Chocolate Beetroot Cake
Chocolate Beetroot Cake with Lacquer Chocolate Glaze is an eggless layered cake. It is super moist and gives a deep red color to the cake. This makes a great alternative to using red velvet cake also without adding color.
Servings: 8 inch round cake
Ingredients
for the cake
- ½ cup olive oil
- 1½ cup brown sugar packed
- 2 cup beetroot puree boiled & pureed, 4 medium size beets
- 125 gram dark chocolate melted
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tbsp instant coffee powder
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp salt
for lacquer chocolate glaze - makes 1⅓ cup
- 20 gram flaked agar-agar veg gelatin
- ⅔ cup sugar granulated
- 1⅓ cup water room temperature
- 1 tbsp +1 tsp corn syrup
- ¾ cup +2 tbsp cocoa powder unsweetened
- ⅓ cup heavy cream
for the corn syrup
- 2 cup sugar granulated
- 3 cup water
- ¼ tsp cream of tartar or lemon juice or white vinegar
Instructions
for the cake
- Pre-heat oven at 190 °C. Grease an 8" round pan.
- In a mixing bowl, cream together oil & brown sugar. Add beets, melted chocolate, coffee and vanilla. Mix well.
- In a separate bowl, sieve flour, baking powder & salt, mix well.
- Mix the dry ingredients with the wet ingredients. Stir until just combined.
- Pour into the prepared pan and bake for 45-50 mins, till a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean.
- Cool in the pan for 10 mins. Remove from pan and cool on a wire rack.
for lacquer chocolate glaze
- In a saucepan, whisk together sugar & ⅓ Cup water over medium heat. When the sugar melts, take off the heat. With the help of the whisk, mix in corn syrup, followed by cocoa. You will have a smooth & glossy mixture.
- Stir in cream with a spatula & return pan to medium heat. Bring the mixture to a boiling point.
- Simultaneously, in a small saucepan soak china-grass in 1 Cup water for about 10 minutes. Heat china-grass on low flame till melts completely. Immediately mix hot china-grass in the boiling cream mixture. Ensure the cream should boil at the same time as china-grass, so that thye can be immediately mixed together.
- Remove from heat & cool until the instant thermometer reads 122-140 °F, for about 15 mins.
- Strain the mixture into a liquid cup & let it cool till the instant thermometer registers 80 °F, about 1 hour. If you are making it ahead then make sure to re-heat to 85 °F as glaze will thicken.
for assembling the cake
- Place the cake on a wire rack set over a large rimmed baking sheet or large heavy duty aluminum foil to catch the glaze.
- Pour the glaze in an even circular motion on top, starting with the sides, allowing it to cascade over & coat them completely. Start pouring in the middle and as glaze starts going down the sides, pour the glaze about an inch from the edge to help cover the sides evenly. Reapply if needed. 1⅓ Cups is sufficient to cover the cake in one go, but if required you can use the glaze accumulated in the sheet.
- Allow the cake to sit for about an hour until the glaze stops dripping. Move the cake to a serving platter.
- Allow the glaze to set for 4 hours for the fullest flavor. You can store the cake in air-tight container at room temp for 2 days or for 5 days in refrigerator. But make sure to bring it to room temp prior to serving. (a brief wave of hair dryer on set on low heat, will bring the shine back.)
for the corn syrup
- In a saucepan combine all ingredients over medium heat, bring to a boil, then reduce heat & simmer.
- Put the lid on the pan & cook for 3 mins.Uncover & cook, stirring often. To test drop a little in a glass of cold water, if it sinks to bottom of water, it is ready.
- Cool the syrup & store at room temp. It can be stored upto 2 months.