There is something extremely satisfying about cooking with
an ingredient you’ve just harvested from your own vegetable garden.
In this household, just being able to harvest anything
before the middle lad gets to it first is worthy of celebration.
So what better way to celebrate the first Everyday Baker
beetroot harvest than to make a cake?!
Well, cupcakes to be precise and by “harvest” I’m being a
little generous but there was enough for this recipe so that’s the main thing.
These puppies are like the healthy (ish) version of a red
velvet cupcake, without the horrid red food colouring that turns my lads into a
mob of raving lunatics – I don’t need that in my life, it’s crazy enough here
on a good day thank you very much.
Shout out to one of my favourite food blogs for this base
recipe, The Nutritionist and the Chef.
The wonderfully earthy flavour of the beetroot pairs very
well with almond or hazelnut meal, and the icing is not too sweet, but sweet
enough that the lads loved it.
The next crop of veggies have now been planted with
excitement, but personally I’ll be very surprised if we manage to pick any
strawberries from a plant that’s already had to be replanted five times.
Chocolate Beetroot Cupcakes
Ingredients
85g dark chocolate
3 eggs
2 cups brown sugar
1 cup olive oil or melted butter
300g cooked beetroot
1 teaspoon vanilla
½ cup cocoa
200g almond or hazelnut meal
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
Pinch of salt
Icing:
1 cup of cream or full fat yoghurt
1 cup cream cheese
½ cup icing sugar
Method
To cook the beetroots, steam for about half an hour or until
tender when pricked with a knife.
Wash under cold water and just rub the skin off with your
hands, before mashing or blending until you get a rough puree.
Set beetroot aside and pre-heat oven to 180C. Line a cupcake
tray with cases.
Melt the dark chocolate.
In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs, sugar and oil or butter
together.
Add the cooked beetroot, the chocolate and the vanilla to
the egg mixture and stir until combined.
Sift in the cocoa and add, with the almond meal, baking
powder and salt, folding gently until all mixed through.
Spoon the mixture into the cupcake cases and bake for about
25-30 minutes or until the spring to the touch.
Allow to cool before icing.
To make the icing, whip the cream to soft peaks and add the
icing sugar and cream cheese, beating until combined.
Spread over cupcakes and if you desire, grate a little extra
chocolate on top.
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