Chocolate Beetroot Cake - Birthday Special

Like everyone, I would also shrug hearing about a cake with vegetables. But not after I tasted this heavenly cake with beets. So I would suggest you too don't say 'No' before tasting it. I am sure you will never regret it. This cake is extremely moist and fudgy. Being a chocoholic, I am a big fan of plain chocolate cakes but this one is just amazing. Beetroots make this cake so soft and you will not realise that it is a beet cake unless someone tells you.

My little boy turned 4 yesterday and I am glad to have made this cake for him. I found this recipe at one of my favorite blog Mowielicious. It has been adapted from Nigel Slater's 'Dish of the Day'.

Chocolate Beetroot Cake 
(Printable Recipe)

INGREDIENTS

For the cake:

Beetroot - 250 g

Dark Chocolate - 200 g

Hot Expresso - 4 tbsp (I used Nescafe 3 heaped tsp)

Butter - 200g ( I used Amul butter - salted) plus extra for greasing the cake tin

Plain Flour - 135g

Baking powder - 1 heaped tsp

Cocoa Powder - 3 tbsp

Eggs - 5 (separated)

Castor Sugar - 200g

For Buttercream: (my own recipe)

Icing sugar - 100g

Butter - 50g

Double Cream - 2 tbsp

Cocoa Powder - 2 tbsp

For Icing

Dark Chocolate - 200g

Double Cream - 140g

Golden Syrup - 2 tbsp ( I used honey)

METHOD

Preheat the oven to 180 degree C for 15 minutes. Grease and line a 20 cm / 8 inch cake tin with parchment.

Clean and cook the beets till tender. I pressure cooked it until I heard 3 whistles. Remove and place it in cold water. Peel off the skin and blend in a food processor to a rough puree.

Melt the chocolate in a bowl suspended over a pan of simmering water. Make sure the bowl does not touch the water. Keep the flame very low.

Mix the dry ingredients (plain flour, baking powder and cocoa powder) and sift it. Keep aside.

When the chocolate is completely melted, pour in the coffee into the chocolate.
Cut the butter into small cubes. Add it to the melted chocolate mixture.
While the butter melts, separate the eggs.
Once the butter melts remove from heat, mix well and let cool.

Whisk the yolks until frothy.
Beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form when the whisk or beater is removed. Fold in the castor sugar.

Transfer the chocolate mixture into a bowl. Add in the egg yolk mixture. Fold in the beetroot mixture. Mix slightly.
Add the egg white mixture and fold until just incorporated. Then fold in the flour mixture. Mix until just incorporated.
Pour into the prepared tin. Bake for 40 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the cake comes out clean.
Let it cool in the tin.

Cut the cake into half. I used a twine to do this.Hold the twine on both ends horizontally to the cake. Place it in the middle of the cake and pull it to the other side.
Slowly lift the layer and place it on another plate.

For the butter cream, mix the icing sugar and butter until crumbly. Add the cream. Mix well. Add in the cocoa. Mix well until it is creamy.
Apply the butter cream on top of the lower layer. Place the upper layer.

To prepare the icing heat the chocolate and cream on low flame. Keep stirring.When it becomes thick and glossy add in the honey. Remove from flame and pour gently over the cake slowly spreading it to the ends.

Tips:

Chop the chocolate into pieces before you melt.

To line the cake tin invert it. Cut a circular piece of baking parchment the size of the base of the tin. Grease the tin with butter and then place the parchment.

When there are more than one dry ingredients it is better to sift it. It will mix evenly and lumps can be removed.

To beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form, make sure there isn't any moisture in the bowl before transferring the egg whites. Set the electric whisk to low and start to beat until foamy. Then increase the speed and move in a circular motion. Continue this until the whites become soft and peaks form when the whisk is removed.

I am not a fan of  butter cream icing, so I made very little quantity just to give a smear. 

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