Chocolate and Beetroot Cakes Recipe

I baked these chocolate and beetroot cakes with my sister a few weeks ago when our neighbour gave us some beetroot from their allotment.  The cakes were delicious so I'm hoping that our own crop of beetroot will grow well this year and we can bake some more.  Our Mum, who's not that keen on beetroot, even liked them!

I created this recipe myself, by combining and adapting a few different recipes I found online.  Beetroot is a great vegetable to eat, packed with vitamins and minerals - so that makes these cakes healthy too - right?! I used a little less sugar than other recipes I saw, to make them healthier.  Also, they are not coated in a thick layer of frosting, just finished off with a dusting of icing sugar.

I hope I have tempted you to bake some for yourself, here's the recipe...

Ingredients

120g plain flour

50g cocoa powder

150g caster sugar

170g beetroot (cooked)

2 eggs

140ml vegetable oil

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

50g dark chocolate
icing sugar for dusting

Preheat your oven to 170°C / 325°F / Gas Mark 3.

Sieve the cocoa powder together with the flour into a bowl.  Mix together with the rest of the dry ingredients.
In a separate jug (or bowl), blend the beetroot with the eggs, one at a time. Then add the oil.  Blend until smooth.  Add the vanilla extract. (The beetroot makes the mixture a fantastic colour!)
Stir the wet mixture into the dry mixture.

Chop the chocolate into small pieces and fold into the mixture.

Spoon into cupcake cases.  Bake for 30 minutes - the cakes should spring back when gently pressed, or you can test the cakes with a skewer - it should come out clean when they are cooked.

Leave to cool, then dust with icing sugar.

Happy baking (and eating)!!

If you liked this recipe you may also enjoy the other recipes I have shared - you can can find them here.