I was hunting around for a cake recipe recently and came across one for a Red Velvet cake. But when I was looking through the ingredients, realised the only thing that distinguishes it from a regular old cake was red food colouring.
Sure it looks nice, but I wanted something with a bit more substance. and not not just food colouring. So I found this recipe and it's probably the most delicious and fool proof cake I have ever made. In fact it's so easy I've passed it on to a number of friends...and the proof must be in the pudding - or cake - because they've all reported back that they love it.
So here it is...
Chocolate Beetroot Cake
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The cast:
425g can beetroot - drained
3 eggs
1 1/4 cup caster sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
100g dark chocolate - melted
1 3/4 cups plain flour
1/3 cup cocoa
1 1/2 teaspoons bi carb soda
Action:
Pre-heat the oven to 180 or 160 degrees fan forced
Finely chop the drained beetroot in a food processor
In a medium bowl, beat together the eggs and sugar until pale and creamy, then gradually beat in the oil until well combined
Stir in the cooled, melted chocolate and the chopped beetroot. Then in another bowl, sift together the flour, bicarb and cocoa, then stir into the egg and beetroot batter
Let it sit for at least 5 minutes. This helps the gluten in the flour to relax and will minimize the cake cracking on the top. Also, the batter will be quite runny. Don't panic, it's supposed to be.
Pour the mixture into a 25cm cake pan that's been lined with baking paper.
Bake for 45 to 50 minutes - check with a skewer to see if the centre is cooked.
When it is, cool the cake slightly in the pan before removing it
For the frosting:
I haven't actually measured this when I've made it, so these measurements are approximate.
Put about 3/4 cup of cream into a heat proof container and microwave for about 30 seconds until it's hot. Put about 100g chocolate melts into the cream and stire until it's melted. Then put 3 heaped tablespoons of icing sugar in and stir until it's all combined. I then pour the icing mixture over the cooled cake and let it set.
All you have to do now is eat and enjoy
You can play around with the recipe a bit. Sometimes, I've added half a jar of drained cherries just for something different.
