Monday, September 13, 2021

Chocolate Beetroot Cake - In My Kitchen, September 2021

             "Food connects people, and the Kitchen is where the magic can happen."                                                                    

There are days when nothing but a rich, moist chocolate cake will do. I'd been wanting to make a Chocolate Beetroot cake for a while, ever since I went out to coffee with some friends at the Soul Food Market in Mackay, North Queensland, where we had a slice of Chocolate Beetroot cake, which was gluten free, lactose free, sugar free, and perhaps egg free, but not delicious free, because as you have probably already guessed, it is a health food shop and a bulk foods shop, which also specialises in vegetarian foods for dine in or take away. It's an amazing little business tucked away in an unpretentious arcade.

There is always a delicious aroma floating out of the front door, with soups and ratatouilles etc cooking on the stove. One of my friends has allergies to everything it seems, so we chose to eat at the Soul Food Market so that she could enjoy something delicious to eat without any after effects.  My Chocolate cake recipe isn't vegetarian or vegan or sugar free but it does contain beetroot, and dark chocolate, both healthy additions, which also makes it exceptionally moist. These comments about the Soul Food Market are purely my own and we all paid for our own morning tea. So here's the recipe my friends, it is adapted from a Taste.com recipe. 

Chocolate Beetroot Cake with Chocolate Ganache

Note: This is a one pot saucepan recipe. 

Ingredients:

1/2 cup (125 ml vegetable oil or light olive oil)

1 cup (220 g) firmly packed brown sugar

1/2 cup (125 ml) maple syrup

60 g dark chocolate (70 %) chopped

250 g (around 2 cups) raw beetroot, coarsely grated

3 eggs, lightly beaten, room temperature

1 1/2 cups (225 g) self raising flour  or 1 1/2 cups plain flour sifted with 3 teaspoons of baking powder

1/4 cup cocoa powder

Ganache

3/4 cup (185 ml) thin cream

150 g dark chocolate, finely chopped

1 tbsp. maple syrup

Method:

Preheat the oven to 160 deg. C.

Grease a 20 cm round cakepan and line with baking paper.

On a low heat, warm the oil in a medium size saucepan, which is large enough to hold all of the ingredients when needed.

Add the brown sugar, maple syrup and chocolate and stir until the chocolate is melted. Remove saucepan from the heat.

Add the grated beetroot to the pan.

Whisk the eggs in a small bowl and then add them to the saucepan.

Sift the flour and cocoa powder together and stir into the cake and beetroot batter.

Pour the batter into the tin and bake for 50 minutes - 1 hour or until the mixture pulls away from the side of the tin and a skewer inserted comes out clean.

Leave the cake to cool for 5 minutes in the tin, before turning out and cooking completely.

Ganache Method:

Combine all of the ingredients in a small saucepan over a low heat. 

Stir over a medium-low heat, for 5 minutes, or until the chocolate is melted and the mixture is smooth and glossy.

Leave to cool for 10 minutes, when the mixture should thicken slightly, and pour small amounts gradually over the cake. Cover the top of the cake first, and then smooth the ganache around the sides of the cake.

Perfecto.

This post is part of the In My Kitchen series hosted by the lovely Sherry from Sherry's Pickings, where we share lots of interesting stories from our kitchens over the last month. Today is the deadline to post so my apologies that this might be a bit of a rush job.

Cumquat Marmalade, 2nd Batch 

We were given some more cumquats, a completely different variety of cumquat to last time. These were almost the size of half a small mandarin, and had the largest seeds, and lots of them.

Amazingly, it seemed that every quart in each cumquat contained a seed, we were still removing them from the pot even as the jam was nearly ready to be bottled. Mr. HRK and I both removed all the seeds, or so we thought, the day before so that they could be soaked to extract the pectin, which is the jam thickener. Well weren't we in for a surprise, when seeds kept popping up in the pot as the jam was cooking, until the end of the cooking time. I also had to remove half of the skin when I sliced them up to soak, as some of the skin had dark spots on it.

Anyway not to be deterred, I followed exactly the same formula to  make this marmalade as I did a couple of weeks ago when I made my first batch, although I had a lot more cumquats this time, I just increased the ratio of quantities according to weight. This batch is still delicious, and thickened well, but isn't as clear as the first batch. I'm blaming it on the fruit which I think had been left on the tree too long, anyway it still tastes delicious. "I'm certainly not looking a gift horse in the mouth". Cumquats are a precious commodity. This is the link to my previous Cumquat Marmalade batch recipe in August if you missed it. Dear reader, if you are gifted a jar of Cumquat Marmalade by a friend or relative, please be very appreciative. The maker of this marmalade put her/his heart and soul into making this jam. Jam making is a labour of love and every batch can turn out differently given the differences in fruit quality. I am getting better at it and feel a lot more confident now with jam and marmalade making. This one such a delicious marmalade.



Did I tell you about my new pot? I cooked this latest batch of marmalade in my new beautiful Blue cooking pot. It's a Baccarat Le Connoisseur Limited Edition 6.3 litre model. (I think that's the correct volume.) I needed a large pot that I could transfer from the stove top to the oven and then to the tabletop. I know I'll use it a lot. 

