As I mentioned in my last post, I’ve only posted one cake recipe the whole year, so seeing as we are heading towards the end of the year, I thought it’d only be fitting that I start posting a couple more!
It’s not that I haven’t been baking at all, it’s just that it hasn’t been very often and not often successful. Surely no one wants to the cakes I burnt from when I accidentally turned the oven on to the ‘grill’ function instead of ‘bake’. I’m not even joking- it’s happened three times this year!
I tend to experiment quite a bit in the kitchen, and I love trying new recipes, new techniques, new ingredients etc etc. And because of the sheer volume of recipes I’ve bookmarked to try, I don’t tend to go back to recipes unless they’re really special and even then, it’s not often that I will reuse recipes. As a result, recipes that have been a hit in the family do get forgotten over time, and it’s not until I’m re-reading some of my older posts that I remember how good that particular recipe tasted.
This chocolate beetroot cake is one of the few that we’ve never forgotten as I have made over and over again, being my go to chocolate cake recipe. We don’t ever use beetroot in our cooking but we always have a few tins of beetroot in the pantry just for this particular recipe- it is that good!
I won’t blabber on about how good this recipe is- I’ve done it before here and here– but if you haven’t tried it out before, please do. You won’t be disappointed!
I made this particular cake as I had wanted to practice making a chocolate drip- I had attempted it once before and failed so I was determined to make it right this time. Unfortunately, I had left the chocolate glaze to cool a little too much so the drip failed once again, but thankfully not as miserably as last time.
But who cares about a failed drip when the cake tastes amazing? This recipe has never failed me and this time was no exception, although it did dry up after a few days in the fridge.
Next time I make cake, I’ll have to remember to invite a few friends over!
- 190g dark chocolate
- 6 medium eggs
- 600g sugar
- 480ml sunflower or vegetable oil
- 600g cooked and pureed beets
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 60g cocoa powder
- 400g flour
- 3 teaspoons baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- For the chocolate ganache
- 500g dark chocolate, broken into pieces
- 500ml heavy cream
- Pre heat oven to 350 f/180 C
- Melt the chocolate (for the cake) over a double boiler. In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, sugar and oil. Slowly add the cooked beet puree , the melted chocolate and vanilla into the egg mixture. Beat just until combined.
- Sift the cocoa, flour, baking soda and salt. Add this to the beet batter. Fold just until everything is combined. Don't over work or over mix the batter.
- Spread a teaspoon of butter or oil over the surface of 3 x 10 inch cake pans. Sprinkle some flour all over, and tap out the excess. Pour the cake batter into the prepared cake tins. Bake for about 30 minutes, or till a tooth pick or skewer inserted in the middle of the cake comes out clean. Baking time may vary depending on the pan and oven you are using.
- While the cake is baking, work on the ganache frosting. Place the chocolate in a bowl. Heat the cream in a sauce pan, just till it starts to barely boil. Pour the hot cream over the chocolate and whisk till it forms a smooth sauce. Cool.
- When the cake is done, cool it on a wire rack. Meanwhile whip the cooled ganache until light and fluffy.
- To assemble the cake, arrange 1 layer on a cake stand or plate and spread 1/4 of the whipped ganache evenly over it. Top with another cake layer and 1/4 of ganache, spreading evenly, then third cake layer. Spread the remaining ganache over the top and sides of the cake.