Yes, chocolate again! Just when I’m trying to be so good by eating healthy. Not that chocolate is unhealthy, it all depends how much you eat of it!
In my defense I can only blame the beetroot. I had bought two nice looking beetroots which as a strong source of antioxidants and nutrients can only be classified as healthy. Usually I have a plan when I do my shopping but with the beetroots it was just a spur of the moment thing. Started thinking about the obvious, beet juice, beet soup, use it in a salad, all of which meant been there, done that!
That was when I came to this recipe. A Chocolate beetroot moist cake, who could resist such an original recipe? Not me, I’m afraid.
The cake should be moist in the middle. How much is up to you. If you want it to be really moist you should only bake it for 30 minutes, if you want it less moist you should leave it 35 to 40 minutes. The secret of a very soft cake is not to work the batter too much. Fold in the ingredients carefully, just until well combined. As for the beetroot, make sure it is boiled until it is really soft so that you can mash it to the desired consistency. It is a recipe adapted from a Portuguese chef, Henrique Sa Pessoa.
Chocolate Beetroot Moist Cake
- 120 g/4.2 oz beetroot puree
- 200 g/7 oz dark chocolate (70%)
- 1 espresso coffee
- 200 g/7 oz unsalted butter, softened
- 135 g/4.7 oz all purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 3 tbsp cocoa powder
- 5 eggs
- 190 g/6.7 oz brown sugar
- creme fraiche or vanilla ice cream to serve
- Boil the beetroot whole with skin for 45 to 55 minutes, depending on the size. It should be really soft. Drain it and cool it down under cold water before removing the skin and cutting the root. Puree it. You want a bit of granulated consistency so that you can taste the beet in the cake.
- Preheat the oven to 160ºC/320ºF. Grease a 28 cm/11 inch springform pan with butter. You can use a different size as long as the baking pan is low so that the cake maintains its shape. If you use a smaller pan don’t fill it too much to allow the cake space to grow.
- Break the chocolate into pieces and melt it into a heatproof bowl over a pan of simmering water. Add the coffee and the butter and mix well until smooth and creamy. Remove the bowl from the heat and let it cool a bit.
- Separate the eggs and whip the egg whites with the sugar to stiff peaks. For better results, you should always add the sugar halfway and gradually. Set aside. Add the yolks, one at a time, to the chocolate batter and mix well. Add the beetroot. Sieve the flour, cocoa powder and baking powder into the chocolate batter. Mix slowly until the flour is well incorporated. Fold in the egg whites.
- Pour the batter into the mould and bake for 30 to 40 minutes depending how moist you want your cake to be.
Serve with creme fraiche or with vanilla ice cream. The taste is rich and creamy. If you are not a big fan of beets, don’t worry. The beet just gives the cake an extra texture but its taste is very discreet since the chocolate is the dominating component.
Dear Maria,
I tried your ‘Chocolate Beetroot Moist Cake’ recipe yesterday in the evening (for a friend’s birthday) and it turned out to be the most perfect cake I have ever baked in my life, I guess 🙂 I certainly will try some more of your recipes. Congratulations for your inspiring blog! Hope to see you soon, Silvia
Chocolate Beetroot Moist Cake
Dear Silvia, I’m so happy you liked it and that it worked so well for you. The Chocolate Beetroot cake is one of my favorite recipes as well. I’m also happy you are willing to try other recipes and hope you’ll tell me how that went. It is always nice to have feedback! Hope to see you soon as well!
Hi, Maria, I am a colleague of your husband and want to thank you for your interesting food blog and this tasty recipe as well; 2 weeks ago I invited a Latvian friend of mine with her kid (1 1/2 year) and we all – kids and adults – really enjoyed the delicious Chocolate Beetroot cake. Have a nice day!
Hi Birgit, Thank you so much for your comments. It is always nice to have feedback and I’m so happy you both and the kids enjoyed the cake. I think it is a perfect way for them to eat beetroot as well. My daughter is usually my first taster and her feedback is always taken into account. Looking forward to meeting you in Europe!