Moist chocolate beetroot cake *
Kindly ignore the big crack in my cake, thank you.
Cookbook Challenge: Week 13, Love
Recipe: Moist chocolate beetroot cake
From: Nigel Slater’s Tender
Oh, it’s Valentine’s Day! And Chinese New Year! Rather aptly, this week’s theme for the Cookbook Challenge is “love” and this week I’m breaking out a Nigel Slater recipe because I love his book, Tender. and I love his writing.
This week I made a moist, chocolate beetroot cake, which also fits in with the theme because beetroots are red, and red is the colour of luuuuuuuuuuurve. Additionally, everyone loves chocolate, and any people who are non-chocolate lovers are not worth knowing (only kidding, you non-chocolate lovers! I still love you!).
The first step to making this cake is to cook some beetroots until soft. Once that is done, it’s no more difficult to put together than any other moist chocolate cake (unless you’re particularly clumsy and are at risk of staining your kitchen red!). There are some strange steps in the recipe that I didn’t quite understand – 200g of chocolate is melted in a bowl over a pot of simmering water, but the recipe specifies not to stir it. Later, once the chocolate is almost melted (but not stirred!), hot espresso is poured over, and butter is added. This is left to soften, and then it is stirred later. Why is this? Why can’t the chocolate and butter be melted together and stirred? If there’s a good reason for it, I’d like to know!
The other part that confused me is the egg whites. In the recipe, the egg whites are whipped until stiff, and then sugar is folded into the whites. This is then added into the chocolate mixture, and finally the flour is folded in. Most cake recipes have you fold in the egg whites last, so you don’t lose the air that you so carefully whipped in. In the end, I deviated from the recipe and folded my egg whites through last. But if there is a good reason for the former method, I would like to know what it is!
I don’t think my folding through the egg whites last affected my cake negatively. I also baked it for a bit longer than the recipe specified and it still seemed to come out fine, if you ignore the big ass crack. Nigel says about this cake: “This is a seductive cake, deeply moist and tempting.”
It is moist, indeed. Really, really moist. But anyone who tells you that you can’t taste the beetroot in it is a big fat liar. I didn’t think that the beetroot was “subtle or elusive”, I thought that it screamed beetroot. The cake is a very dark purple brown, unlike plain chocolate cake, and the beetroot added an earthy, tanginess to it that I was unsure about. Nevertheless, even though I didn’t think I particularly liked it, I found that I went back for another spoonful… and another… and another.
Hmmpt. Perhaps that’s why it was described as seductive. Happy Valentine’s Day everyone.
Update: I ate a piece of cake the day after I baked it, and the beetroot wasn’t as pronounced. It’s moist like a mud cake, but didn’t seem as heavy. So I’ve decided that this cake is REALLY REALLY REALLY good! In fact, I think it’s one of the best chocolate cakes I’ve ever made.
See previous Cookbook Challenge posts here.
Update: see the round up at My Food Trail.
If you’d like to make this cake – check out the recipe here. PS: the cake photo on the website is NOT of the chocolate beetroot cake. It’s a beetroot seed cake in the book.
Conor @ HoldtheBeef
February 15, 2010 @ 2:31 am
Happy Valentine's Day to you too ๐ I've been meaning to make a beetroot cake for ages, using a recipe a friend gave me (which is basically a bung-it-all-together-stick-it-in-the-tin-and-cook-it recipe). I would guess the "do not stir" would have something to do with the temper of the chocolate? Why would this matter if you're stirring it through a cake mix though? No idea! I hope someone else is able to explain things.
Anyway, the cake looks lovely. Quite seductive, in fact. I'm glad I have leftover birthday cake to quell my sudden hunger pangs (yes, at 11:30pm!…shhhh!)
OohLookBel
February 15, 2010 @ 9:57 am
It's a strange but common thing to have vegetables in cake (zucchini? carrot?) but I've never heard of beetroot. Your cake is beautifully decorated, love the heart, and it looks so moist. Yum!
imasugarjunkie
February 15, 2010 @ 2:11 pm
what a great looking cake – well done!