My daughter in Cairns was unwell recently, so we sent her a Care Package from Mum and Dad which she always loves to receive and so did our Son in Law. I hope it helped her recovery. So I did some baking and made a a large Cherry and Brandy cake and a batch of Lemon Crispies. The secret ingredient in the Lemon Crispy slice is corn flakes, and here's the link to the recipe.  So delicious

Lemon Crispies


Nasturtiums from our garden give the slice some colour for afternoon tea at home.

I often make this Boiled fruit cake into two smaller cakes, but this time I used a large square cake tin and sent the whole cake North. Two packets of cherries, lots of mixed fruit and a swig of brandy give this cake a delicious flavour. Here's the recipe and it's story for you.


It's Spring here, and we've been doing a lot of gardening, planting new seedlings, repotting and enjoying being outside in the beautiful weather. I pruned my Pineapple Sage plant a couple of weeks ago and it has responded beautifully by thickening up and flowering. The red flowers bring some nice colour and attract the bees and insects. I added some of the Pineapple Sage leaves to my
 Chickpea and Vegetable Korma curry during the week and they brought a nice little burst of flavour to the dish, in addition to the fresh curry leaves.

Pineapple Sage coming into flower

I've planted beans under the trellis, and two rows of radishes. They are coming along nicely in the warmer weather.

I'll leave you with a couple of photos from our Spring garden. There is a close synergy between the garden and the kitchen at our place, and most gardeners who also enjoy cooking know how beneficial and rewarding it is to grow some of their own produce and how lovely it is to share it with friends and family. Only this morning, our friends P & J dropped off some excess cucumbers and eggplants from their garden which are very much appreciated. Our vegetables are only at the seedling stage, however some orchids are flowering nicely. Mint is a wonderful herb to grow in a pot, however it won"t be long and I'll need to move it into the orchid house for protection from the Summer heat. I love having mint on hand for cooking.


Spring orchids are flowering. This is the Phais Tankervilleae or Swamp Orchid, which I am thrilled to have in flower.


This yellow soft cane Dendrobium orchid is as pretty as a picture.


The Lemon Tree in a pot below has lots of small lemons on, the bees have done their work.



Warm wishes,

Pauline x









18 comments:

  1. wow all the baked goods...I can't help but drool. Wish I could each of them! Those flowers from your garden are really beautiful. Happy Spring to you!

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    1. Angie, Spring is such a lovely time of the year here, and I really wish I could share some of these things I bake with you. Best wishes, Pauline

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  2. Pauline, such lovely photos and goodies. I have always wondered what chocolate and beetroot tasted like so I will have to try it out one of these days when I am feeling adventurous.

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  3. Chel this is a delicious cake but the taste of the beetroot is quite subtle. The beetroot keeps it fresh and moist much longer. It's a cinch of a recipe to make.Thanks so much for your very nice words:)

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  4. Your kitchen adventures are really tempting. I would like that cake.

    best... mae at maefood.blogspot.com

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    Replies
    1. Thanks so much Mae, chocolate cake is such a winner, and so easy to make.

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  5. That chocolate and beetroot cake looks like a winner. Thanks for including the recipe. Francesca, www.almostitalian.blog

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    1. Thanks so much Francesca for your very kind words. It is a favourite my mine, that's for sure. Cheers, Pauline

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  6. Wow your beans look so good! I was waiting for my peas to wilt to make the space, but maybe it's good time to start for summer. I really adore the look of those nasturtiums decorating your slice too. so many goodies!

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    1. In the matter of a few days some of the bean plants are climbing above the trellis, I hope they produce some beans as it's warming up. I'm really pleased as I planted them from seed. It's nice to have a real cooking splurge sometimes. Thanks so much for dropping by DOS.

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  7. Your kitchen must smell delicious at the moment! Love what you're making in it. That chocolate beetroot cake is SO tempting. :-)

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    1. Thanks so much KR, the cake disappeared very quickly, as it always does in our house. I love the combination of beetroot and chocolate. Best wishes, Pauline

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  8. I hope your daughter is better, and your garden is looking amazing. Use your pot well, and enjoy it! I have not made a Chocolate Beetroot cake for ages. This weekend if all goes to plan I will be baking and making marmalade. Are you able to travel out of state?

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    1. Thanks so much Tandy, daughter is quite well, and good luck with the marmalade. I am lucky as I have discovered that my hubby likes to help me make jams and marmalades, chutneys and relishes, that kind of thing. So it helps to have an assistant with all of the prepping. I think the borders to southern states are still closed, and here in Queensland we are doing very well. It's amazing to hear how Europeans are travelling regardless of covid. Hope things are improving for you. x

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  9. What wonders from your kitchen this month! (And in your garden!) The chocolate-beetroot cake looks unbelievably moist — I have heard of them but never had one, I love kumquat marmalade— but just hate prepping all the fruit! You are much more patient than I !

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  10. Thanks so much, prepping the fruit is the worst part, but it can be done the day before so that cooking it on the day seems a breeze really, also hubby Neil helps me generally so that really helps. He seems to enjoy it, for some reason. He loves the end result, probably more than I do. Take care.

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  11. i do love an olive oil cake esp. with chocolate and beetroot. I made cumquat marmalade once where you didn't have to de-seed the fruit. cos that is laborious isn't it? thanks for joining in again this month. great to have you. take care sherry xx

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    1. Thanks so much Sherry,hope you are continuing to improve from your injuries. I know a piece of this cake would help, wish I could send you some. Take care, Pauline

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