of your beets). Puree them in a food processor until silky smooth and gorgeous. Butter and flour a standard bundt pan. Set aside. Preheat oven to 375.

Melt the chocolate and 1/4 c. of the olive oil in a doubleboiler. Remove from heat, stir until well combined.

Cream the eggs and sugar in a mixer on medium-high speed until a pretty, fluffy yellow. Slowly beat in the remaining 3/4 c. olive oil, the chocolate mixture, pureed beets, and vanilla.

Combine the flours, baking soda, salt, pepper, and cayenne in a large bowl. Stir the flour mixture into the wet ingredients until just combined. Pour half the batter into the prepared pan; gently layer the pear slices on top, and then pour the rest of the batter on top.

Bake until a knife or toothpick comes out clean when inserted into the cake–about 45 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and cool on a wire rack for 30 minutes before de-panning. Let the cake cool completely on the rack. Dust with powdered sugar.

Eat with cognac or coffee or vanilla ice cream. Enjoy.