My friends had bought me a chocolate cookbook a few years ago, and there was a recipe in there for chocolate cake with beetroot. It’s been on my list for a while, and I also found this recipe in an issue of BBC Good Food magazine. What made it happen was I was given a couple of fresh beetroot and wasn’t sure what to do with them. I didn’t feel like roasting them or making them into one of my favourite salads, so the answer always comes back to… can I put it in a cake?

If there is a chocolate cake recipe with a twist, be sure I’ll try it out. I did try a chocolate cake with mayonnaise a while ago… which isn’t a pleasant memory, so I was hoping this one would be better. Hamsely usually quizzes me what’s in a dish before he eats it, and I went to great lengths so he wouldn’t find out there was beetroot involved until he had at least taken a bite. I did succeed, and as he chomped down a bite, I blurted “It’s got BEETROOT inside!!” … of course once he knew that he was adamant to eat anymore.

It was a very moist cake, and an old school friend of mine also made this cake after seeing I made it. She enjoyed it, and I didn’t mind it. Next time I will try Joy The Baker’s recipe, which involves cooking the beetroot instead of using raw beetroot.

Beetroot & Chocolate Cake
BBC Good Food Magazine

1½ cups (225g) plain flour
1 cup (150g) self-raising flour
1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
½ cup (50g) Dutch cocoa, plus extra to dust
1½ cups (330g) caster sugar
4 eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup (250ml) light olive oil
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
360g beetroot, peeled, coarsely grated
½ cup (75g) dark chocolate melts, coarsely chopped

Icing
250g reduced-fat cream cheese, at room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
¾ cup (120g) icing sugar mixture
½ cup (50g) Dutch cocoa

1. Preheat oven to 160ºC or 140ºC fan. Grease and line base and side of a deep 22cm round cake pan with baking paper.

2. Sift flours, bicarbonate of soda and cocoa into a large bowl. Stir in sugar. Make a well at centre.

3. Whisk eggs, oil and vanilla in a large jug until combined. Pour egg mixture into dry ingredients and stir until just combined. Stir in beetroot and chocolate until combined. Spoon into prepared pan and smooth surface. Bake for 1 hr 30 mins, until a skewer inserted at centre comes out clean. Stand in pan for 5 mins, then turn cake out onto wire rack to cool completely.

4. Meanwhile, to make icing, beat cream cheese and vanilla in a small bowl until fluffy. Add sifted icing sugar and cocoa, and beat on low speed until combined and smooth.

5. Spread icing over top and side of cooled cake. Dust with extra Dutch cocoa powder.

Serves 16.

Refrigerate in an airtight container for up to three days. Serve at room temperature.