Chocolate and beetroot are an unusual combination but one that works well.
Ingredients
- low fat spread, for greasing
- 50 g (1¾ oz) cocoa powder
- 175 g (6oz) plain flour
- 1.5 tsp baking powder
- 200 g (7oz) caster sugar
- 250 g (9oz) cooked beetroot in juice
- 3 eggs
- 200 ml (7fl oz) light olive oil
- 100 g (3½ oz) plain dark chocolate, finely chopped
- 170 g (6oz) icing sugar
- low-fat crème fraiche to serve
Method
- Pre-heat the oven to 180° C (350F/Gas 4).
- Grease a 23cm (9") loose-buttomed cake tin with a little low-fat spread and line the base with baking parchment.
- Sift the cocoa, flour and baking powder into a large mixing bowl. Add the sugar and mix with a wooden spoon to combine.
- Drain the beetroot, reserving the juice, then put the beetroot in a food processor along with the eggs and the olive oil and blitz until smooth.
- Now, make a well it the centre of the dry ingredients and, using a wooden spoon, beat in the beetroot mixture, a bit at a time to form a smooth batter.
- Next, add the chopped chocolate and combine well.
- Pour the mixture into the prepped cake tin and bake for 40-45 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean.
- Allow to cool in the tin for 5 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack and cool.
- To make the icing, simply mix the icing sugar with a little of the reserved beetroot juice to make a deep purple pourable icing.
- Drizzle the icing over the cake and serve with a dollop of low-fat crème fraiche.
Notes
Sally's top tips: Use light olive oil instead of butter. Blend the beetroot, egg and olive oil really well so there are no lumps. Remember that it is important to include some low-fat dairy into your diet to support your bones and circulatory system. A dollop of low-fat crème fraiche is a perfect accompaniment to a small slice of cake. This cake will last for 5 days and gets better with age!
