Beetroot Chocolate Cake by Ross Burden

Super MOIST chocolate cake.

Ross Burden - Model, Celebrity Chef and once voted the most eligible bachelor of UK!

But he is no more. He passed away on 17 July 2014.

This is my tribute to the Master Chef from New Zealand.

Imagine a chocolate cake with Beetroot...Crazy. But trust me, it is AMAZING!!

Notes:

*This recipe uses beetroot puree. I found that if I used 300 gms of sugar as the original recipe needed, the cake is very sweet, especially as it has a ganache on top. So, I used only 100 gms.

Ingredients:

Beetroot - 2 large

Sugar (powdered) - 100 to 150 gms*

Eggs - 3

Maida / all purpose flour - 200 gms

Cocoa powder -30 gms

Baking soda - 1 1/2 tsp

Salt - 1/4 tsp

Vegetable oil / butter - 240 ml

Dark chocolate - 85 gms

Vanilla Extract - 1 tsp

Ganache:

Heavy cream + milk - 200 ml

Cooking dark chocolate - 200 gms, broken

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 180 C for 10 minutes.

2. Grease a 10 inch cake tin and keep aside. If you wish, line it too. Mine is non-stick with removable bottom.

3. Peel and cube the beetroot. Cook in a covered vessel with just enough water. Keep adding more water, as required. Once it gets well cooked, cool the beetroot and puree.

 Use only 300 gms of this Beetroot puree.

4. Sift together the flour, baking powder, salt and cocoa powder. Keep aside.

5. Melt the 85 gms of cooking chocolate on a double boiler or microwave high in 15 second pulses while stirring often till melted.

Method:

Beat the sugar and oil / butter until sugar melts.

Adds egg one at a time and beat well.

Add in the beetroot puree, melted chocolate and vanilla.

Mix well.

Now fold in the sieved flour mixture. Do not over-beat.

Pour into the prepared tray.

Bake for 30 minutes and check with a skewer to see if the insides are cooked. (It should come out clean.)

If not done, cook for 5 more minutes.

Once done, cool in tray for 10 minutes and then unmould.

Preparing ganache:

Heat the cream and milk until it nearly boils.

Pour over the broken cooking chocolates. Stir until the chocolate melts.

Pour this ganache over the warm cake.