Extremely Moise Chocolate-Beet Cake
Serves 8
- 8 ounces fresh beets
- 7 ounces fine dark chocolate (70%)
- 1/4 cup hot espresso
- 3/4 cup + 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 cup + 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
- 3 tablespoons good quality cocoa powder
- 5 eggs
- scant 1 cup sugar
- Crème fraîche and poppy seeds, to serve
- Lightly butter an 8-inch springform cake pan and line the base with a round of baking parchment.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Cook the beets, whole and unpeeled, in boiling unsalted water. Depending on their size, they will be tender within 30 to 40 minutes. Young ones may take slightly less.
- Drain them, let them cool under running water, then peel them, slice off their stem and root.
- Process beets in a blender or food processor until a coarse purée.
- Sift together the flour, baking powder, and cocoa.
- Separate the eggs, putting the whites in a large mixing bowl.
- Stir the yolks together.
- Melt the chocolate, broken into small pieces, in a small bowl set over a pot of simmering water (double boiler).
- Don’t stir.
- When the chocolate looks almost melted, pour the hot espresso over it and stir once.
- Cut the butter into small pieces, the smaller the better, and add to the melted chocolate.
- Push the butter down under the surface of the chocolate with a spoon (as best you can) and leave to soften.
- Now, working quickly but gently, remove the bowl of chocolate from the heat and stir until the butter has melted into the chocolate.
- Let sit for a few minutes
- Stir in the egg yolks. Do this quickly, mixing firmly and evenly so the eggs blend into the mixture.
- Mix in the beets.
- Mix in the flour and cocoa.
- Beat the egg whites until foamy, but before peaks have formed, about 1 minute.
- Add the sugar to the egg whites.
- Continue beating the egg whites until stiff.
- Firmly but gently, fold the beaten egg whites and sugar into the chocolate mixture. A large metal spoon is what you want here; work in a deep, figure-eight movement but take care not to over-mix.
- Transfer quickly to the prepared cake pan and put in the oven, decreasing the heat immediately to 325°F.
- Bake for 40 minutes.
- The rim of the cake will feel spongy, the inner part should still wobble a little when gently shaken.
- Test with a cake tester or toothpick too, if it is still gooey in the center, continue baking just until moist crumbs cling to the tester.
- Set the cake aside to cool (it will sink a tad in the center), loosening it around the edges with a thin icing spatula after half an hour or so.
- It is not a good idea to remove the cake from its pan until it is completely cold.
- Serve in thick slices, with crème fraîche and poppy seeds.
"Nige Slater's Extremely Moise Chocolate-Beet Cake". Food52. <http://food52.com/recipes/19271-nigel-slater-s-extremely-moist-chocolate-beet-cake>