Chocolate and beetroot cake
An unusual combination but one that works well. Using pale olive oil instead of butter and taking into account the anti-oxidants contained in the beetroot and dark chocolate, this is perfect for the most health conscious, sweet teeth around.
Ingredients
50g (2oz) cocoa powder175g (6oz) plain flour1½tsp baking powder200g (7oz) caster sugar250g cooked beetroot in juice3 eggs200ml (7fl oz) pale olive oil100g (3½oz) good quality dark chocolate, finely chopped
For the icing
170g / 1 cup Icing sugarBeetroot juice from the jar of cooked beetroot
Method
Preheat the oven to 180°C
Grease and line the bottom of a 23cm (8½ - 9in) spring-form cake tin
This dish works best using a food processor
Sieve the cocoa, flour and baking powder into a large mixing bowl. Add the sugar and combine.
Drain the beetroot, setting the juice aside. Put the beetroot in a food processor along with the eggs and the pale olive oil. Blend together until smooth.
Now make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients and bit by bit add in the wet ingredients. Beat together to form a smooth batter.
Next add the chopped dark chocolate. Mix together and pour into the cake tin.
Cook for 40-45 minutes or until a skewer pushed into the centre of the cake comes out clean.
Cool for 5 minutes in the tin before turning out onto a wire rack
To make the icing
Simply mix the icing sugar with a little of the set-aside beetroot juice and mix to make a deep purple pourable icing
Drizzle this all over the cake and serve.=
Serving with a dollop of low fat crème fraish
Remember that its important to include some low fat dairy into your diet to support your bones and circulatory system, so a dollop of low fat crème fraish is a perfect accompaniment to a small slice of cake.