Beet Cake

Almost everyone knows that beets are healthy. I wrote about beets some time ago, too. But hardly anyone can probably imagine beets in a sweet form, let alone in a cake. On the other hand, if you've already tried carrot cake and fallen for it, a beet cake won't be a huge surprise.

beet cake

When I saw this recipe in Jamie Oliver's book, I couldn't resist it. Jamie writes that this cake came about from memories of carrot cake with a dollop of sour cream. On a friend's advice, though, he decided to use beets instead of carrots. The result: a delicious, slightly moist cake in a beet color. The ginger makes this cake taste really special. Well, the beets alone do that too :D In my opinion, the ginger beautifully brings out the sweet flavor of the beets and the sauce. Oh, the sauce! The Sherry sauce! Mmmm… You simply have to try it yourself.

The recipe is in Jamie Oliver's book, Jamie's Kitchen.

In the photo in the book, the cake has a color you could say isn't very beety. Mine, on the other hand, came out wonderfully beet-colored. Why? I have no idea!

I'm submitting this recipe to the "Vegetables in Sweets" event.

beet cake

Ingredients:

(for about 8 servings)

• 500 g raw beets
• 2 pieces fresh ginger (each roughly 2-3 cm)
• 3 large eggs, whites separated from yolks
• 150 ml honey
• 170 ml olive oil
• 2 vanilla beans (seeds scraped out)
• 2 heaping tsp baking powder
• 150 g all-purpose flour
• 100 g polenta (cornmeal)
• zest and juice of 1 orange
• a large pinch of salt
• a large pinch of ground allspice
• a large pinch of cinnamon
• butter and flour for the pan

For the sauce:

• 200 g crème fraîche
• about 1 wine glass of Vin Santo, Marsala or Sherry
• about 2 heaping tbsp superfine sugar

Cook the beets (preferably steamed) until tender, drain and let cool. Peel them and blend into a puree. Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F).

In a bowl, combine the beet puree, the peeled and finely chopped ginger, egg yolks, honey, olive oil and half of the vanilla. Mix everything with a mixer, then add the flour with the baking powder, polenta, orange zest and juice, salt, allspice and cinnamon. In a second bowl, beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form and gently fold them into the beet batter.

Grease a 25 cm pan with butter and dust it with flour, or line it with parchment paper. Pour in the batter and bake for 35 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Take it out of the oven and let it cool completely.

Mix the crème fraîche with the Sherry, sugar and the rest of the vanilla. You can add even more sugar and Sherry if you feel like it. Cut the cake into portions and serve with a dollop of the sauce.

Enjoy!

beet cake