Blackberry, Beetroot & Chocolate Cake
Ingredients
- For the cake
- 200g grated cooked beetroot in natural juice
- 150g dark chocolate, melted
- 100g ground almonds
- 3 large eggs
- 225g self-raising flour, sifted
- 150g butter
- 300g soft brown sugar
- 50g cocoa powder, sifted
- For the filling
- 200g blackberries
- 600g icing sugar
- 100ml dark rum
- 375g mascarpone
- To decorate
- Fresh blackberries
- Chocolate curls
Instructions
METHOD
- Preheat the oven to 180°c / 160°c fan / 350°f / gas mark 4.
- Line three 7” inch cake tins with parchment paper.
- Beat the sugar and butter together until light and fluffy.
- Beat in the eggs.
- Add the melted chocolate and mix well.
- Fold in the flour and cocoa powder followed by the ground almonds and beetroot.
- Divide equally between the tins and bake for 35 minutes then leave to cool.
- To make a blackberry compote, place the blackberries into a pan along with 200g of icing sugar and cook gently until the berries have softened slightly, then allow to cool.
- Mix the mascarpone with the remaining icing sugar and rum.
- Layer the cakes together with the mascarpone icing and a good spoonful of the blackberry compote.
- Finally decorate with blackberries and chocolate curls.
CHEFS TIP:
Simply make chocolate curls by melting chocolate with a little vegetable oil, allowing it to set in a slab, and then sliding the knife away from you across the surface at a 45° angle.