The Double Chocolate Beetroot Cake With Mango & Chocolate Glaze Recipe You Asked For!

Hey guys! How’s 2019 looking so far? Is it me or is this January the fastest January of all January’s? Like how’s today even the 15th? A year ago today would have been 5th January 😁.

Baking has never been one of my strongest cooking skills and coming from a home where baking was an annual Christmas affair, I am almost ashamed to admit this. But after last week’s successful baking of this extraordinary beetroot cake I am happy to announce that life is smiling down on me! I was also inspired by this recipe from Kitchen Stories and substituted a few things with my own local ingredients.

We had a few friends over on Constitutional Day holiday and honestly I am still trying to determine which was the best course of the night. It could have been the Oven baked pork, the Avocado & Mango salad, the Jollof or perhaps the Double Chocolate Beetroot Cake. My bet is on the cake though.

double chocolate beetroot cake

I am always nervous when baking even if it’s just muffins. Our home guest for the holidays- Jensen was such a big help as my sous chef as we chopped, diced, stirred and sliced in the growing January heat.

Beetroot is quite common in Ghana but has it’s season of abundance and affordability and it’s one vegetable I love to purchase whether during the high or low seasons. It’s super packing with vitamins and other minerals and beetroot juice must be the best body detoxifier in the entire world! I can chew beets raw, roast them, boil them and still not have enough! We recently had breakfast at Marriotts Hotel and to my delight there was freshly juiced beetroot, cucumber and carrots. Guess who had two glasses of that.. ✋🏿✋🏿👅!

Garnished with fresh mango slices

For the chocolate glaze in this recipe, I used Golden Tree Tetteh Quarshie Bar and chunks of 1957 chocolate mixed with a quick homemade mango jam I cooked up specially for this recipe. The natural cocoa powder was also from Golden Tree Royale Natural Cocoa Powder. Who said made in Ghana products aren’t incredible?

Unfortunately I didn’t take photos during the process but I will be very detailed in outlining the steps for you to follow.

Difficulty: Medium

Cooking Equipment:

• 1 Cake Tin

• Spatula

• Whisk

• 2 Glass Mixing Bowls

• Measuring Glass

• Pastry Brush

Ingredients:

130 g All Purpose Flour / Soft Milled Wheat Flour by Irani Brothers

Natural Cocoa Powder

1 teaspoon Baking Powder

175g Sugar

Pinch of salt

3 Medium-sized Eggs

150ml Olive oil

1 tsp Vanilla Extract

5 tsp Coconut oil

3 Beetroots Cooked & Diced

80g Dark Chocolate

For the Homemade Jam

1 Mango ( Saalo)

1 Lemon

1 Cup of white sugar

water

Directions

For the Jam

1. Dice 1/2 mango into little cubes.

2. Pour half-cup of water into a saucepan, let it boil and add one cup of white sugar stirring continuously to dissolve.

3. Add mango cubes into sugar syrup, set to medium-high heat.

4. Add juice of 1 lemon to mango to produce pectin.

5. Reduce heat to low. Cook until soft and cubes have gently melted down. Puree in food processor or use as is for more texture.

6. To test for doness, drop a spoonful unto a white plate, allow to cool, use one finger to move jam inwards, if a clear path is created without the jam filling in you are set to go.

7. Set aside half-cup of jam to use for recipe. Bottle the rest for later use.

Making the Cake Batter

1. Measure flour into the glass mixing bowl, add baking powder, salt, sieve natural cocoa powder in, and sugar. Mix through gently with spatula.

2. Puree cooked beetroot in food processor.

3. Pour pureed beetroot into a bowl, add in olive oil and vanilla extract. Pour egg into mixture one at a time and stir through well.

4. Pour wet beetroot mixture into flour and stir until flour is well-incorporated in but not vigorously.

5. Grease cake pan with olive oil using pastry brush, covering every nook.

6. Pour cake batter into greased cake pan.

7. Bake at Gas Mark 3 for 35 -40mins.

8. Insert a tooth pick in the middle and if it comes out dry, your cake is ready. Turn out and allow to cool for 15 minutes.

9. Make the mango and chocolate glaze, by placing a saucepan filled with water half-way through the pan. Place an empty and dry glass bowl over the saucepan. Let water simmer gently. Break dark chocolate pieces into the glass bowl adding the coconut oil. Keep stirring till chocolate melts down. Add mango jam.

10. Spread chocolate glaze over cake and dust natural cocoa powder over the top. Garnish with mango slices or any fruit of your choice. Wait for chocolate to set and enjoy.

The cake was incredible moist and fluffy at the same time! The beetroot was subtle and the chocolate glaze was a perfect balance of mango sweetness and chocolate bitterness. Everyone who took their first spoonful was all “ hmmmmmm!” Hubby was the happiest I think but more because I had successfully baked a cake! I kept one more slice for the next day’s breakfast with a hot cup of tea and sent my Mom a slice as well. She was so proud! So many compliments flowed in! You will love this cake! Give it a try and tag me on your finished creation on instagram.