Beetroot cake

jos28

I was reading a book on holidays and the main character's Mum always made Beetroot Cake. I had never heard of it so did a bit of googling and ended up making both of these:
BEETROOT FRUIT CAKE

625g/1¼lb self-raising flour
5tsp baking powder
375g/12oz soft brown sugar
250g/8oz sultanas
500g/1lb beetroot, peeled and grated
375ml/13fl oz vegetable or sunflower oil
5 medium-sized eggs

Preheat the oven to 180C350F/Gas4. Grease and line a 28cm loose-based cake tin. Mix together the flour, baking powder and soft brown sugar in a large bowl. Add the sultanas and grated beetroot.

Beat the oil and eggs together and add to the bowl. Combine using either a wooden spoon or electric mixer. Spoon the mixture into the prepared tin and bake. Substitute carrots for beetroot to turn it into a carrot cake. It works just as well. Place on the middle shelf of the oven and warm and bake for one hour, or until a skewer comes out clean.

CHOCOLATE BEETROOT CAKE
Ingredients
Feeds 6. Takes 1 hour plus cooling.

50g bitter cocoa powder
180g plain flour
1½tsp baking powder
Pinch of salt
250g caster sugar
300g cooked fresh beetroot
3 eggs
200ml corn oil
1tsp vanilla extract

Heat the oven to 180C/Gas mark 4. Butter and flour an 18cm (7in) round or square cake tin.

Sift the cocoa powder, flour, baking powder and salt into a bowl. Mix in the sugar and set aside.

Purée the beetroot in a food processor. Add the eggs, one at a time, then add the corn oil and vanilla and beat until smooth.

Make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients and pour the beetroot mixture into the well. Lightly mix, using a rubber spatula, and pour into the prepared cake tin.

Bake for 40 minutes, or until an inserted skewer comes out clean. It won’t rise a great deal and the top may crack a bit. Allow to cool a little before removing from the tin, then leave to cool completely on a wire rack. To serve, dust the cake with icing sugar or bitter cocoa powder, and cut into generous slices.
Both delicious, the chocolate one is surprisingly chocolately.

SugarCoat

Tbh i think i'd personally switch the beetroot for glazed cherries or something but if you like beetroot enjoy the cake!

jos28

It's really weird but there is no evidence of beetroot in either cake. The fruit one is just a lovely moist cake while the chocolate one is really rich, chocolatey and yummy. I have made them for friends and they were stunned to find out that beetroot was involved. I was fascinated when I read about beetroot cake, I'd never heard of it but recommend giving them a try.

SugarCoat

I suppose the way it works is because beetroot has sugar hidden inside it just like carrots even though they're not sweet.When i think of beetroot though i always think of it in the chef jar so that kinda ruins it for me.