Chocolate Beetroot Cake with Coconut Whipped Cream
[Vegan, Gluten Free]

For the Cake:

1. Preheat oven to 375°F, line cake pans with parchment paper, and grease the sides.
2. In a small bowl, combine the flax meal and water and let stand for 5-10 minutes or until thickened. Meanwhile, sift together the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. Make a well in the center and set it aside.
3. In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the almond milk, apple cider vinegar, grapeseed oil, vanilla extract, and beets and mix till well incorporated.
4. Slowly pour your wet ingredients into the well created within your dry ingredients and mix till well combined.
5. Pour batter into cake pans, splitting it into 2 equal parts. Bake for 55 minutes to 1 hour at 375˚F, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

For the Whipped Cream:

1. While the cake is baking, if you are using whipped cream, take your coconut cream and pour it into a large mixing bowl.
2. Using an egg beater, whip up your coconut cream until you reach some fluffiness, about 1 minute. If you are using cans of coconut milk, Alternatively, if you are using another store-bought coconut whipped cream, you may skip this section completely.
3. Once your cake has been cooling for at least an hour, place your bottom portion of the cake on your serving platter. You won't want to move it once all of your toppings are loaded on.
4. Spread half of the whipped coconut cream onto your bottom portion, layer on the top portion of your cake, and spread the rest of the whipped cream.
5. Garnish with toppings of your choice. Serve chilled.