Sugar Free Chocolate Beetroot Cake

Chocolate Beetroot Cake kicks normal chocolate cake in the proverbial! And you know what makes this one even better? Using homegrown beetroot that you bought from a roadside stall in Comboyne while on a heavenly Saturday food trip! Yes I went on my first official Morgan & Meg food expedition! Nobody sent me on this mission, mind you, it was completely of my own volition. I was so excited to write my first foodie travel story. But of course, being the rookie blogger I am, I left my camera at home. So no food travel story for you this time - but I feel like this recipe and the one that follows, are somewhat of a consolation prize! 

I've been making different versions of Chocolate Beetroot Cake for a while and still find it funny when friends or customers balk at a cake containing beetroot. Believe it or not, beetroot goes perfectly with chocolate. The beetroot adds a pleasant undertone to the cake that can only be described as earthy, and it also makes the cake more moist and rich.  

My version of the Chocolate Beetroot cake is completely refined sugar free, so it's practically the same as eating a salad! Jokes aside, making this cake is also a great way to sneak some hidden vegetables into your kids' diet! If you want to make this Sugar Free Chocolate Beetroot Cake a little more decadent, you could ice it with my 'healthy' Chocolate Ganache (recipe below). 

Sugar Free Chocolate Beetroot Cake

Ingredients

250g cooked beetroot, cooled, skin removed and chopped into large pieces.
4 tablespoons olive oil (or coconut, canola)
10 medjool dates, seeds removed, and chopped
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
180g plain flour
75g cocoa powder or cacao
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon ground cardamon

Method

1. Preheat oven to 170°C and grease and line a 20-24cm round cake tin.
2. Place dates in a small bowl and cover with boiling water. Leave to soak for ten minutes.
3. Drain dates (discard juices) and place in a blender or Nutribullet and blitz to form a paste.
4. Using a food processor with the chopping blade, blitz beetroot until smooth.
5. With the food processor still going, add oil, eggs, date paste and vanilla extract. There should be no big bits of beetroot, it needs to be completely smooth. 
6. Sift flour, cocoa, baking powder and cardomom into a large bowl.
7. Form a well in the centre of the dry ingredients and pour in the beetroot mix. 
8. Mix until just combined. 
9. Bake for 20 minutes uncovered and then cover with foil before baking a further 20 minutes (40 minutes in total). 

Chocolate Ganache (Not Sugar Free)

Ingredients

125ml light coconut milk
100g high quality 70% dark chocolate, chopped

Method

1. Place coconut milk in a microwave safe bowl and microwave on high for 1 minute
2. Add chocolate and stir well until smooth. If there are a few solid bits remaining, microwave again for 10 seconds at a time, stirring to remove the lumps. 
3. Place in refrigerator and chill for an hour or until thick and glossy.