Sook
February 15, 2010 @ 4:17 pm
The cake looks delicious! YUM!
Jo - SecondHelping
February 15, 2010 @ 4:44 pm
I am loving the versatility of beetroot more and more these days. At last the childhood memories of Golden Circle sliced beetroot in every burger and in strange salads have been banished from my memory!
Hope you had a good Valentine's Day
Ange
February 15, 2010 @ 6:43 pm
The cake looks delicious and I agree totally on the beetroot. For mixed week I made the choc/beetroot muffins in which you just grate raw beetroot rather than cooking it, I dont know if it makes a difference but the flavour really stood out
chitchatchomp@yahoo.com.au
February 15, 2010 @ 8:53 pm
I'm a big fan of Nigel Slater also, so am very excited that someone has used his book. Looks wonderful!
Agnes
February 15, 2010 @ 10:48 pm
Conor: OH HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!! ๐ You're allowed to eat birthday cake whenever you like during Birthday Weekend. (Sometimes I have Birthday Week. This year I may have Birthday Month…..)
Belle: I must admit I've never tried zucchini in cake. Must have to attempt that one sometime!
imasugarjunkie: I just ate a piece, and… swoon… it was better than yesterday.
Sook: thanks! It was very yummy.
Jo: hehee, this is not very gourmet of me, but I (shhhhhhh) really like tinned beetroot. ๐
Ange: I just tried a piece and the beetroot wasn't as strong. In fact, the cake was amazingly good! I could be a convert.
chitchatchomp: Since you like Nigel too, you must have great taste and be an awesome person to boot. Hehee. ๐
mademoiselle dรฉlicieuse
February 15, 2010 @ 11:16 pm
I agree with you on folding in the eggwhites at the end and wouldn't mind finding out the logic of of this recipe's instructions regarding it either. Looks beautifully dense and smooth though!
Maria@TheGourmetChallenge
February 17, 2010 @ 1:20 pm
oh that cake looks so good!! You know I've never cooked beetroot. I've had it raw and tinned, but never cooked it in any way shape or form. Sounds so good combined with chocolate!!
Vee - A Melbourne Munchkin.
February 18, 2010 @ 11:41 am
The cake is beautiful! And marvellously dense! As I'm a 'snarky' romantic, it seems the perfect way for me to surprise the boyfriend – he hates beetroot.
April @ My Food Trail
February 18, 2010 @ 3:28 pm
Happy Valentine's Day & Happy Chinese New year!
The cake sure looks good, but if you mention beetroot, no amount of chocolate will make me eat it! ๐
penny aka jeroxie
February 19, 2010 @ 4:38 pm
beetroot in cakes. never had one before. would love to try it. love the love heart. how cute!
annette
February 27, 2010 @ 5:16 pm
Great stuff!
annette
February 27, 2010 @ 5:17 pm
Wow!
Agnes
February 27, 2010 @ 10:38 pm
mademoiselle: I'm no closer to figuring out the logic of the instructions, but all is forgiven because the cake was so damn good!
Maria: I don't cook beetroot much either. I think I need to start using it more!
Vee: hehee, a "snarky" romantic! I bet your bf would love this cake if you didn't tell him there was beetroot in it.
Rilsta: oh, you have to try this cake! It is wonderful, wonderful, wonderful!
Penny: definitely try it if you get a chance. I think it's one of the best chocolate cakes I've ever made!
Kat (Spatula, Spoon and Saturday)
April 10, 2010 @ 10:19 am
hahaha if you ignore the big ass crack, it's seductive cake.
loves it.
Agnes
April 11, 2010 @ 9:28 pm
Kat: hehee, stupid big arse crack ruining my cake! The one I made this weekend also had cracks in it – it must just be the way they come out. Never mind the looks though, it's sooooooooooooo delicious.