Say it with beetroot

Beet is a star of the veg-dessert world, lending a sweet depth and moistness without tasting at all vegetably. It pairs well with chocolate in a mousse fit for Valentine's Day or any other special event.

Chocolate beetroot mousse cake

Beet is a star of the veg-dessert world, lending a sweet depth and moistness without tasting at all vegetably. It pairs well with chocolate in a mousse fit for Valentine’s Day or any other special event.

Ingredients

  • 250g beetroot, cooked
  • 400g good dark chocolate, broken into pieces
  • 175g unsalted butter, diced
  • 6 eggs, separated
  • 175g caster sugar
  • 25g ground almonds
  • A few drops almond essence (or use vanilla)

Method

  • Grease and line a 23cm springform cake tin, leaving about 2cm of baking parchment above the rim of the tin, as the mixture rises quite high while baking. Reduce oven to 180°C/Gas 4. Blitz the beetroot in a food processor until smooth.
  • Put the chocolate and butter in a large heatproof bowl, one that fits snugly over a pan of barely simmering water. Once the chocolate and butter have melted, remove from the heat and leave to cool.
  • While the chocolate is cooling, in another large bowl, whisk the egg yolks and sugar until light, pale and voluminous. This will take 4-5 minutes with a hand held electric mixer. Add the ground almonds, almond essence and puréed beetroot and stir to combine.
  • Whisk the egg whites in a separate bowl until they form soft peaks.
  • Fold the chocolate mixture into the egg yolk and beetroot. Stir gently until all the mixture is combined.
  • Using a metal slotted spoon, fold in a large spoonful of the egg whites. Mix it in until you can’t see any white bits, then very gently fold in the rest, keeping as much air in the mixture as possible. Make sure there are no white bits visible in the mixture.
  • Bake in the oven for 40-45 minutes, until the mixture has risen well, and still has a bit of a bounce to it when pressed. It may have cracked slightly, this is normal.
  • Remove from the oven, leave to cool completely in the tin on a wire rack before transferring to your serving plate. Dust over a mixture of cocoa powder and icing sugar to serve. It will sink slightly as there’s no flour in the mixture and will be gooey in the middle if you eat it the same day, and slightly firmer after 24 hours.

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