Ingredients

Method

• 250 g beetroot, cooked, puréed and drained
• 3 free-range eggs
• ½ t vanilla paste
• 1 cup sunflower oil
• 225 g flour
• 1 ½ t bicarbonate of soda
• ¼ t salt
• 6 T good-quality cocoa
• 300 g brown sugar
For the frosting:
• 4 rose geranium leaves
• 300 g caster sugar
• ¼ t cream of tartar
• 2 free-range egg whites
• Salt, a pinch
• ½ cup cold water
• 2 T beetroot juice

Method

Ingredients

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C. Grease and line a 15 cm springform cake tin with baking paper. Mix the beetroot purée, eggs, vanilla paste and oil until well combined.
2. Sift in the dry ingredients and fold into the batter. Pour the cake batter into the greased cake tin. Bake for 25–35 minutes, or until a skewer comes out clean when inserted.
3. To make the frosting, bruise the rose geranium leaves and place in the sugar overnight. Remove the rose geranium leaves from the sugar and place all the ingredients (including the sugar), except the beetroot juice, into a glass bowl over a saucepan of simmering water. Using an electric beater, beat over the hot water for approximately 7 minutes. Once thick and glossy, remove from the heat and mix through some beetroot juice until coloured to your liking. Generously ice the cake with the frosting.

Cook's note: Beetroot and cocoa result in a moist, dark cake and the floral flavours of the frosting finish it off beautifully.

Discover more cake recipes here.