Betty’s super rich chocolate beetroot cake

You can convince yourself that this beautiful rich chocolate cake is a little bit healthy – it does contain one of your five a day!

Cooking time one hour, serves six greedy folk

Ingredients

For the cake

100g (3½oz) drinking chocolate

230g (8oz) self-raising flour

200g (7oz) caster sugar

100g (3½oz) dark chocolate (good quality)

125g (4½oz) unsalted butter

250g (9oz) cooked beetroot (not pickled)

3 large eggs beaten

For the cream cheese frosting

250g (9oz) cream cheese

60g (2oz) unsalted butter

200g (7oz) icing sugar

1tsp of vanilla sugar

A dollop of Betty’s blackcurrant jam

Grated dark and white chocolate to decorate

Method

Grease and line a 20cm deep round cake tin

Sift the drinking chocolate with the self raising flour into a mixing bowl and then mix in the sugar.

Melt the chocolate and butter together in a bowl in the simmering oven.

Puree the cooked beetroot in a food processor, then whisk in the beaten eggs.

Add the beetroot and the chocolate mixtures to the dry ingredients and mix together thoroughly.

Pour the mixture into the greased lined cake tin and bake for 60 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean either in a baking oven or in a cake baker in the roasting oven.

Remove from the oven and leave the cake to stand in the tin for ten minutes before turning out on to a wire rack to cool. Split the cake in half.

To make the filling beat the cream cheese frosting ingredients together until creamy. 

Spread the cake with a layer of Betty’s blackcurrant jam and half of the cream cheese frosting.

Use the rest of the frosting for the top of the cake and sprinkle with a mix of white and dark chocolate.