A cake that I have been wanting to make for the longest time and finally had a chance or rather a reason to. My husband likes chocolate cake and I took this opportunity to make him a healthy less sugar version of Mary Berry’s beetroot chocolate cake, as well as the usual, shortcuts of not cooking the beetroot.
Ganache was a dark 70% Lindt chocolate bar sitting in the fridge looking forlornly to be eaten.
To be fair, my husband liked his birthday cake but not enough to have seconds – because the sweetness level was not to his liking. So if you or friends and family that you would like to make this cake for likes it sweet, I would endorse increasing the amount of sugar in both the cake, icing and ganache! Or substitute the dark cocoa powder to the regular cocoa and the dark chocolate bar to a milk chocolate bar.
Beetroot Chocolate Drip Cake
Ingredients:
For the 2-layer cake:
1 1/2 cups plain (all-purpose) flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/4 cup dark cocoa powder
1/4 cup cocoa powder
3/4 cup light brown sugar
3/4 cup canola (vegetable) oil
3 eggs
1 cup grated beetroot
For icing/frosting:
1/2 cup whipping cream or double cream
1/2 cup icing sugar
1 teaspoon cornstarch
1 teaspoon vanilla extract/essence
For ganache:
50g dark chocolate
25g butter
3 teaspoon icing sugar
Method:
- Heat the oven at 180°C (375°F).
- Grease 2x 6″ round cake pans, sprinkle with some flour. This will help you remove the baked cake easily.
- Beat the eggs with the oil & sugar till creamy.
- Add in the grated beetroot, mix well.
- Sieve in the flour, cocoa powders & baking powder into the wet ingredients.
- Mix well and split the mixture into the prepared cake tins.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes or when a skewer inserted into the middle of the cakes comes out clean. Another trick to know when the cake is cooked : when the cakes leave the sides of the cake tins.
- Leave to cool in the cake tins for 5 minutes before turning out to cool completely on a rack.
To prepare the icing: just beat or whip the cream, icing sugar, cornstarch & vanilla extract/essence together till they form soft peaks. The cornstarch will help to stabilise the icing so it won’t completely flop to a liquid stage. Do remember not to overwhip the cream as it will turn it back to a liquid stage.
- When the cake is completely cool to the touch, you can lop off the peaks of the cake so the tops are level or as level as can be achieved. A bread knife is a good tool to cut the peaks off.
- Place 1-layer of the cake on your serving plate. Spread some of the icing/frosting over the top. Place the other cake on top of the icing/frosting.
- Spread the icing/frosting over the top & sides of the whole cake. Reserve some for decorations.
- You can keep the frosted cake in the fridge so the fresh cream frosting won’t melt while you are preparing the ganache.
Preparing the ganache: microwave or stove top?
Microwave: Break the chocolate into smaller pieces (for quicker melting) with the butter in a microwave safe container or measuring cup. Microwave on HIGH for 30 seconds, remove & stir in the icing sugar. Microwave again for another 30 seconds.
- Pour the ganache along the edge of the iced cake (take out the cake from the fridge if it’s been in there chilling!) before pouring the rest over the top of the cake. Try to smooth it from the centre of the cake to the edge, as you want that ‘DRIP’ look.
Stove top: Break the chocolate into smaller pieces into a glass mixing bowl or a container that can take heat.
- Add the butter & icing sugar.
- Bring a saucepan filled with about 1-2″ height full of water. Make sure the mixing bowl used for the chocolate fits the saucepan opening, we are using the steam from the boiling water to heat the mixing bowl to melt the chocolate/butter.
- Allow the water to boil and keep stirring the chocolate/butter/sugar mixture until it has melted.
- DO NOT LET ANY STEAM COME INTO CONTACT WITH THE MIXTURE! This will harden the mixture and prevent it from melting to the appropriate liquid state, it sort of gets lumpy. If this happens, start again with fresh ingredients.
- When the mixture has melted, pour the ganache along the edge of the iced cake (take out the cake from the fridge if it’s been in there chilling!) before pouring the rest over the top of the cake. Try to smooth it from the centre of the cake to the edge, as you want that ‘DRIP’ look.
You can crumble the tops of the un-iced cake that you cut, into ‘soil’ and use as a decoration or you can make them into cake pops or just eat as is. If you are using them, I would suggest crumbling them over the still wet ganache, so it will stick.
Allow the ganache to set a little before you pipe some decorative cream along the edges of the cake. Because of the fresh cream used, the cake needs to be kept chilled before serving.
Simply Living 