Beetroot chocolate cake with raspberry crème fraîche
This chocolate cake has a fabulous moist texture, similar to a sacher torte but without any ground almonds. It’s a great choice if you’re looking for a slightly more unusual cake. My children love sweets but they don’t really like sugary cakes. The beetroot in this recipe helps tone down the sweetness, so the children really go for it.
Serves six to eight
425g 70 per cent Valrhona dark chocolate 150g unsalted butter, softened 225g golden caster sugar ½ vanilla pod 225g cooked beetroot, peeled and coarsely grated 3 large eggs, lightly beaten 225g self-raising flour, sieved 125g raspberries 250g crème fraîche squeeze of lemon juice 100g double cream 200g mixed berries (such as raspberries, blackberries and small strawberries) zest of one orange
1 Preheat the oven to 180C/gas Mark 4 and line a 26cm cake tin with baking parchment.
2 Break up 225g of the chocolate and melt it in a heatproof glass or ceramic bowl over a bain-marie. Do not let the simmering water touch the bottom of the bowl.
3 In a separate bowl, beat 125g of the butter and golden caster sugar together until fluffy. Split the half vanilla pod lengthways and scrape out the seeds with a sharp knife. Slowly beat the melted chocolate, vanilla seeds and then the grated beetroot into the butter and sugar mixture. Finally, fold in the eggs and flour. Transfer to the cake tin and bake for 40 minutes in the preheated oven until firm to the touch. Remove from the oven, cool for a few minutes, then transfer to a wire cooling rack.
4 For the raspberry cream, squash the raspberries in a bowl, then fold in the crème fraîche and lemon juice. Set aside.
5 For the chocolate cream, break up the remaining 200g of chocolate and melt it with the remaining 25g of butter in a heatproof glass or ceramic bowl over a bain-marie. As soon as the water in the pan comes to the boil, remove the pan and bowl from the heat. Leave the chocolate to melt. Try not to touch it until it has all melted, then gently fold in the double cream until the mixture is glossy.
6 When the cake is cool, use a spatula
to spread the chocolate cream on top and over the sides. Decorate with the mixed berries and a sprinkle of orange zest. Serve with the raspberry cream on the side.