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Makes 16 cupcakesDifficulty:
Easy
Rich chocolate with a hint of beetroot is enough to suppress the guilt of indulgence. The fibrous beetroot enhances the richness of the chocolate and makes this recipe truly different but delicious. I love the earthiness of the beetroot which should remind you that chocolate is made by mother nature.
I love this recipe for many reasons but another highlight is that it keeps well and does not go stale and tasteless after one day. This is down to the use of oil instead of butter.
The chocolate fudge spread used to garnish these cupcakes is a true winner in itself. For this recipe I have kept the spread smooth, but if you add roasted hazelnuts to the chocolate spread it will make this even more scrumptious. Utterly scrumptious!!!
Ingredients & Method
- 250g good quality dark bitter chocolate 70%
- 3 whole free-range eggs
- 250g dark muscavado sugar
- 100ml buttermilk
- 30ml sunflower oil
- 200g raw beetroot, finely grated
- 80g all purpose plain flour
- 1tsp baking powder
- 50g ground almonds
- ½ tsp bicarb of soda
- 25g cocoa powder
- Chocolate Fudge Spread
Preheat the oven to 180°C and place 16 cupcake cases in a muffin tray.
Break the chocolate in small even size pieces and place in a metal bowl over a double boiler to melt.
Whisk the sugar and the eggs until pale in colour and fluffy in texture.
Mix the buttermilk, beetroot, oil and melted chocolate, stir this into the egg mixture.
Sieve the flour, ground almonds, cocoa powder, bicarb of soda and baking powder; fold this into the egg mixture.
Spoon the cake mix into the cupcake cases, about ¾ ‘s full leave a bit of room for them to rise.
Bake for 30 – 35 minutes in the preheated oven. Insert a metal skewer to check if the cupcakes are cooked.
Cool the cupcakes on a wire rack before garnishing with the chocolate fudge spread.
Cooks Notes
Use two 8” cake tins if you prefer to make a cake instead of cup cakes. Bake the cakes for 40 – 45 minutes in the preheated oven. To test if the cake is cooked, insert a metal skewer, if it comes out clean the cake is cooked.