Healthy chocolate indulgence!

I always struggle to find delicious desserts to serve in winter that are not packed with ‘wicked carbs’ and that are not too heavy.

When I came across Lesley’s Healthy Beetroot Chocolate Cake it ticked all the boxes.

 

Beetroot in cake?

I have several cake recipes that feature vegetables, but this one has no wheat flour and healthy omega rich canola oil replaces the butter. And honey replaces the sugar. It’s gluten and dairy free!

Beetroot and chocolate have been a favourite in cakes a long time. The authentic Red Velvet cake is made with beetroot.

For years SA supermarkets sold cooked beetroot that was dressed with vinegar. Now, at last we are able to buy vacuum packed, unseasoned cooked beetroot. I love it as it has a long shelf life while sealed and always have a pack in the fridge as versatile a stand by veg. This recipe calls for 300g cooked unseasoned beetroot which equalled to 4 medium sized beets.

300g = about 4 medium sized beets

Gluten free

The only real extravagance is the expensive almond flour. It has become an indulgent ingredient in my fridge (yes, keep it in the fridge to retain its shelf life) as it has so many delicious applications in baking.

All you need is a food processor to blend the batter. This recipe requires not great skill in the kitchen, so if you are intimidated by baking, this one is for you.

The mixture is fairly moist. Lesley folds the fruit in, but I decided to dot it over the batter after I had poured it into the cake tin, ensuring even distribution. The dried sour black cherries that I brought back from my holiday in the US last year were delicious in this recipe. (some girls shop for shoes…. I buy food!) Lesley used prunes as an alternative, but one of my guests suggested dried apricots, which will be superb with the chocolate. The apricots must be the soft Turkish ones!

Dried Sour Cherries from the US

To finish the cake you can drizzle melted chocolate over, but I loved the contrast of the snowy dusting of icing sugar. I found this amazing plastic stencil in a craft shop. If you don’t have a stencil a wire cake cooling rack will give you stripes or a lattice if you want a pattern.

As a late evening dessert on a chilly evening I served the cake with a dollop of cream and a good brandy. It was absolutely delicious!

Here’s the recipe: Lesley’s Healthy Beetroot Chocolate Cake