Flour-Free Chocolate & Beetroot Cake

This is another recipe from the wonderful "Live, Bake, Nourish by Amber Rose" and it's surprisingly delicious and light and very chocolatey! If you like alternative bakes or are looking for recipes that use less flour, are gluten free or sugar free then I would highly recommend this book! I have only ever used carrots in cakes and so I was keen to try a beetroot bake and see how it enhanced the flavour of a cake and how it contributed to the texture. Along with this recipe being flour-free and also low in sugar it certainly was a new style bake for me and one I would definitely make again. The beetroot adds an earthiness that compliments the depth of flavour from the dark chocolate and the natural sweetness of the honey.My husband can't stand beetroot and yet he loved this cake, so it goes to show that the beetroot enhances the flavour rather than overpowers it. We enjoyed this lovely bake with a dollop of creme fraiche on top!

Ingredients

300g Cooked, unseasoned Beetroot, peeled and pureed
4 Eggs
4 tbsp Honey
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
1 tbsp Cocoa Powder (plus extra for dusting)
1 tsp Baking Powder
Pinch of Salt
125g Ground Almonds
125g 70% Cocoa Solid Dark Chocolate 
4 tbsp Olive Oil

How To Make

1. Preheat the oven to 180'c and grease and base line a 10 inch cake tin.

2. In a large mixing bowl beat together the beetroot, eggs, honey, vanilla, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt with an electric mixer. When these are thoroughly combined fold in the ground almonds.

3. Now its time to melt the chocolate. Amber Rose melts her "bain marie" style over a pan of water, whereas I used the microwave for speed. Once melted mix in the oil and then gently stir this chocolate oil combination into the rest of the mix until well combined.

4. Scrape the mixture into the prepared tin and bake for 35-40 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean. 

*I checked on mine after 25 minutes because when I baked my Flour-Free Orange, Almond & Pistachio Cake (also from her book) it baked much quicker in my oven than what was suggested in the recipe. It was the same with this bake, it was indeed ready after 25 mins, and so I would recommend checking on your cake around the 25 minute mark.* 

5. Remove from the oven and leave to cool in the tin for a while before turning out onto a cooling rack. Once the cake is completely cool, dust with cocoa powder and serve either on its own or with a dollop of creme fraiche.