Beetroot season is well and truly upon us, and for those who don’t enjoy this delicious superfood pickled, served fresh in a salad, roasted with a host of other root veggies or spritzed up into a juice, we might just have the most appetising option for you. Chocolate cake.
Yes, this naturally sweet vegetable (that also boasts a wealth of antioxidants, iron and folate) pairs beautifully with baked goods. Earthy flavours add a rounded element, the moisture bodes well with baking without the need for oil or butter, all while enhancing the intense flavour of cocoa. If you want to give it a try then this rich and decadent beetroot and chocolate cake recipe by Miele is the perfect showcase of how chocolate and beetroot work beautifully together for a tasty autumnal bake that is sure to impress.
Ingredients
For the dried orange slices
1 small orange
1 tbsp icing sugar
½ tsp vegetable oil
For the cake
500g raw beetroot, peeled and grated
150g buttermilk
3 tbsp white wine vinegar
2 tsp vanilla bean paste
400g caster sugar
4 eggs
Juice and zest of 2 oranges
500g plain flour
3 tbsp baking powder
4 tbsp cocoa powder
2 tbsp honey
For the icing
185g butter, softened
250g icing sugar
Zest of an orange
180g cream cheese
To finish
4 figs, cut into sixths
2 small punnets of blackberries
Honey to drizzle
Method
1. For the dried orange slices, place a silicone mat onto a baking tray. Lightly grease with vegetable oil. Slice an orange very thinly and lay out on the silicone mat, then dust with 1 tbsp of icing sugar.
2. Place into a Miele Warming Drawer on the food setting, highest temperature square (85°C) for 4 hours or until dry and crisp.
3. For the cake, line and grease 4 x 18cm Victoria sandwich cake tins. Preheat a Miele Oven to Fan Plus at 150°C.
4. Place the beetroot, buttermilk, white wine vinegar and vanilla bean paste into a food processor and blitz to a puree.
5. Place the caster sugar, eggs and zest of 2 oranges into a large bowl. Whisk using an electric hand whisk for 3-4 minutes until light and pale.
6. In a separate bowl mix together the plain flour, cocoa powder and baking powder.
7. Fold the beetroot mixture into the whisked egg mixture, followed by the dry ingredients.
8. Divide the batter between the 4 lined cake tins. Place on baking trays in the oven on shelf positions 2 and 4. Bake on Fan Plus at 150°C for 35-40 minutes.
9. For the glaze, place the juice of 2 oranges and the honey into a small saucepan, and bring to the boil on the hob. Remove from the heat.
10. Once the cakes are cooked, place on a wire rack. Brush with the glaze, repeating on all cakes, using up the glaze. Leave to cool completely.
11. For the icing, whisk together the butter, icing sugar and orange zest for 2-3 minutes.
12. Add the cream cheese and whisk for a further minute. Transfer to piping bag with a 1.5 cm nozzle.
13. On three of the cakes, pipe dots of the icing in a ring around the edge. Fill in the centre with a little more icing and some halved blackberries. Place these cakes on top of one another, finishing with the blank cake.
14. Arrange the figs, blackberries and the dried orange slices on top. Add dots of the icing and a drizzle of honey to finish.
