This year I wanted to bake something different for my birthday. So I decided to test and play around with beetroot and coffee not knowing that the end result would amaze me as much as it did. It was tasty, beautiful and best of all; extremely moist. Beetroot is really starting to become one of my favorite ingredients – for savory and sweet dishes. The beetroot color, health advantages and full flavors give more than enough reason to bake a very different and unique birthday cake. However, it was such a divine cake that it is now going to be one of those that you will always get when you come to visit. Not just a birthday cake anymore…

You will need;

  • 200 g cooked & puréed beetroot
  • 50 ml quality and strong coffee
  • 3 free-range eggs
  • ½ tsp vanilla essence
  • 250 ml canola oil
  • 225 g flour
  • 1 ½ tsp cream of tartar
  • ¼ tsp salt
  • 5 tbsp organic cocoa
  • 1 tbsp Nomu hot chocolate powder (normal or skinny)
  • 250 g brown sugar

Directions;

  • Preheat the oven to 180’C.
  • Grease a 15cm cake tin.
  • Cook your beetroot in advance and make a purée using a blender. You can use cooked beetroot and blend it with the coffee to make the blending of the beetroot easy.
  • Use a quality filter coffee such as Auslese and remember the coffee needs to cool down before you mix it with the eggs.
  • Mix the beetroot purée, coffee, eggs, vanilla essence and oil until combined.
  • In a separate bowl sift the dry ingredients and then fold it into the batter.
  • Pour the batter into the greased cake tin and bake it for 35-45 minutes. The duration really depends on your oven. Test it after 35 minutes and if the skewer comes out clean it should be ready. If the skewer is not clean leave it in the oven for another 10 minutes.

For the frosting you will need;

  • 250 g caster sugar
  • ¼ tsp cream of tartar
  • 2 free range egg whites
  • Pinch of salt
  • 1/3 cup of cold water

Making the frosting;

  • Place all the ingredients into a glass bowl over a saucepan of hot water. Beat the mixture over the hot water with an electric beater for 5-7 minutes or until it is smooth and glossy. You can remove it from the heat and then add beetroot juice or other coloring. The shiny white without any coloring was bright and beautiful giving the cake the contrast it needed. Be generous with the frosting when layering it on the cake and decorate it with edible flowers. I would also recommend adding the frosting just before serving the cake. Enjoy!