Culture

This cake is gorgeous. It comes out a rich cocoa-burgundy colour, has a moist but light texture, and tastes great – it’s not too sweet. If, however, you want to up the ante on the sugar count, I’d ice the top (adding a little berry jam to regular icing makes a nice change and turns it a lovely pink colour), or you could always split the cake and fill it with jam and cream. And if anyone catches you with a face full of its deliciousness you can always be like, “well, it’s got beetroot in it and therefore counts as one of my five-plus a day requirements.” That, my friends, is what “winning at life” looks like. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

- ¼ cup desiccated coconut
- 400g beetroot
- 160g dark chocolate
- 3 free range eggs
- 400g caster sugar
- 200ml cooking oil
- 2 tsp vanilla essence
- 2 tbsp berry or plum jam
- 150g plain flour
- 2 tbsp cocoa
- 2 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp salt
- Icing sugar

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C. Grease a round cake tin with a little butter and then sprinkle the coconut on the greased surfaces to make a thin coat. Shake out any excess coconut.

2. Cut the stalks and bottoms off the beetroot and boil for about half an hour until it becomes tender. Remove from the heat and leave for 15 minutes. Then finely grate the beetroot while it is still warm and set aside.

3. Break the chocolate up into squares, place in a bowl, and melt by sitting the bowl in hot water. In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs and sugar together. Then add the beetroot, melted chocolate, vanilla essence and oil, and mix.

4. Add the flour, baking powder and salt and stir to combine. Finally stir the jam through the mixture and pour into the tin.

5. Bake for approximately 45 minutes and then check how much more cooking time is needed by inserting a knife into the centre – if it comes out clean it is ready; if not, keep checking at ten-minute intervals until it does. If the top is getting a little cracked and dark, cover with tin foil to ensure it doesn’t burn or dry out too much.

6. When it is ready, leave it in the tin for 20 minutes or so before turning onto a cooling rack. Serve slightly warm with a dusting of icing sugar and some plain unsweetened yoghurt. Beet that! (I will not apologise for that. It had to be done.)