Beetroot and chocolate cake
Ingredients
CAKE
- 500g plain flour
- 75g cocoa powder
- 10ml (2 tsp) baking powder
- 3ml bicarbonate of soda
- 5ml (1 tsp) ground cinnamon
- pinch salt
- 200g soft brown sugar
- 4 large eggs
- 10ml (2 tsp) vanilla extract
- 375ml (1½ cups) buttermilk
- 250ml (1 cup) sunflower oil
- 5 medium (160g) raw beetroots,peeled and coarsely grated
ICING
- 150g soft butter
- 400g icing sugar, sifted
- zest of 1 lemon
- 500g Philadelphia Cream Cheese
- 30ml (2 tbsp) lemon juice
- ½ medium beetroot, cooked, peeled and puréed
- handful dried rosebuds, to serve
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 180°C. Grease two 23cm-round springform cake tins and line the bases and sides with baking paper.
For the cake, sift the flour, cocoa, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, cinnamon and salt into the bowl of a free-standing blender. Add the sugar, eggs, vanilla, buttermilk and oil and beat the mixture until smooth. Add the grated beetroot and beat again.
Pour the mixture into the prepared tins and bake until a skewer inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean, about 30 minutes. Remove from oven and leave to cool in the trays, 10 minutes. Remove from the tins and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
For the icing, beat together the butter, icing sugar and zest until smooth and creamy, about 10 minutes. Add the cream cheese, lemon juice and beetroot purée and continue to beat until smooth.
Once cooled, use half of the icing to sandwich the cakes together. Ice the top and sprinkle with rosebuds to serve.
Imka Webb is a freelance digital marketing expert and the digital editor of Food & Home Entertaining magazine. www.imkawebb.com
