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Monday, August 26, 2013

Beetroot & chocolate Cake

Beetroot is not exactly my favorite vegetable. I know it looks lovely and gives that delectable pink color. But after watching Nigella's Beetroot soup I had been planning to incorporate it in my cooking. After googling a few times, i read this interesting piece of information about beetroots and chocolate. Till date i usually thought of using beetroots in a savory rather than a sweet preparation. I was quite apprehensive about this cake but it turned out very well. The beetroot gives it a rather earthy flavour. I had planned to use 1 cup of the beetroot puree but reduced the quantity at the last
moment as i did not want my little one to make a fuss over it. It was suprising when he happily gobbled it up.

Here goes the recipe:




















Preparation Time - 1 hour

Ingredients- Butter ( 100 gm ), sugar ( 1 cup ), eggs ( 3 nos ), buttermilk ( 2/3 cup ), all purpose flour ( 2 cups ), baking powder ( 1 tsp ), cocoa powder ( 3 tsp ), beetroot puree ( 4 tsp ), vanilla essence ( 1/2 tsp ).

For frosting - 1/2 cup cream cheese, 1/4 cup butter, 1 cup powdered/castor sugar.

Preparation - Powder the sugar in a food processor.

Take the butter ( at room temperature ) in a mixing bowl and add the powdered sugar. Beat it nicely with a whisk till it turns a few shades lighter in colour.

Break the eggs in a separate bowl and whisk them till it forms soft peaks.

Add the whisked eggs and vanilla essence into the mixing bowl and mix them nicely.

Add the beetroot puree, little by little so that it mixes completely with the batter ( Do not add all of it in one go ).

Take the flour and cocoa powder in a seive and add to the above batter slowly, a little at a time (This trick incorporates an extra amount of air into the batter which is very important in making the cake very spongy).

Alternately add the buttermilk to this batter . Add the baking powder to the last quantity of the flour being added to the batter. Mix well.

(We need to be quick from this point as the baking powder starts working as soon as it comes in contact with moisture)

Take a 8 inch round baking tray and spray it with a non-stick cooking oil/brush with butter. Sprinkle some flour.

Pour the batter into it and shake it gently.

For frosting - Take the cream cheese and butter (at room temp) into a mixing bowl and beat nicely.

Finally add the sugar and mix thoroughly. Allow to cool for half hour before using.

Cooking: Pre-heat an oven to 175 degees celcius. Put the cake into the oven and bake for 30-35 minutes. Prick the centre of the cake with a toothpick. If it comes out clean, the cake is done. Else pop it back into the oven for 5-10 minutes.

Allow to cool down.

Cut the cake hotizontally ( along its length )into two halves. Spread a thin layer of frosting on one half. Refrigerate it for 30 mins. Remove from the fridge and do a second layer of frosting. This helps in getting a smooth finish. Place the other cake half over the frosting. ( Spread a layer of melted dark chocolate on top if desired )

Take a knife and dip it in hot water. Wipe and cut into generous portions( the edges of the cake pieces will remain clean and sharp ) and serve. Store the remaining pieces in an airtight container.

Note: The butter-sugar and eggs should be beaten separately as it helps in getting more air into the batter.

Note - I baked the beetroots in the oven at 180 degrees for 30 minutes ( wrapped in a aluminium foil with a drizzle of oil ) before removing the skin and pureeing them.


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