Bursting with vibrant flavours and wholesome ingredients, this lemon-infused golden beetroot cake is a delightful twist on a classic sponge. The subtle sweetness of golden beets is enhanced by zesty hints of lemon and the whole is topped with a luscious chocolate cream cheese icing.
Prep Time30 minutesmins
Cook Time1 hourhr25 minutesmins
Course: Afternoon Tea
Cuisine: British
Keyword: beetroot, cream cheese, mascarpone, milk chocolate, white chocolate
Scrub the beetroot, but don't peel it. Boil in a lightly salted water until tender - about ¾ of an hour. Drain and leave to air dry for a couple of minutes. Then mash well with a potato masher or blitz with a stick blender.
250 g golden beetroot
Meanwhile, pour the sunflower oil into a large bowl and whisk in the sugar.
100 ml sunflower oil, 175 g golden caster sugar
Break the eggs in and whisk again.
3 large eggs
Sieve in the dry ingredients, throwing any bran left in the sieve into the bowl and stir until everything is just about mixed.
100 g wholemeal flour, 50 g ground almonds, 1 tsp baking powder, ½ tsp bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
Add the mashed beetroot, grate in the lemon zest and stir.
1 lemon
Scrape the batter into a lined 23cm (9 inch) cake tin or greased silicone mould and level the top. Bake in a preheated oven at 180℃ (160℃ fan, 350℉, Gas 4) for 40 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out more or less clean.
Leave in the tin for ten minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool.
Icing
Melt the two lots of chocolates pieces in a bowl suspended over a pan of barley simmering water.
50 g milk chocolate, 50 g white chocolate
Mix the two cheese together with the lemon juice. Then combine the cheese and chocolate mixtures.
125 g mascarpone cheese, 125 g cream cheese, 1 tsp lemon juice
Spread over the cooled cake.
Decorate as you see fit. I used white chocolate stars.
Notes
Instead of boiling the beetroot, you can finely grate it instead, but the texture will be a bit different.
Please note: American cup conversions are automated and have not been tested. For best results use scales.
Please note: calories and other nutritional information are per serving. They’re approximate and will depend on serving size and exact ingredients used. Please refer to my nutrition disclaimer for further information.