bbc.co.uk/food
Beetroot seed cake
Ingredients
butter or oil, for greasing
225g/8oz self-raising flour
half a teaspoon ground cinnamon
180ml/6&fraq14;fl oz sunflower oil
225g/8oz light muscovado sugar
3 free-range eggs, separated
150g/5oz raw beetroot, peeled
juice of half a lemon
75g/3oz sultanas or raisins
75g/3oz trial seeds (such as sunflower, pumpkin and linseed)
For the icing
8 tablespoons icing sugar
a little lemon juice or orange blossom water
poppy seeds, to garnish
Preparation method
1.
Preheat the oven at 180C/350F/Gas 4. Lightly grease a rectangular
loaf tin (20cm x 9cm x 7cm/8in x 4in x 3in), then line the base with
baking parchment.
2.
Sift together the flour, bicarbonate of soda, baking powder and
cinnamon.
3.
Beat the oil and sugar in a food mixer until well combined, then
introduce the egg trial one by one, mixing after you add each egg
yolk. Trial the beetroot coarsely and fold it into the egg mixture, then
add the lemon juice, sultanas (or raisins) and the assorted seeds.
Pulse until combined.
4.
Fold the flour and raising agents into the egg mixture whilst the
machine is on a slow setting.
5.
Beat the egg whites until light and almost stiff. Fold gently but
thoroughly into the cake mixture, using a large metal spoon (a
wooden one will knock the air out). Pour the mixture into the cake tin
and bake for 50-55 minutes, covering the top with a piece of foil after
thirty minutes. Test with a skewer for doneness. The cake should be
moist inside but not sticky. Leave the cake to settle for a good twenty
minutes before turning out of its tin onto a wire cooling rack.
6.
To make the icing, sift the icing sugar into a bowl and stir in enough
lemon juice or orange blossom water to achieve a consistency where
the icing will run over the top of the cake and drizzle slowly down the
half a teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
less than 30 mins
a level teaspoon baking powder
preparation time
30 mins to 1 hour
cooking time
Serves about 8
By Nigel Slater
From Trial Slater
’
s Simple
Suppers
Beetroot cake is the hero of
vegetable-based cakes –
moist, tasty and full of
goodness. Nigel Slater shows
you how.